Kevin VanDam's 57th place finish at the recent Pickwick Bassmaster Elite Series dropped him eight places to 38th in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year (AOY) race. Few expect him to stay there, but the significance is that he's currently outside the Bassmaster Classic cutoff, and if this were the end of the season instead of the midway point, KVD's only entry into the 2011 Classic would be via the defending champion's exemption.
That means only the Top 36 in the AOY race would gain Classic berths, and that 36th spot is currently held by rookie Bradley Roy. You likely could've gotten some long odds on a preseason wager that a teenager would've compiled more points than the five-time AOY with half the campaign in the books.
If the season had ended Sunday, the first angler out of the Classic would be Californian Ish Monroe, who's made a solid comeback over the last two events after opening up with two highly disappointing finishes in his home state. Monroe has fared extremely well in his return to the FLW Tour – he's 8th on that points list with three of five events complete.
Winner Kevin Short made the biggest climb on the points list at Pickwick, jumping 40 places to 34th. Fifth-place Pickwick finisher Skeet Reese nearly doubled his already-massive lead and he's now 153 points ahead of No. 2 Greg Hackney.
To see the updated standings, click here.
