LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — Organizers of the second annual Missouri Invitational Fish and Golf Championship released the final line-up of professional anglers to compete in the 2016 Championship at Old Kinderhook on Lake of the Ozarks, Nov. 16-18.
The 26 professional anglers participating this year were specifically hand-selected by a tournament committee that included www.BassingBob.com founder, Bob Bueltmann, one of the tournaments co-founders and organizers; Bob Renken, executive director of Old Kinderhook, also one of the tournament co-founders and organizers; and a team of Lake of the Ozarks professional anglers. According to Bueltmann, the anglers were specifically selected for invitation based on their fishing status and achievements and the selected pros represent a mix of national, regional and local anglers.
"Our initial invitation list was quite impressive," Bueltmann said. "Of the 100-plus pros we had looked at, there were Bassmaster Classic winners, FLW Champions, Major League Fishing pros and very successful Lake of the Ozarks pros. Â We then whittled the number of competitors down to 26 excellent anglers."
This unique three-day event includes two days of tournament bass fishing on the Lake of the Ozarks, considered by many to be one of the top bass fisheries in the nation, and 18 holes of scramble-format golf on the award-winning Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course at Old Kinderhook. Each fishing pro is paired with an amateur fisherman that has invested $1,000 each to participate in the event. In addition, each fishing team will be assigned a PGA professional golfer for the 18 holes of golf on Thursday, Nov. 17.  The teams will receive the equivalent of two pounds of bass for an eagle, one pound for a birdie and one-half pound for a par. The prize pot for this year is expected to be over $30,000 in cash prizes, including $15,000 for the winning team and $1,000 for the amateur that catches the biggest bass.
According to Renken, the stakes are even higher for the 2016 tournament. "With the high-caliber of anglers we have participating, the competition will be fierce," Renken said. "The national pros will probably have the toughest go of it and will need to bring their 'A' game, as the local and regional anglers have years of experience competing and winning on the Lake of the Ozarks."
Marcus Sykora, FLW All-American winner and one of the most prolific local tournament anglers in recent years, is excited to be participating again for the second year. "This year's line-up of fishermen is as good as it gets. Everyone in this field has the skills and experience to win," Sykora said.
Bueltmann added, "For being just the second year for this event, we have had a tremendous response and are receiving a lot of attention from other anglers and sponsors from around the country. Major sponsors are taking notice, including our local and regional headline sponsors for the 2016 Championship, Redhead Lakeside Grill in Lake Ozark, Ulrich Marine Centers and Extreme Outdoors in Branson and Reeds Spring, Charger Boats of Richland and Lew's Fishing in Springfield."
Below is the final list of participating professional anglers:
Angler | Hometown | Credentials |
David Ryan | Levasy, MO | 1 year on the FLW Pro Tour, 1 FLW win and 8 FLW Top 10 finishes, Many local and regional wins  |
Marcus Sykora | Osage Beach, MO | 2014 FLW All-American Champion, 2nd place finish in 2015 Missouri Fish & Golf Invitational, 9 FLW wins, 34 FLW Top 10 finishes, 1 FLW Cup appearance, hundreds of local and regional wins  |
Mark Wiese | High Ridge, MO | 2015 Missouri Invitational Fish & Golf champion, 100+ Lake of the Ozarks Top 10 finishes, many Lake of the Ozarks wins, 2015 AiA Shoot Out Champion on Table Rock Lake  |
