Kennedy is in

Steve Kennedy now has at least one reason to celebrate on Championship Saturday after he qualified for the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Kennedy gained the berth after fellow Alabamian Jesse Wiggins won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Southern Open on Lewis Smith Lake. Kennedy missed the Classic qualifying cut from the regular season point standings of Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year. Wiggins triple qualified through the AOY standings and by winning this tournament and the first Southern Open of the season on the Harris Chain of Lakes. His win moved Kennedy into the Classic next March on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

Kennedy learned of his fate while sitting in the stands at Jordan-Hare Stadium, where his University of Auburn Tigers are playing Mississippi State University.

He got the news via a text message from B.A.S.S. Tournament Director Trip Weldon, who ironically is a fan of the University of Alabama.