After reading Jeff Coble's BassFan Opinion on the B.A.S.S. Federation fishermen's place at the BASSMASTERS Classic, which apparently is anywhere but on the podium, I started considering the whole process towards getting a chance to fish the Classic. I understand his perspective and partially agree. Yet the more I looked, the more muddied B.A.S.S.'s thinking appeared.

I'm a former golf professional, and while I have noticed many similarities between the professional golf and fishing tours, it is the differences between the two -- in how their levels of competition are divided, and how the pros are qualified for their respective events and championships -- which stand out so curiously clear.

The first thing which grabbed my attention was the place of the Open Divisions in the process. It struck me as peculiar that the Opens are a venue for qualifying for the BASSMASTERS Classic. It seems particularly odd to me that an angler can qualify for the next year's BASSMASTERS Classic in the preceding year.

This is as strange to me, as it would be for the PGA Tour to announce that players who accumulated a certain number of points on the Buy.com Tour (the PGA's supplemental league) would qualify to play in the PGA Championship, or any of the Majors for that matter. While the Buy.com Tour has fabulous players, they are not of the same overall caliber of those on the PGA Tour.

Likewise, many gifted anglers fish and win BASSMASTER Open events. But I believe it is safe to say that the overall ability of the Open anglers does not compare with those from the BASSMASTER Tour. That notwithstanding, I believe the Opens have an important place, just not one which directly contributes to the Classic field.

I also think it's simply unfair to offer Open spots to anglers who compete as "semi-pros" against "tour pros," especially for as big of an opportunity as qualifying for the Classic. The odds are stacked against the semi-pro anglers, who make up the main source of competition and income for the Opens.

I don't think it's right for BASSMASTER Tour pros to blow into town, with basically nothing at risk, riding their sponsor's ticket and entry fees, fishing in Opens against the semi-pros, who are putting up their own savings with little hope of getting anything back but expenditure receipts. It's almost as though the Opens are there just to milk the semi-pros dry. The exempt anglers, meaning tour pros, simply should not be allowed into the Opens.

A Solution

What I propose is this: Like the Buy.com Tour does for golf, use the Opens to only allow for new professionals to attain exempt Tour status and to permit the pros who have fallen from the exempt Top 100 to regain their Tour status. And take the Opens' Classic qualifier spots and use them to expand the Tour by five spots per division.

This could also be an opportunity for the Classic to expand its field by the same number of total openings and generate a little more excitement. Promote the Opens then, with their own corporate partners, as the future of professional angling, like the PGA Tour does with the Buy.com Tour.

I think another interesting addition to the BASSMASTER Tour would be to introduce an Open Qualifier at each tour stop, as the PGA does. This is a great occasion to generate local excitement, by allowing locals to compete for a couple of tournament spots while adding to the event's coffers via the entry fees. It's a lot of fun, and while it's the longest of longshots, it's another chance at "the dream," provides for good PR and assures local press coverage.

Another aspect of tournament competition B.A.S.S. could learn from the PGA Tour is in using the tour stops as a means for contributing charity to the hosting communities, through donations from corporate sponsors, the attending public and from having a pro-am, where the fishing fans put up entry fees to fish with tour pros. Like the PGA stops, you compete, have a dinner and award prizes. After allowing for the pro's expenses and time, there would be a nice contribution remaining to be made for the local charity. And as in golf, the pro-am can really help young and the struggling pros make ends meet.

Unlike the other professional sports, golf and fishing represent what most people understand in their own lives. For these competitors, there's no big guaranteed contract, paying out millions of dollars a year regardless of performance. These guys only make what they win. Week in and week out, these are independent contractors who are working hard for every fish, and for every paycheck. This should be a great source of pride for the sport and is another great marketing point.

'Club Pros' and Federation Anglers

Back to the "Big Question," though. I liken the "who should fish the Classic" debate to the one which arises every year during the PGA Championship when "club pros" are allocated spots in the field earned in sectional competition. Some of the "tour pros" have complained over the years about losing spots to players who "have no real chance" of winning.

That's true. Few club pros ever even make the cut anymore. But the PGA is smart enough to remember that the club pro is the backbone of the industry.

The club pros are where the daily contact begins and ends with the public. The club pros work very hard, and if they can earn a spot, competing against their peers, into the PGA Championship, it is a reward well-earned. Most tour pros are happy to have club pros along for one week of the year because many know that the only line between being a club pro and a tour pro is not one of talent, but one of good fortune. It's a "but by the grace of God go I" humility.

When asked about possibly losing a spot to a club pro, many a tour pro who just missed being qualified for the PGA has stated that he would begrudge the club pro nothing. "I'll just have to play better next year," is the sentiment usually expressed. I should think it would be the same regarding Federation qualifiers and the Classic championship.

The "Federation pros" are where B.A.S.S. begins and ends, both financially and spiritually. Like the golf club pros, the Federation anglers are the ones who do the dirty nuts and bolts work which provides the support and platform for the Tour pros. It is the hard work of keeping things going that is rewarded by Federation anglers fishing in the Classic.

As with the PGA, all B.A.S.S. members at all levels should remember that allowing for the "common man" -- in this case, Federation qualifiers -- is not about taking spots away from tour pros. It's about giving someone their due. It's about rewarding a job well done. It's about one more chance at the dream.

Don't forget either that without the Federation entries, fishing would have never had the tragic but wonderful story of the 1994 Classic winner, Bryan Kerchal, or Dalton Bobo's heartbreak in 1997, where his 4-ounce penalty turned into a one ounce victory for Dion Hibdon.

Mostly, it seems, allowing Federation anglers to compete in the Classic is about virtues all too rarely seen in our current chest-thumping, fist-pumping, the "world is my platform" culture. Allowing the Federation pros in is about those things often first lost in the face of success: gratitude and humility. Keep in touch with reality. Keep the Federation qualifiers in the Classic.

John Agel is a former mini-tour and teaching golf professional, currently employed as a tech-rep for a major golf equipment manufacturer. Truth be told, he'd rather be chasing bass than birdies. He's also starting up a fishing- centered non-profit organization for challenged and at-risk youths.