KVD Clinches AOY

He didn’t realize how difficult a Bassmaster Elite Series season with two victories could be, but Friday, Elite pro Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., put the ups and downs behind him as he was named the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year. VanDam endured a seasonlong fight with Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, but overtook Faircloth on Day 2 of the Champion’s Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide on Oneida Lake to claim his fourth Bassmaster Angler of the Year award.

To claim the title and the $250,000 top prize, VanDam, 40, had to overcome several discouraging finishes in the 11-event Bassmaster Elite Series season. Despite being the only pro with two wins on the circuit this year, he came perilously close to losing out on the AOY title.

Going into the season finale here on Oneida Lake, VanDam had five top-10 finishes and made the top-50 cut in all but one tournament, the Battle on the Border at Texas’ Lake Amistad, where he finished 56th.

VanDam started the year with a third-place showing at the 2008 Bassmaster Classic, which doesn’t count toward the Angler of the Year standings. He opened the regular season with a decent 31st-place finish at the March 6-9 Sunshine Showdown at the Harris Chain of Lakes out of Leesburg, Fla., but followed that up with his first victory of 2008, in the Citrus Slam on the Kissimmee Chain out of Lake Wales, Fla.

“I have to thank my family and my sponsors,” VanDam said from the BASS weigh-in stage where he accepted his trophy Friday from Tom Ricks, Vice President and General Manager, BASS. “And BASS has done a really phenomenal job to give us a platform like the Elite Series, to go out here and follow our dreams.

“There are a lot of young, aspiring anglers here, the Junior World Championship is going to go this weekend. Those kids want to be up here, they want to do this, this is the top level of professional bass fishing, and BASS has made it this way, and ESPN. I am just so excited to be here.”

The AOY points lead ping-ponged among VanDam, Faircloth and Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Ark., who won the season opener. The chase eventually was narrowed to Faircloth and VanDam as Faircloth remained consistent throughout the season and VanDam claimed a second victory, this time at the Bluegrass Brawl on Kentucky Lake out of Gilbertsville, Ky.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet, I can’t believe it,” VanDam said Friday after raising his fourth Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophy. “I knew this week would be critical and Todd has not had a bad tournament all year. For both of us to stumble yesterday, I was really disappointed. I thought I’d blown it, but I knew I had a second chance, I knew I had to make it happen. It’s a relief.”

Faircloth fought VanDam to the end, winning the Battle on the Border – ironically the one event in which VanDam stumbled out of the top 50 – but VanDam’s legendary determination and competitiveness gave him the edge.

“I found some deep fish during practice, I really wish I wouldn’t have even found them. It really messed with my head throughout this tournament,” said Faircloth, whose second-place finish in the AOY points was the best effort of his career. “That’s fishing. You can’t bank on anything.

“This would’ve been a really big deal for me in my career. The Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title is a good deal to have on your resume. I was real close, and wish the outcome would’ve been a little bit different. But I had a really good year, I don’t have anything to hang my head about.”

A full list of the finalized standings will be available after the Champion’s Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide ends Sunday.

BASS Updates AOY Standings

BASS officials released today the updated 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points standings. An error in the computing process lead to an incorrect allocation of points to some Bassmaster Elite Series anglers, and the standings have since been updated.

As a result, Kansas’ Brent Chapman moves from 23rd to 22nd place in the standings; Alabama’s Timmy Horton moves from 24th to 23rd; Alabama’s Kotaro Kiriyama from 22nd to 24th; New York’s Matt Sphar from 70th to 68th; Texan James Niggemeyer from 68th to 69th; Missouri’s Mark Tucker from 69th to 70th; Florida’s Preston Clark from 85th to 84th; and Texan Corey Waldrop moves from 84th to 85th.

The race for the 2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year title heated up dramatically in June at the ninth tournament of the 11-event season, the Tennessee Triumph presented by Longhorn on Old Hickory Lake out of Hendersonville, Tenn. Just 12 points separate leader Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., from Todd Faircloth of Jasper, Texas, in second place, and fifth-place angler Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu, Ariz., is just 234 points behind VanDam.

The top 36 Elite pros in the AOY standings will automatically qualify for the 2009 Bassmaster Classic, set for Feb. 20-22 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.

The complete list of updated standings is below.

