The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is fast approaching and the field has started to take shape over the past several weeks with the completion of the FLW Tour and Bassmaster Elite Series schedules.
The Top 15 finishers in each tour’s respective Angler of the Year (AOY) standings earned invitations and the balance of the field for the Sept. 28-30 event at Lake Conroe will be comprised of last year’s winner, Keith Combs, four sponsor exemptions and the Top 15 finishers in this year’s PAA Tournament Series AOY standings. The final PAA tournament is slated to get underway Thursday at the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Okla.
However, according to the list of participants published by the PAA, some prominent Elite Series pros will miss this year’s event.
Reigning Elite Series AOY Brent Chapman and 7-time AOY Kevin VanDam confirmed for BassFan today they have prior sponsor commitments and won't be fishing. Skeet Reese, the 2007 AOY, also won’t compete. The trio has accounted for the last six Elite Series AOY titles.
Since Chapman, VanDam and Reese declined invites, additional invitations were extended to Dean Rojas, Cliff Pace and John Crews, Jr. as they were the next eligible anglers in the AOY points. Nate Wellman finished ahead of Pace and Crews in the AOY standings, but he is barred from participating as he continues to serve a 1-year suspension from PAA events.
Below is a list of confirmed participants:
Elite Series qualifiers
> Ott DeFoe
> Terry Scroggins
> Todd Faircloth
> Randy Howell
> Matt Herren
> Edwin Evers
> Bill Lowen
> Aaron Martens
> Bobby Lane
> Greg Hackney
> Chris Lane
> David Walker
> Dean Rojas
> Cliff Pace
> John Crews, Jr.
FLW Tour qualifiers
> David Dudley
> Jacob Powroznik
> Ron Shuffield
> Jim Moynagh
> Cody Meyer
> Luke Clausen
> Bryan Thrift
> J.T. Kenney
> Matt Arey
> Andy Morgan
> Dave Lefebre
> Clifford Pirch
> Wesley Strader
> Clent Davis
> Jim Tutt
2011 Champion
> Keith Combs