Brent Algeo | Ozark, MO | FLW Pro, 1 FLW wine and 2 FLW Top 10 finishes, multiple Ozarks Lakes wins  |
Dennis Berhorst | Holt Summit, MO | FLW Pro, 10 FLW wins, 50 FLW Top 10 finishes, 2015 FLW Ozarks Angler of the Year, 2015 Lew's Angler of the Year, 100+ local and regional Top 10 finishes  |
Bill Davenport | Waynesville, MO | Fishing legend, 36 years of tournament fishing with over 200+ tournament wins  |
Roger Fitzpatrick | Eldon, MO | FLW Pro, 2015 and 2016 FLW All-American qualifier, 6 FLW wins and 43 FLW Top 10 finishes, 100+ local/regional Top 10 finishes  |
Wayne Fitzpatrick | Osage Beach, MO | 30 years of Lake of the Ozarks tournament fishing, 100+ local/regional Top 10 finishes  |
James Watson | Nixa, MO | 2016 FLW Pro Invitational winner, 7 years on the FLW Pro Tour, 1 FLW win, 9 FLW Top 10 finishes, 2 FLW Cup appearances, Major League Fishing Pro  |
James Dill | Laurie, MO | FLW Regional Tournament Pro, 1 FLW win and 10 Top 10 finishes, 100+ local/regional Top 10 finishes, Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide  |
Jack Uxa | Osage Beach, MO | Top Lake of the Ozarks fishing guide, 8 years of guiding and tournament fishing on the Lake of the Ozarks  |
Brian Maloney | Osage Beach, MO | FLW All-American Champion, TBF National Champion, 2nd place in the 2016 FLW Costa at Lake of the Ozarks  |
Dion Hibdon | Sunrise Beach, MO | FLW Forrest Wood Cup Champion, Bassmaster Classic Champion, 5th place in the 2016 FLW Costa at the Lake of the Ozarks, 4 FLW wins and 23 Top 10 finishes, 100+ local/regional/national Top 10 finishes  |
Payden Hibdon | Sunrise Beach, MO | 5 years as FLW Tour Pro, regional pro and Lake of the Ozarks fishing guide  |
Lawson Hibdon | Versailles, MO | 5 years as FLW Tour Pro, 5 FLW Top 10 finishes, Lake of the Ozarks fishing guide  |
Mike Eusler | Springfield, MO | FLW Pro Angler, 2 career wins and 8 Top 10 finishes, Lew's Fishing Executive  |
Kelly Power | Cape Fair, MO | 2016 FLW Ozarks Table Rock Lake winner, Bassmaster Classic qualifier, 3-time Central Pro-Am Champion, 2-time OMTT Champion, 1 year on the FLW Pro Tour  |
Kevin Short | Mayflower, AR | BASS Elite Series Pro, 3 Bassmaster Classics, 5 Bassmaster Elite Pro wins, 18 Bassmaster Top 10 finishes and Major League Fishing Pro  |
Casey Scanlon | Osage Beach, MO | Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, 1 Bassmaster Classic appearance, 4 Top 10 Bassmaster finishes, 4 FLW Top 10 finishes, Major League Fishing Pro and Lake of the Ozarks fishing guide  |
Terry Blankenship | Osage Beach, MO | Regional Pro, 100+ Lake of the Ozarks Top 10 finishes including Joe Bass, Anglers Choice and Anglers in Action Team Trail tournaments, Lake of the Ozarks fishing guide  |
Terry Bolton | Paducah, KY | 21 years as FLW Tour Pro, 2 FLW wins, 44 Top 10 finishes, 12 FLW Cup appearances, 100+ Top 10 tournament finishes  |
Mike McClelland | Bella Vista, AR | Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, 10 Bassmaster Classic appearances, 7 Bassmaster Elite Series Top 10 finishes, Major League Fishing Pro  |
Stacey King | Reeds Spring, MO | 10 years as FLW Tour Pro, 4 FLW Cup appearances, 10 FLW Top 10 finishes, 12 Bassmaster Classic appearances, 2 Bassmaster Elite wins, 31 Bassmaster Top 10 finishes, member of Bass Fishing Hall of Fame  |
Mark Tucker | Kirkwood, MO | FLW Pro, 1 FLW wins and 8 FLW Top 10 finishes, 2015 FLW All-American qualifier, Bassmaster Classic qualifier, 100+ local/regional tournament wins  |
Scott Ashmore | Broken Arrow, OK | FLW Tour Pro, Bassmaster Elite Series Pro, 1 Bassmaster Classic appearance, 2 Bassmaster Top 10 finishes, Major League Fishing Pro  |
Jeremy Lawyer | Sarcoxie, MO | 2016 FLW All-American Champion, 5th place in 2016 FLW Forrest Wood Cup, 33 FLW Top 10 finishes, 100+ regional wins |
