Bill Lowen is one of the nicest anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series and the entire sport for that matter, but he may have upset the locals this week at Santee Cooper. Their prized local Elite pro, Patrick Walters, had a consistent week catching 14 pounds and change every day of the event. You may be wondering where Lowen went wrong, though. Lowen and Walters tied for 10th place in weight after three days of competition. You can’t have 11 anglers fishing in the Top 10 cut, so how do you decide who makes it to Championship Sunday? The first tie breaker is based on the largest single day weight. Lowen caught 15-0 on Day 1 and Walters weighed 14-9 on Day 3. That means Lowen wins the tie breaker and bumps Walters to 11th and gives him permission to hang out with the locals on Sunday in Clarendon County.
Lowen isn’t the only one to benefit from the tie breaker though. Counting Lowen and Walters, there were six instances in which the tie breaker was needed this week. The weights are always tight, especially in a tough tournament. Here are the others impacted by one place based on tie breaker.
Matt Herren over Jake Whitaker for 15th place.
Luke Palmer over Brett Preuett for 18th place.
Mike Huff over Koby Kreiger for 26th place.
Caleb Kuphall over Kyle Monti for 53rd place.
Taku Ito over Scott Canterbury for 64th place.