"Consistency is everything out here," said Walker, who has amassed more than half a million dollars in winnings and earned a record 33 top-10 finishes in his FLW Outdoors career. "It's just great to be able to do this against the caliber of anglers that fish the FLW Series. I'm proud to be a part of Team BP, and I couldn't do this without the support of my wife and daughter. They travel with me everywhere I go. It's great to have them along."
Walker started the 2007 FLW Series season off by finishing 62nd at Lake Okeechobee in January. At the Series' next stop, on Lake Dardanelle in May, he finished third. Walker then finished the season out with a 27th place effort on Lake Champlain in September and a 24th place showing at Pickwick Lake last week.
Fritts, who holds the FLW Tour record for wins with four, including three in a single season, almost took the title away from Walker by finishing 20th at Pickwick. Had he finished just three places higher, he would have won.
As the Eastern Division Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year, Walker will lead the division's top 30 pros into the FLW Series Fish-Off where they will face the top 30 pros from the National Guard Western Division in three days of head-to-head competition to determine who will advance to the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup. Walker, the No. 1 BP Eastern Division pro, will face the No. 30 National Guard Western Division pro and the No. 1 Western Division pro will face Dion Hibdon of Stover, Mo., the No. 30 Eastern Division pro. The No. 2 qualifiers will face the No. 29 qualifiers, etc. The winners of these head-to- head match-ups will proceed to the Forrest Wood Cup along with the top 30 co- anglers based on accumulated weight at the Fish-Off. The pro with the heaviest overall weight will also earn $25,000, and the co-angler with the heaviest overall weight will earn $5,000.
The Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year title in each division of the FLW Series is determined by the total accumulated points from four regular-season events. Two hundred points are awarded for a win, 199 for second, 198 for third, etc.
Land O'Lakes Angler of the Year honors and Fish-Off qualifiers in the National Guard Western Division will be determined following the division's final tournament Oct. 24-27 on Clear Lake in Kelseyville, Calif. The location of the Fish-Off, which will be held Feb. 7-9, 2008, will also be announced immediately following this event.
Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.
Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, visit FLWOutdoors.com or call (270) 252-1000.
Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division Fish-Off Qualifiers
Place Name City, State Points
1 DAVID WALKER SEVIERVILLE, TN 688
2 DAVID FRITTS LEXINGTON, NC 686
3 PAT FISHER BUCKHEAD, GA 659
4 KOBY KREIGER OKEECHOBEE, FL 659
5 JT KENNEY DAYTONA BEACH, FL 636
6 CLARK WENDLANDT LEANDER, TX 633
7 DAVID DUDLEY LYNCHBURG, VA 632
8 DAVE LEFEBRE UNION CITY, PA 625
9 STEVE KENNEDY AUBURN, AL 624
10 JOEL RICHARDSON KERNERSVILLE, NC 619
11 GLENN BROWNE OCALA, FL 617
12 GREG BOHANNAN ROGERS, AR 616
13 KEITH MONSON BURGIN, KY 610
14 SCOTT MARTIN CLEWISTON, FL 600
15 DAN MOREHEAD PADUCAH, KY 599
16 TOMMY BIFFLE WAGONER, OK 597
17 MATT HERREN TRUSSVILLE, AL 593
18 MARK ROSE MARION, AR 590
19 JIM TUTT LONGVIEW, TX 590
20 KYLE MABREY MCCALLA, AL 590
21 CHRIS BAUMGARDNER GASTONIA, NC 588
22 ANDY MORGAN DAYTON, TN 584
23 JOE THOMAS MILFORD, OH 582
24 TERRY BOLTON PADUCAH, KY 576
25 DEREK REMITZ MADISON, AL 573
26 LARRY NIXON BEE BRANCH, AR 571
27 KEVIN BISHOP HILTON, NY 571
28 KIP CARTER LOGANVILLE, GA 570
29 ART FERGUSON III ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI 568
30 DION HIBDON STOVER, MO 568
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