Chris Barnes

CHRIS BARNES NAILS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Columbia 300 staff player, Chris Barnes, has found himself in the ultimate winner’s circle this season, capturing the 2007-2008 Denny’s PBA Player of the Year award. Barnes, who solidified the win today with 64 points, joins an illustrious list of Columbia 300 bowlers who have previously won this season-ending honor, most notably Dave Ferraro, David Ozio, Marshall Holman, Mark Roth and Don Johnson.“We made the decision to sign Chris a few years ago knowing that he had the talent and skills to be the best bowler in the world and it’s nice to say he has achieved this goal as a member of the Team Columbia family while using our great products,” said Chad Murphy, Columbia 300 brand manager and good friend of Barnes’. “He is at the top of the sport and I’m excited for him and his family.”Barnes joined the PBA in 1998 and, by all accounts, has had one of the most successful careers on record. Winning two titles this year, the Don Johnson Buckeye State Open earlier this month and the Bayer Classic in February, he’s got ten titles to his name and currently holds the record as the fastest bowler to cross the $1 million mark in earnings in the shortest number of events (220) and in just four years. Since joining the Columbia 300 team four years ago he has taken home five events including two Majors and two Roll to Riches as well. The 1998 Rookie of the Year, Barnes says that winning the 2008 Player of the Year is especially meaningful.“After ten years on Tour, it’s a thrill to win Player of the Year. In a year when Columbia 300 has reinvented and reintroduced itself to the industry, I have no doubt that the new balls are a huge part of my success this year. Being with Columbia is like being a part of a family; like I have ownership as well.”Barnes has relied on the Columbia 300 Resurgence and the new Momentum heavily this season. “If you had told me that I would win this award, I wouldn’t have believed you. Walter Ray Williams had such a huge lead at the beginning of the season it seemed impossible to catch him. I just went out there and tried to bowl consistently well week in and week out and the Momentum was released and things fell into place for me.”Barnes says the Resurgence was great during the first half of the season when conditions were really heavy. And, since the Momentum’s release, he has used it almost exclusively in every single tournament.“This award is really more of a testament to the work behind the scenes that Chad, Randy Teitloff and Ron Hickland have put into the ball design and development. You know it’s like taking knives to a gunfight. You don’t win too often. This year I’ve had bigger guns.”Barnes was officially named the Player of the Year during Sunday’s telecast at the 65th Denny’s U.S. Open.Based in Hopkinsville, Kent., Ebonite International is a privately-owned company that currently services bowling centers, distributors and retail outlets both domestically and internationally. The company's consumer product brands include Ebonite, Hammer, Robby's, Columbia 300 and Track. Its commercial product brands are Ebonite VanTech Capital Equipment, Vantage Genuine Parts, Ebonite Bowling Center Direct and Powerhouse™.