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Kevin VanDam wins his 7th Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title!
DECATUR, Ala. — Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., amassed enough points Saturday to close the deal he said he’s been focused on since his first cast this season: the 2011 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year award, his seventh best-angler title and fourth consecutive. Not even the legendary Roland Martin, holder of nine Angler of the Year titles through 1985, strung together more than three in a row. VanDam on Saturday also became the first pro to land Angler of the Year and Bassmaster Classic titles in the same season for two seasons running. “This one means as much if not more to me. Winning never gets old when you’re competing against these guys,” said VanDam of his fellow Bassmaster Elite Series pros. “I’ve been out to win Angler of the Year since the first cast of the first tournament of the season. “Every pro wants to win Angler of the Year because it is our sport’s highest award. It shows you’re at the top of your game and it rewards consistency. I haven’t won a regular-season tournament this year — although I’m trying to change that here on Wheeler.” VanDam — many fans call him “KVD” — closed on the Angler of the Year title on the third day of the four-day Dixie Duel, the Wheeler Lake event in Alabama that doubled as the points race finish line and the Bassmaster Elite Series season finale. The tournament concludes Sunday, but by Saturday no angler had a mathematical chance of overtaking VanDam in the points standings. Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., came the closest. Trailing by 55 points going into the Wheeler Lake event, Evers had been VanDam’s top threat. The Oklahoma pro had, in fact, been nipping at the heels of the points leaders throughout the season: Shaw Grigsby after the season opener (which he won), Alton Jones from tournament No. 2 through No. 5, and Terry Scroggins, who took the lead after the sixth event but lost it to VanDam in Arkansas. Evers — the runner-up to VanDam for the 2010 title — faded as a threat in the first two days of Dixie Duel competition. But the game wasn’t over, and Evers got another at-bat when the competition continued Saturday. “I don’t have any quit in me,” Evers said as he set out Saturday for one more swipe at VanDam. But the heroics Evers needed didn’t happen for him. There was no magic in Steve Kennedy’s hat either. Third in points behind VanDam going into the Wheeler event, Kennedy on Saturday also had had a mathematical chance of catching VanDam. The $100,000 award was based on points earned in 2011 over eight regular-season tournaments. VanDam started the season with a fourth-place finish on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. He followed with 11th place on the St. Johns River. After the third and fourth events — finishing 22nd on Pickwick, 33rd on Toledo Bend — he was No. 3 in the standings. Then, fishing through back-to-back events in April at West Point Lake and Lake Murray, VanDam inched into second place in points. He took over at No. 1 on May 12 after the Arkansas River event. At that point only one event, the Dixie Duel, remained. VanDam won his first Angler of the Year crown in 1992 when he was the still the 24-year-old “Kalamazoo Kid.” The road to the Angler of the Year was much different in the early 1990s, VanDam said. “It’s harder now to win,” he said. “And when I won that first one, I really didn’t understand the magnitude of what it meant to win an Angler of the Year title.” He had to work four more years for his second title in 1996. He won for the third time in 1999. Then he started stacking the crowns: 2008, 2009, 2010 and now 2011. Meanwhile, he was winning Classics: 2001, 2005 and back-to-backs in 2010 and 2011. VanDam weighed in on the question of what the sport considers to be hardest title to win, Classic or Angler of the Year. “Winning the Classic is a big deal — an incredible, awesome accomplishment. It’s the toughest tournament there is to win, but it’s one tournament. I think if you ask most anglers, they’d say winning Angler of the Year is harder,” he said. VanDam, 43, has set the bar high on a list of statistics and records in Bassmaster tournament history. Since his first Bassmaster tournament in 1987, VanDam has won $5.2 million — more than the second- and third-place money winners combined — on the B.A.S.S. circuit. When he won the 2011 Classic, he tied with Rick Clunn for most Classic victories, four. VanDam has qualified for 22 consecutive Classics (counting Classic 2012). He has posted top-10 finishes 94 times. He has stacked up a record 20 Bassmaster event wins, including the four Classics. The competition among Elite Series pros for points wasn’t over when VanDam won the title. The Elite field will work through Sunday to claim spots below No. 1 and collect prizes awarded on a sliding scale to 50th place. 