Rookie Scott Norton Wins
First PBA Tour Title
In Chameleon Championship
California attorney Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, Calif., held court for the first time as a full-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour competitor in the title match of the Chameleon Championship at South Point Bowling Center, and he won his case.
The Chameleon Championship finals – the third of five legs in the PBA World Series of Bowling - aired lastSunday on ESPN but was taped in September.
Norton, a 28-year-old left-hander who passed his California bar exam just a year earlier, delivered a powerful opening statement in his first PBA Tour television appearance, starting the title match with eight strikes before converting a 4-7 spare in the eighth frame in easily defeating Sean Rash of Wichita, Kan., 256-181. Rash had won three consecutive matches to reach the championship contest.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’ve worked a long time for this,” Norton beamed. “It’s an unbelievable, crazy feeling. I was unconscious for a lot of that match.”
The son of Professional Women’s Bowling Association and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Virginia Norton earned his opportunity to bowl as a Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour exempt player for the 2010-11 season by winning the 2009 PBA Regional Players Invitational. This season might be his rookie year as a full-time PBA Tour competitor, but he came into it fully prepared.
“I got to grow up watching my mother bowl, and I got to see her on TV and wondered what that would be like,” he said. “I got to see her inducted into both halls of fame, and I always kinda dreamed and hoped that I could do that someday, too.”
The physical game he learned under his mother’s wing, and the mental game he learned under Team USA sports psychologist Dr. Dean Hinitz after winning the 2000 U.S. Amateur Championship, helped explain his composure as he threw a near-perfect game at Rash.
“I knew I could come out here (on Tour) and compete,” he said. “I knew I could make shots, but sometimes that’s not enough. It just happened to be in the cards today that I was able to make shots and have it work out.
“Seriously, I don’t remember half of that game. I just remember getting up and saying the same things to myself, over and over. I told myself I was going to hit my target, execute and that set the tone. I was really able to stay within myself. I couldn’t see anything to either side. I really thought I was going to have a problem with the lights and people and the camera on the ball return, but when we got started, I didn’t see any of that.. All I saw was the lane and the pins.
“When I got up in the ninth frame, I really wasn’t thinking about 300,” Norton said. “I realized I was going to win and that’s the only thing that was going through my mind.
“Now I know I can compete against these people,” he added. “That show included an amazing group of players who are going to wind up in the hall of fame. To be able to go out there and beat them really meant a lot to me. It really gives me a boost of confidence to know I can do it.”
Rash, who had experienced a series of disappointments on television over the past two seasons, looked almost unbeatable in eliminating Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa, 236-211; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, 227-175; and Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, 235-217. But he couldn’t keep up with Norton’s strike barrage in the title contest.
The Scorpion Championship, the fourth of five World Series of Bowling “animal pattern” events, will air on ESPN next Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Scorpion stepladder finalists will be the first in PBA Tour history with four international competitors and only one United States representative. Finalists are Dan MacLelland, Canada; Yong-Jin Gu, South Korea; Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa.; two-handed specialist Jason Belmonte, Australia, and top qualifier Jun-Yung Kim, South Korea.
Free post-finals interviews and other World Series of Bowling special features are available on PBA’s Xtra Frame video streaming service. Visit pba.com or xtraframe.tv to access Xtra Frame. Full year and monthly subscriptions to Xtra Frame are available.
PEPSI CHAMELEON CHAMPIONSHIP
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 12
Final Standings
1, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., one game (256 pins), $15,000.
2, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., four games (879), $8,000.
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, one game (217), $6,000.
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, one game (175), $5,000.
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, one game (211), $4,000.
Stepladder Results:
Match One: Rash def. Palermaa, 236-211.
Match Two: Rash def. Barnes, 227-175.
Semifinal Match: Rash def. Malott, 235-217.
Championship: Norton def. Rash, 256-181.
The Chameleon Championship finals – the third of five legs in the PBA World Series of Bowling - aired lastSunday on ESPN but was taped in September.
Norton, a 28-year-old left-hander who passed his California bar exam just a year earlier, delivered a powerful opening statement in his first PBA Tour television appearance, starting the title match with eight strikes before converting a 4-7 spare in the eighth frame in easily defeating Sean Rash of Wichita, Kan., 256-181. Rash had won three consecutive matches to reach the championship contest.
“It’s pretty amazing. I’ve worked a long time for this,” Norton beamed. “It’s an unbelievable, crazy feeling. I was unconscious for a lot of that match.”
The son of Professional Women’s Bowling Association and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Virginia Norton earned his opportunity to bowl as a Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour exempt player for the 2010-11 season by winning the 2009 PBA Regional Players Invitational. This season might be his rookie year as a full-time PBA Tour competitor, but he came into it fully prepared.
“I got to grow up watching my mother bowl, and I got to see her on TV and wondered what that would be like,” he said. “I got to see her inducted into both halls of fame, and I always kinda dreamed and hoped that I could do that someday, too.”
The physical game he learned under his mother’s wing, and the mental game he learned under Team USA sports psychologist Dr. Dean Hinitz after winning the 2000 U.S. Amateur Championship, helped explain his composure as he threw a near-perfect game at Rash.
“I knew I could come out here (on Tour) and compete,” he said. “I knew I could make shots, but sometimes that’s not enough. It just happened to be in the cards today that I was able to make shots and have it work out.
“Seriously, I don’t remember half of that game. I just remember getting up and saying the same things to myself, over and over. I told myself I was going to hit my target, execute and that set the tone. I was really able to stay within myself. I couldn’t see anything to either side. I really thought I was going to have a problem with the lights and people and the camera on the ball return, but when we got started, I didn’t see any of that.. All I saw was the lane and the pins.
“When I got up in the ninth frame, I really wasn’t thinking about 300,” Norton said. “I realized I was going to win and that’s the only thing that was going through my mind.
“Now I know I can compete against these people,” he added. “That show included an amazing group of players who are going to wind up in the hall of fame. To be able to go out there and beat them really meant a lot to me. It really gives me a boost of confidence to know I can do it.”
Rash, who had experienced a series of disappointments on television over the past two seasons, looked almost unbeatable in eliminating Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa, 236-211; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, 227-175; and Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, 235-217. But he couldn’t keep up with Norton’s strike barrage in the title contest.
The Scorpion Championship, the fourth of five World Series of Bowling “animal pattern” events, will air on ESPN next Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. The Scorpion stepladder finalists will be the first in PBA Tour history with four international competitors and only one United States representative. Finalists are Dan MacLelland, Canada; Yong-Jin Gu, South Korea; Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa.; two-handed specialist Jason Belmonte, Australia, and top qualifier Jun-Yung Kim, South Korea.
Free post-finals interviews and other World Series of Bowling special features are available on PBA’s Xtra Frame video streaming service. Visit pba.com or xtraframe.tv to access Xtra Frame. Full year and monthly subscriptions to Xtra Frame are available.
PEPSI CHAMELEON CHAMPIONSHIP
South Point Bowling Center, Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 12
Final Standings
1, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., one game (256 pins), $15,000.
2, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., four games (879), $8,000.
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, one game (217), $6,000.
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, one game (175), $5,000.
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, one game (211), $4,000.
Stepladder Results:
Match One: Rash def. Palermaa, 236-211.
Match Two: Rash def. Barnes, 227-175.
Semifinal Match: Rash def. Malott, 235-217.
Championship: Norton def. Rash, 256-181.
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