FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DUDLEY WINS $500,000 AS WAL-MART FLW TOUR CHAMPION
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 13, 2003) – Castrol pro David Dudley, 28, entered
the $1.5 million Wal-Mart FLW Tour World Championship of Bass Fishing
presented by Castrol as FLW Outdoors’ all-time leading money winner,
thanks in large part to a $700,000 victory last year at the Ranger M1
tournament. He added a cool half million to his grand total Saturday and
became king of the James River, narrowly beating Yamaha pro Harmon Davis
of Marlow, Okla., to claim the largest championship prize in the history
of bass fishing – $500,000 cash.
More than 8,000 spectators were on their feet as the Dudley-Davis
matchup came down to a scant 2 pounds, 6 ounces. Unbeknownst to the
crowd, Davis had weighed in all of his fish – four bass weighing 9
pounds, 4 ounces – and Dudley’s fifth and final fish weighed in at 2
pounds, 9 ounces to claim the win by a thrilling 3-ounce margin, a
victory that had Dudley almost too moved to speak. His limit of five
bass weighed in at 9 pounds, 7 ounces.
“That sure is a lot of money to be fishing for,” said Dudley, who was
born and raised in Virginia and was thus familiar with the
Commonwealth’s tidal waters. “I didn’t want to practice as much as
normal because I figured things would be changing, and I learned more
and more every day. God’s in control, and he doesn’t make mistakes. It’s
amazing what can happen when you put your trust in God.”
Dudley began his FLW Tour career in 1996, the circuit’s inaugural
year. He enjoyed his best year on the FLW Tour to date in 2003, coming
in second in the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year race to enter the
tournament as the No. 2 seed. Dudley is no stranger to championship
events, having qualified for seven in eight years on tour. Before
Saturday’s win, his crowning achievement was the historic $700,000 win
on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta at the Ranger M1 tournament in March 2002.
“Any time you’re in this type of tournament with pressure of this
magnitude, you learn how to deal with it,” said Dudley, who became a
first-time father less than two months ago. “It feels great.”
During the opening round, Dudley eliminated No. 47 seed Jim Moynagh
of Carver, Minn., with a two-day total of 12 pounds, 1 ounce. He then
picked off No. 23 seed Rick Lillegard in the semifinal round with a
five-bass limit weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces. The win is his eighth
career FLW Tour top-10 finish. Dudley is also a formidable competitor on
other FLW Outdoors tournament trails, including the EverStart Series and
the Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League. He scored an EverStart Northern
Division win on Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion in June.
Dudley caught all of his bass during the semifinal and final rounds
along a shallow flat at the mouth of the Appomattox using a 1/2-ounce
Rabbit Dog spinner bait in chartreuse and white. “I culled three times
today and broke two off,” Dudley said. “It’s the only time all year that
I broke anything off, and I was very upset. I did not think that I had
it won. By my calculations, it was going to take 13 pounds, and I was a
long way from that.”
Before beginning his assault on the all-time money winner’s list last
season and amassing $1.2 million in winnings in just two seasons, Dudley
was struggling to get by, living from paycheck to paycheck and fishing
tournaments from a 1997 Ranger 461 that he affectionately calls “The
Green Monster.” His fortunes changed in 2001 when he signed with Castrol
midway through the season. “It was definitely a turning point,” Dudley
said. “They’ve been behind me and had faith in what I can do.”
To put things in perspective, Chevy pro Larry Nixon from Bee Branch,
Ark., was the first angler to reach a million dollars in tournament
earnings, and it took him nearly a dozen years to do it. “Larry earned
every bit of his million, and I’m not going to say that I haven’t, but
if the payouts had been the same, he would have won millions more,”
Dudley said. “It just shows the growth of the sport, and we got into it
at the right time.”
Davis earned $75,000 for his second-place run, his first career
top-10 finish on the FLW Tour. “It’s very exciting,” said Davis, who
advanced to the FLW Tour via the EverStart Series, where he was the
Central Division points champion in 2001. “You look at these 12
(finalists), and they’re guys I idolize. It’s just incredible. The tide
was so messed up and so high, but I had been catching them pretty good
on a crankbait. Every day I was fortunate to catch a couple of keepers
early.”
