2015 Walmart Pro Team Announced
Walmart has announced the members of its professional angling team that will hit the water in 2015. The Walmart team will be comprised of seasoned pros Mark Rose of West Memphis, Ark.; David Dudley of Lynchburg, Va.; and co-angler Nicole Jacobs of New Brighton, Minn.
Rose, a 16-year veteran of the Walmart FLW Tour, wrapped up his 2014 season with a fifth-place finish in the Angler of the Year standings. He qualified for the ninth Forrest Wood Cup appearance of his career and earned more than $100,000 throughout the season. The Arkansas native has 40 career top-10 finishes and six career victories.
“When I represent a title sponsor, it needs to be something that I believe in and can really endorse wholeheartedly,” Rose says. “Walmart helps me, and millions of other people, save money and live better every day. In today’s times, that means a lot, so it’s easy to represent a company like Walmart.”
No stranger to quality and performance, 18-year FLW Tour veteran Dudley will fish under the Walmart banner for the first time this season. A three-time FLW Tour Angler of the Year winner, Dudley has 39 career top-10 finishes and seven career wins in FLW competition, giving him career earnings of more than $3.3 million dollars – the highest total in FLW history.
“With a family of five children to support, we definitely do a lot of our shopping at Walmart,” Dudley says. “I believe in the company, and that’s extremely important to me in a title sponsor. I look forward to representing the Walmart brand in 2015.”
Newcomer Jacobs will represent Walmart in the co-angler ranks during her first season on the FLW Tour. A well-respected angler in the Midwest, Jacobs is looking to take the next step in her professional angling career and is excited to represent Walmart around the country.
“It’s an honor to have been selected to represent Walmart,” Jacobs says. “I am going to do my best to be a positive role model for all anglers – men, women and children.”
Walmart began its relationship with FLW in 1997, as title sponsor of the FLW Tour, then added title sponsorship of the Bass Fishing League (BFL) in 2001.