Clark Wendlandt’s path to the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title became clearer yesterday. But Jake Whitaker has a chance to take the title today. Only 13 points separated Wendlandt and Whitaker coming into Lake Fork. So it comes down to simply this: Whitaker needs to finish 14 places higher in the final standings than Wendlandt.
Entering today, Wendlandt is in 19th place and Whitaker is 27th. If, for instance, Wendlandt drops to 30th place today, and Whitaker rises to 16th, Whitaker would finish the season with 679 points to Wendlandt’s 678. Remember, AOY points are earned based only on the final standings.
Wendlandt does own the tiebreaker, which a difference of 13 places in the standings would require. In full field days of all nine Elite Series tournaments this season (Days 1 and 2), Wendlandt weighed 284 pounds, 15 ounces to Whitaker’s 278-3.