Davis finished the year in the 19th position and defeated No. 30 seed
Aaron Martens of Castaic, Calif., to advance to the semifinals, where he
overcame No. 43 seed Keith Williams of Conway, Ark., to earn a coveted
final-round slot.
Dudley caught the lone limit in a tough day of fishing for a field
dominated by veterans. Nixon blanked on the final day, as did Yamaha pro
Greg Hackney of Gonzales, La., who won the Shop-Vac Clean Sweep Award
for catching the heaviest amount of weight over the first three days of
the tournament.
Local angler John Crews of Jetersville received rousing support from
the packed crowd in the Greater Richmond Convention Center but caught
only one bass for 2 pounds, 7 ounces to finish eighth. He earned $24,000
for the finish.
“I was fishing low-water places, but it just wasn’t happening,” said
Crews, a Yamaha pro with two years’ experience on the FLW Tour. “This
was anybody’s tournament, and we all had to go out there and adjust to
the fish.”
Rob Kilby of Hot Springs, Ark., caught three bass weighing 5 pounds,
15 ounces for $40,800 to claim third. Finishing fourth was Cody Bird of
Granbury, Texas, with two bass weighing 3 pounds, 15 ounces that earned
him $35,000. Earning the $30,000 fifth-place cash award was 7 UP pro
Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind., with a three-bass catch weighing 3
pounds, 10 ounces. Chevy pro Kevin VanDam caught two bass weighing 2
pounds, 14 ounces to finish sixth and earn $28,000, and Jimmy Millsaps
of Canton, Ga., earned $26,000 and a seventh-place finish with two bass
weighing 2 pounds, 14 ounces. With Crews in eighth place, Kellogg’s pro
Alvin Shaw of State Road, N.C., finished ninth and earned $22,000 with
one bass weighing 1 pound, 6 ounces. Paul Elias of Pachuta, Miss.,
claimed the No. 10 spot and $20,000 with one bass weighing 15 ounces.
Nixon finished 11th for $19,000 and Hackney finished 12th for $18,000.
Ties are broken by end-of-season ranking.
The tournament began Wednesday at Osborne Marina with the top 48 pros
based on year-end points standings competing head-to-head in a unique
bracket-style format. During the two-day opening round, the No. 1 seed
competed against the No. 48 seed, the No. 2 seed competed against the
No. 47 seed, and so on. Following Thursday’s competition, the field was
cut to 24, and pros continued head-to-head competition for one day to
earn one of 12 final-round slots. During Saturday’s final round, the 12
anglers competed against the entire field.
Co-angler competition concluded Friday, with Ken Keirsey of Owasso,
Okla., earning $25,000 as the Co-angler Division champion. Co-anglers
competed against their entire field for two days, after which the field
was cut to the top 24. Keirsey caught four bass weighing 6 pounds, 14
ounces to defeat second-place finisher Bret Bell of O’Fallon, Mo., by 1
pound, 14 ounces.
Surrounding the event was a world-class outdoor show held at the
Greater Richmond Convention Center, site of daily weigh-ins. The outdoor
show featured more than 150,000 square feet of exhibits. The event
concluded with a concert featuring country music star Andy Griggs.
Coverage of the Wal-Mart FLW Tour World Championship of Bass Fishing
will be featured on the “FLW Outdoors” television show, which is
broadcast to 55 million subscribers on the Outdoor Life Network. The
program features fishing legends Hank Parker and Larry Nixon alongside
hosts Charlie Evans, Carlton Wing and Taylor Carr. Parker’s preview of
the championship will air Sunday at noon CST. Tournament highlights from
the championship will air Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. CST and Sept. 21 at noon
CST followed by a tournament recap featuring Nixon Sept. 27 and 28.
Wal-Mart and many of America’s most respected companies support FLW
Outdoors and its six tournament trails. Wal-Mart has been the title
sponsor of FLW Outdoors since 1997. For a complete list of FLW Outdoors
sponsors and for more information about the premier products and
services they offer, please visit FLWOutdoors.com.
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