29 new Bassmaster Classic qualifiers determined Sunday A week of crunching numbers and Hail Mary casting comes to a close. DECATUR, Ala. — Twenty-nine Bassmaster Elite Series pros nailed down qualifications on Sunday for the Feb. 24-26 Bassmaster Classic. With the nine Elite anglers who qualified earlier in the season, there are 38 who can get ready for the Red River world championship out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. Some of the pros had known they’d have enough points to get into the 2012 Classic field. But those riding the bubble had to sweat it out over the past week at the season closer on Wheeler Lake, constantly refiguring math on the points and doing a lot of Hail Mary casting. This year, the top 28 Elite pros in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points standings were awarded a Classic berth. If an angler in that top 28 qualified for the Classic through another route, B.A.S.S. worked down the Elite points list to award the berth to the next in line. By the close of the regular season on June 19, there were nine duplicate qualifications, pushing the cutline to include 37th place. Before the Wheeler tournament began, nine Elite anglers had no Classic worries. One was Kevin VanDam, who as 2011 Classic winner got an automatic in for the next time. Even before VanDam had his, Gerald Swindle won a seat for 2012 by winning the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open season opener in January, thanks to the new win-you’re-in rule of all Bassmaster Opens. The same rule applied to Elite champs. That’s how Classic seats were secured by Shaw Grigsby, Edwin Evers, Davy Hite, Dean Rojas, Steve Kennedy, Casey Ashley and Denny Brauer. On Sunday afternoon, Dixie Duel champ David Walker had one of those win-you’re-in Classic qualifications in hand as well as a qualification through the Angler of the Year points system. Those without instant-ins or with shaky points standings were the Elite pros who, figuratively speaking, had calculators strapped to their boat’s dashboards all week. That group included Ish Monroe teetering at 35th in points going into the Wheeler tournament. His catches on Day One and Day Two were both in the 12-pound class. Then he hauled in a huge sack of bass Saturday. As he waited at the tanks for his turn at the scales, Monroe happily confirmed the obvious: “This is the bag that seals the Classic, oh yes it is.” Monroe locked in at 20th place. Marty Robinson has a similar, if not 20-pound story. Robinson was 33rd at the beginning of the week. He had three solid days. But he had to wait until Sunday to find out he had hung on at 35th. It will be his first Classic appearance, the accomplishment of his long-held goal. Other first-time qualifiers for the Classic were Walker, Ott DeFoe and Keith Combs. First out at 38th place was Kelly Jordon of Palestine, Texas. He and a few of the others near the cutline can keep their Classic hopes alive for a while because of possible duplications stemming from winners of the season’s remaining five Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open tournaments. It’s also possible that an Elite angler will get in on his own by winning an Open. That could happen in the two remaining Central Opens (if the pro fished the first Central), or in the Northern Open circuit that begins in July. Any Northern winner also must fish all three Northern events to collect a Classic entry. Bassmaster Elite Series anglers who have qualified for 2012 Bassmaster Classic (as of June 19) These Elite anglers qualified by winning events: 1. Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. (2011 Classic winner) 2. Gerald Swindle Warrior, Ala. (Open event winner) 3. Shaw Grigsby Gainesville, Fla. (Elite event winner) 4. Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. (Elite event winner) 5. Davy Hite Ninety Six, S.C. (Elite event winner) 6. Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, Ariz. (Elite event winner) 7. Stephen Kennedy Auburn, Ala. (Elite event winner) 8. Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. (Elite event winner) 9. Dennis Brauer Camdenton, Mo. (Elite event winner) 10. David Walker Sevierville, Tenn. (Elite event winner) These Elite anglers qualified through the points system: 1. Ott DeFoe Knoxville, Tenn. 2. Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 3. Alton Jones Waco, Texas 4. Keith Poche Troy, Ala. 5. Greg Vinson Wetumpka, Ala. 6. Chris Lane Guntersville, Ala. 7. Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 8. Keith Combs Huntington, Texas 9. Aaron Martens Leeds, Ala. 10. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, N.J. 11. Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, N.C. 12. Ish Monroe Hughson, Calif. 13. Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 14. Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, Calif. 15. Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 16. Jeff Kriet Ardmore, Okla. 17. Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 18. Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 19. Fred Roumbanis Bixby, Okla. 20. Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, Ala. 21. John Crews Salem, Va. 22. Stephen Browning Hot Springs, Ark. 23. Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 24. Matt Reed Madisonville, Texas 25. Bill Lowen Brookville, Ind. 26. Marty Robinson Lyman, S.C. 27. Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 28. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, Idaho
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