Before last week, about the only things David Williams had in common with Hank Parker was they were both bass anglers and both hailed from the small town of Maiden, N.C.
In a couple months, Williams will be able to add another item to the list: The two will have also fished the Bassmaster Classic.
"Everybody's always compared me to him," Williams said of Parker. "That's a lot of reputation to live up to. You don't want to come out of the same town as Michael Jordan."
Parker, of course, won two Classics (1979, '89) during his tournament heyday. At this point, Williams is just thankful for the opportunity to compete at the highest level after he earned an invitation as the winner of last week's Bassmaster Weekend Series Championship at Lake Norman in Cornelius, N.C.
Fishing his home water, Williams averaged about 10 1/2 pounds a day and weighed the biggest bag on day 4 to clinch the title and unseat two-time defending champion Jeff Coble, who finished 2nd.
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