2008 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Standings

—————————————————————
Place Name Hometown Points
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1 Kevin VanDam Kalamazoo, Mich. 2254
2 Todd Faircloth Jasper, Texas 2238
3 Mike McClelland Bella Vista, Ark. 2139
4 Skeet Reese Auburn, Calif. 2118
5 Dean Rojas Lake Havasu City, Ariz. 2020
6 Alton Jones Waco, Texas 2019
7 Edwin Evers Talala, Okla. 1973
8 Terry Scroggins San Mateo, Fla. 1953
9 Scott Rook Little Rock, Ark. 1939
10 Randy Howell Springville, Ala. 1908
11 Steve Kennedy Auburn, Ala. 1895
12 Kenyon Hill Norman, Okla. 1880
13 Mark Davis Mount Ida, Ark. 1840
14 Bobby Lane Lakeland, Fla. 1836
15 Bryan Hudgins Orange Park, Fla. 1834
16 Brian Snowden Reeds Spring, Mo. 1820
17 Bill Lowen North Bend, Ohio 1784
18 Dustin Wilks Rocky Mount, N.C. 1769
19 Byron Velvick Del Rio, Texas 1757
20 Aaron Martens Leeds, Ala. 1739
20 Kelly Jordon Mineola, Texas 1739
22 Brent Chapman Lake Quivira, Kan. 1719
23 Timmy Horton Muscle Shoals, Ala. 1716
24 Kotaro Kiriyama Moody, Ala. 1713
25 Morizo Shimizu Osaka, Japan 1712
26 Michael Iaconelli Runnemede, N.J. 1711
27 Fred Roumbanis Bixby, Okla. 1709
28 Jason Quinn York, S.C. 1694
29 Gary Klein Weatherford, Texas 1691
30 Kevin Wirth Crestwood, Ky. 1688
31 Casey Ashley Donalds, S.C. 1684
32 Peter E Thliveros St Augustine, Fla. 1681
33 Shaw E Grigsby Gainesville, Fla. 1670
34 Denny Brauer Camdenton, Mo. 1666
35 Dave Wolak Wake Forest, N.C. 1652
36 Davy Hite Ninety Six, S.C. 1649
37 Rick Morris Virginia Beach, Va. 1644
38 Britt Myers Lake Wylie, S.C. 1639
39 Bernie Schultz Gainesville, Fla. 1622
40 Ish Monroe Hughson, Calif. 1619
41 Jason Williamson Aiken, S.C. 1615
42 Derek Remitz Grant, Ala. 1609
43 Rick Clunn Ava, Mo. 1607
44 Jared Lintner Arroyo Grande, Calif. 1604
45 Marty Stone Fayetteville, N.C. 1600
46 Chris Lane Lakeland, Fla. 1586
47 Gerald Swindle Warrior, Ala. 1578
48 Mark Menendez Paducah, Ky. 1572
49 Jeff Kriet Ardmore, Okla. 1568
50 Kevin F Short Mayflower, Ark. 1560
51 Boyd Duckett Demopolis, Ala. 1556
52 Ray Sedgwick Cross, S.C. 1550
53 Bradley Hallman Norman, Okla. 1548
54 Greg Hackney Gonzales, La. 1529
55 Scott Campbell Springfield, Mo. 1526
56 Tommy Biffle Wagoner, Okla. 1521
57 Matt Reed Madisonville, Texas 1488
58 Takahiro Omori Emory, Texas 1457
58 Terry Butcher Talala, Okla. 1457
60 Cliff Pace Petal, Miss. 1444
61 Jeff Reynolds Idabel, Okla. 1439
62 Jami Fralick Martin, S.D. 1435
63 Jeff Connella Bentley, La. 1429
64 Wade Grooms Bonneau, S.C. 1427
65 Mike Wurm Hot Springs, Ark. 1414
66 Russ Lane Prattville, Ala. 1413
67 John Murray Phoenix, Ariz. 1411
67 Matthew Sphar Pavilion, N.Y. 1411
69 James Niggemeyer Van, Texas 1398
70 Mark Tucker Saint Louis, Mo. 1397
71 Jeremy Starks Charleston, W.Va. 1394
72 Kevin Langill Terrell, N.C. 1371
73 Jon Bondy Windsor, Canada 1368
74 John Crews Salem, Va. 1365
75 Stephen Browning Hot Springs, Ark. 1356
76 Paul Elias Laurel, Miss. 1352
76 Grant Goldbeck Gaithersburg, Md. 1352
78 Brian Clark Haltom City, Texas 1348
79 Todd Auten Lake Wylie, S.C. 1328
80 Clark Reehm Russellville, Ark. 1320
81 Yusuke Miyazaki Forney, Texas 1291
82 Billy Brewer Bruceville, Texas 1280
83 Jim Murray Arabi, Ga. 1271
84 Preston Clark Palatka, Fla. 1268
85 Corey Waldrop Fort Worth, Texas 1266
86 David Smith Del City, Okla. 1261
87 Jimmy Mize Ben Lomond, Ark. 1258
88 Zell Rowland Montgomery, Texas 1254
89 Pat Golden High Point, N.C. 1244
90 Marty Robinson Lyman, S.C. 1239
91 Mark Tyler Vian, Okla. 1238
92 Ken D Cook Lawton, Okla. 1193
93 Ben Matsubu Hemphill, Texas 1188
94 Kurt Dove Fairfax, Va. 1185
95 Glenn Delong Bellville, Ohio 1173
96 Steve Daniel Clewiston, Fla. 1160
97 Jay Fuller Kingston, Okla. 1154
98 Charlie Hartley Grove City, Ohio 1141
99 Guy Eaker Cherryville, N.C. 1138
100 Elton Luce Brookeland, Texas 1091
100 Pete Ponds Madison, Miss. 1091
102 James Kennedy Lacombe, La. 994
103 David Sherrer Shreveport, La. 993
104 Rick Ash Pottstown, Pa. 977
105 Randy Allen Shreveport, La. 914
105 Greg Gutierrez Red Bluff, Calif. 914
107 Matt Amedeo Clinton, Ohio 875
108 Paul Hirosky Guys Mills, Pa. 845
109 Bobby Myers Broken Arrow, Okla. 438