There was no better example of this tournament's make-or-break aspect than James Elam's Day 1 at the Plano Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair. In his third season on the Elite Series, the Tulsa, Okla., angler entered this event smack on the AOY bubble in 50th place. He had to perform if he wanted to advance to the AOY Championship event next month.
With his second-place finish on Day 1, Elam, theoretically, moved up 22 spots in the AOY standings to 28th. That's "theoretical" because those points are based on the Day 1 standings, not the final standings. The "theoretical" points will be recalculated again today based on the rankings after the weigh-in. The points from St. Clair aren't official until the tournament is over, when they are calculated based only on the final standings.
Elam was hardly the only example of the volatility in the AOY standings. Timmy Horton fell as far as Elam climbed, from 40th to 62nd, after placing 105th yesterday. Joining Elam among the risers were Chad Pipkens (59th to 38th), Jonathon VanDam (66th to 47th), Steve Kennedy (52nd to 36th) and Brett Hite (57th to 42nd). Among those sinking in the unofficial AOY standings were Davy Hite (39th to 59th), Terry Scroggins (42nd to 61st), Ott DeFoe (26th to 44th) and Brent Chapman (43rd to 60th).
Again, these points are based on the Day 1 standings, so they aren't official yet. They illustrate a strong trend though. It's a trend some of these guys will have only today in which to turn around, if they're among those sinking.
Bottom line: If you're 20 spots either side of 50th place in the AOY standings, you need to catch 'em today.