At every Championship Sunday on the Elite Series I enjoy studying the top 12 to see what kind of mix of guys made it. Today's is really diverse and full of surprises. It's got a great mix of veterans – Evers, Jones, Iaconelli, Reese, Davis and Hackney. Young guys Bertrand, Ledoux (who makes the first Top 12 in his three year career), Card, Powroznik and Feider, a true rookie. And Combs is somewhere in the middle.
Out of that group only Bertrand made the Top 12 when we were here in 2013.
How many of the Top 12 are considered smallmouth guys? Maybe Bertrand, Ike, Powroznik and Feider.
And here are the states these anglers represent today: OK, AZ, TX, NJ,OK, CA, TN, VA, MN, AR, LA, and TX.
Is it the most surprising Top 12 of the year? For my money it is. What do you think?