All today's drama in the Toyota AOY Championship centers on the final Bassmaster Classic berths being decided. Well, pretty much decided. The Classic qualifiers currently extends down to No. 40 on the season-long AOY points list. It could grow a place or two depending on the outcome of the remaining Bass Pro Shops Opens.
That's clear enough. Where it gets murky is trying to figure out where a certain angler must finish today in order to be in the top 40 in AOY points. Steve Kennedy is a smart guy. He says he was voted "most intellectual," or something like that, in his high school senior class because he never made less than 100% on a math test. He has an engineering degree from Auburn University.
Kennedy is one of the "bubble boys." He came into the tournament 44th in the AOY standings. So Kennedy did some math before the tournament using the results of last year's AOY Championship at Escanaba, Mich. By his accounting, it would take somewhere between 483 and 479 points to qualify. So that 480 figure we've been working from jibes with his math.
But after Day 1 at Sturgeon Bay, the mythical/unofficial points based on Thursday's standings showed 40th place at 469 points. Then after Day 2, 40th in unofficial points moved up to 475 points. Kennedy thinks it will end up today, officially, somewhere closer to what he projected.
However, it's when Kennedy tried to plot where he'd have to finish to make the top 40 that even his ciphering skills failed to produce a clear answer. There are just too many variables concerning where the other 49 anglers finish in this tournament.
"I couldn't do the math," Kennedy said. "It ultimately comes down to my performance."
In other words, as Maddie & Tae sing, it's time to "Shut Up And Fish."