HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - May 5, 2003 - With one event remaining on the 2003 Bassmaster Tour, Texan Alton Jones continues to cling to his one-point lead in the BASS Angler of the Year race.
Jones, who entered the event one point ahead of Louisiana's Roger Boler, now finds himself checking the rearview mirror for reigning Bassmaster Classic Champion Jay Yelas. Boler fell back slightly at the Lake Hamilton event to third, eight points behind Jones' lead, but can easily make up that ground if he finishes more than eight places ahead of Jones at the season finale in Montgomery, Ala.
With Bassmaster Classic berths locked up for the top 13 anglers in the standings, the season finale looks to be a shootout among the top five anglers, who still have realistic chances at taking home the $100,000 bonus from Busch Beer and the title.
Among the anglers who simply need to catch a single fish in Montgomery to make the Classic is Arkansas' Ron Shuffield, who claimed his seventh BASS victory on Lake Hamilton Sunday. Shuffield edged out Ohio's Joe Thomas and fellow Arkansan Mark Davis for the victory on a fishery that is just 15 minutes from his home. With the win, Shuffield moves past Roland Martin to eighth on the all-time money list with $962,696 and needs just $38,000 to become the eighth member of the BASS Millionaires club.
The Rookie of the Year and Horizon award winners will also be decided at the season-ending event. Arizona's Mark Kile has all but locked up the Rookie of the Year award with a commanding 65-point lead over second place Jeff Reynolds. In order to clinch the award, Kile needs to weigh one bass on the Alabama River. The Horizon award is still up for grabs, with three anglers tied for the top spot on the list.
TELEVISION
A special telecast of "The Bassmasters" will air on Sunday, May 18 from 5-6 p.m. ET. The original airing will chronicle event 9 of 10 on the Bassmaster Tour, on Lake Hamilton in Arkansas.
2003 BASS ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS (After nine events)
001 Alton Jones Texas 1290 002 Jay Yelas Texas 1289 003 Roger Boler La. 1282 004 Mark Davis Ark. 1271 005 Shaw E Grigsby, Jr Fla. 1266 006 John Murray Ariz. 1254 007 Mike Wurm Ark. 1238 008 Mark Kile Ariz. 1233 009 Bud Pruitt Texas 1229 010 Kelly Jordon Texas 1216
2003 CITGO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS (After nine events)
1. Mark Kile AZ 1233 2. Jeff Reynolds OK 1168 2. Mike Reynolds CA 1161 4. Jay Kendrick TN 1146 5. Chad Morgenthaler IL 1066 6. Matt Reed TX 1034 7. Terry Scroggins FL 1024 8. Lance Vick TX 1003 9. Pete Ponds MS 996 10. Dennis Kolender CA 801
2003 HORIZON AWARD STANDINGS (After nine events)
1. Boler, Roger La. 98 1. Bitter, Jim Fla. 98 1. Shuffield, Ron Ark. 98 4. Omori, Takahiro Texas 94 5. Loper, Tim Miss. 92 6. Wade, Jack Tenn. 89 7. Lytle, Curt Va. 88 8. Tyler, Mark Ca. 85 8. Grigsby, Shaw Fla. 85 10. Stiles, Tommy Tenn. 81
BASS SPONSOR EXPO
An added attraction for fans attending Bassmaster Tour events in 2003 is the BASS Sponsor Expo.
Thousands of fans have attended the sponsor expo, which is completely free and takes place from noon until 5 p.m. on Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at each Tour stop. The expo provides fans a chance to interact with top pro anglers, learn about product offerings, participate in interactive exhibits and also provides activities for children so the whole family can enjoy a trip to the weigh-in festivities.
COMPLETE BASS ANGLER OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
*001 Alton Jones Texas 1290 *002 Jay Yelas Texas 1289 *003 Roger Boler La. 1282 *004 Mark Davis Ark. 1271 *005 Shaw E Grigsby Jr Fla. 1266 *006 John Murray Ariz. 1254 *007 Mike Wurm Ark. 1238 *008 Mark Kile Ariz. 1233 *009 Bud Pruitt Texas 1229 *010 Kelly Jordon Texas 1216 *011 Skeet Reese Calif. 1213 *012 Zell Rowland Texas 1210 *013 Gary Klein Texas 1207 014 Kevin VanDam Mich. 1201 015 Elton Luce Jr. Texas 1200 016 Dustin Wilks N.C. 1180 017 Jeff Reynolds Okla. 1168 018 Mike Reynolds Calif. 1161 019 Tom Mann, Jr. Ga. 1154 020 Ishama Monroe Calif. 1150 021 Jay Kendrick Tenn. 1146 022 Brent Chapman Kan. 1144 023 Todd Faircloth Texas 1140 024 Jeff Kriet Okla. 1137 025 Ron Shuffield Ark. 1123 026 Harold Allen Texas 1118 027 Randy Howell Ala. 1114 028 Jim Bitter Fla. 1098 029 Peter E. Thliveros Fla. 1096 030 Tim Horton Ala. 1078 031 Edwin Evers Okla. 1076 032 Kevin Wirth Ky. 1074 033 Curt Lytle Va. 1073 034 Kenyon Hill Okla. 1069 035 Chad Morgenthaler Ill. 1066 036 Jack L. Wade Tenn. 1062 037 Tommy Stiles Tenn. 1059 038 Joe Thomas Ohio 1056 039 Roland Martin Fla. 1047 039 Mark Menendez Ky. 1047 039 Gerald Swindle Ala. 1047 042 Matt Reed Texas 1034 043 Jimmy D. Mize Ark. 1029 044 Takahiro Omori Texas 1026 045 Terry Scroggins Fla. 1024 046 Allen Armour Ga. 1020 047 Mark Tyler Calif. 1012 048 David Wharton Texas 1010 049 Lance Vick Texas 1003 050 Pete Ponds Miss. 996 * indicates angler has clinched a berth in this summer's CITGO Bassmaster Classic.