Mike McClelland Slips, Todd Faircloth Controlls AOY
*photo credited: ESPN/BASS
The name of the game is consistency and if you want a shot at the AOY title, consistent is what you must be. You may be able to get a break with one or two 50th place finishes, but if you count on that than you may be left wanting. That is exactly what happened to Mike McClelland after posting a 43rd place finish at the Southern Challenge down on Lake Wheeler in Alabama this past weekend. Even though his 43rd got him paid, the anglers who were in the AOY hunt right behind posted final day cuts.
The door was left wide open for Todd Faircloth to regain the AOY lead that he assumed after the Clarks Hill event. Faircloth posted a 6th place finish at the Lake Wheeler event proving again that he has the skills and ability to be just as consistent as anybody else on tour right now without making any noise by some standards. He is possibly the best angler that some are just waking up to.
Now for the scary part. After the Lake Amistad event, Faircloth was sitting in 2nd place in the AOY standings. Kevin VanDam was 13th. Faircloth’s separation from KVD was 125 points and since the Amistad event, Faircloth has posted a 7th, 38th, and 6th place finish in the 3 events. Still, KVD has managed to narrow Faircloth’s AOY lead down to 18 points putting him in position to take the lead at this weekends Bluegrass Brawl on Kentucky Lake should Faircloth slip.
Looking into the future and with just 4 events left, the stage is being set to treat us all to another AOY points race that may not be decided until day 4 of this year’s final event. Need I say that sitting right behind KVD is one Skeet Reese just 42 points behind him. My only question is, at the end of the year will I be saying, “Faircloth heard the footsteps”?
To view the current standings click here
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POSTED IN: BASS, BASS Elite Series, Miscellaneous
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