PBA Spare Shots
GEICO PBA WORLD SERIES OF BOWLING IX CLOSING IN ON INTERNATIONAL RECORD
With
the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Reno
Properties, less than two months away, the early entry list is closing
in on the WSOB record for international representation with PBA members
from 19 countries already on the roster, just four shy of the record set
last year in Reno.
More
than 120 entries are already on file from bowlers representing
Australia, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Finland,
Germany, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico,
South Africa, Sweden, Thailand and Venezuela as well as the United
States.
Ramon Hilferink will be the first bowler from The Netherlands to bowl in the World Series.
WSOB
IX will begin on Nov. 7 and conclude with a series of finals Nov. 18-19
for delayed telecast on ESPN (all of the finals will be live-streamed
on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app). The World Series, open exclusively to
PBA members, will include the PBA Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark
animal pattern events, all leading into the PBA World Championship. The
multi-event program also will include a USA vs. The World team match
featuring the five top U.S. and five top international qualifiers based
on composite scores from the four animal pattern events, and the 2017
World Bowling Tour Men’s and Women’s Finals, presented by the PBA, which
will feature the three leaders in competition points from a global
series of tournaments in each gender division.
PBA
Regional Challenge and PBA50 Tour Challenge events will kick off the
World Series on Nov. 7, and will be covered exclusively by Xtra Frame,
PBA’s online video streaming channel, which also will provide live
coverage of all preliminary rounds of WSOB competition.
All
PBA members are reminded that a lodging confirmation from one of
Eldorado Reno Properties (Silver Legacy, Eldorado or Circus Circus) is
required at the time of entry. Special World Series room rates also are
available to fans, and news media and bowling industry representatives.
To make room reservations, use one of the following links:
XTRA FRAME’S NEWEST “PBA PLAYER PERSPECTIVE” FEATURES ANTHONY SIMONSEN
Anthony Simonsen’s
historic victory in the 2016 USBC Masters at age 19 is the newest “PBA
Player Perspective” feature on PBA’s Xtra Frame online video streaming
channel. In the exclusive Xtra Frame feature that debuted on Wednesday,
Simonsen shares his insight on becoming the youngest player in history
to win a PBA Tour major title in his victory over Canada’s Dan MacLelland in the 2016 Masters from Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.
A
new PBA Player Perspective is being unveiled every other week,
exclusively available to Xtra Frame subscribers along with hundreds of
hours of additional content, including PBA tournament archives,
interviews, bowling instruction, discussions about bowling equipment and
more. To sign up for an Xtra Frame subscription, visit xtraframe.tv.
PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: RAY EDWARDS WINS A THRILLER IN SCHENECTADY
Ray Edwards of Middle Island, N.Y. rolled three clutch strikes in the 10th frame to achieve a 279 tie in the final match against Rick Graham
of Lancaster, Pa., preserving his 12-pin lead and earning his 23rd PBA
Regional title in the PBA50 Towne Bowling Academy Open in Schenectady,
N.Y., Sunday.
Edwards
entered the position round finale with a 12-pin lead over Graham. With
the 30 bonus pins awarded to the match winner, whoever won the match won
the title. Both players started with six strikes before Graham left a
10 pin. Edwards posted a seventh strike before leaving a 4 pin.
Graham,
who finished first, struck out to force Edwards to match his effort and
split the 30 bonus pins, which he did to finish with an eight-game
total of 2,054 pins. The reigning East Region PBA50 Player of the Year
won his second title of the season, making him the leading candidate to
retain his PBA50 POY title and earn his fifth overall East Region POY
award. He also took home the $1,500 first prize.
Graham, who turned 50 in August, won $850 as the runner-up. Harry Sullins
of Chesterfield Township, Mich., who rolled the only 300 game of the
event, trailed Edwards by only 30 pins going into the position round
game, but could not overcome the 279-279 match between the two leaders.
He finished third and earned $800.
● Former University of Kansas star Dylan Burns from Lawrence, Kan., defeated 17-year old Trey Ford III
of Bartlesville, Okla., 205-167, to win the fourth annual PBA Grand
Casino Resort & Hotel Southwest Invitational at FireLake Bowling
Center in Shawnee, Okla., Sunday.
Burns,
who won the 2014 PBA Lakewood Southwest Open as an amateur, earned his
first PBA Regional title by avoiding open frames to topple the Oklahoma
teenager to claim the $4,000 winner’s check.
After
12 games of qualifying, both Burns and Ford had long roads to the final
match. Neither earned any byes in the elimination finals as Burns
qualified 11th and Ford slipped into the finals with a 257 in his final
game to grab the last spot in the 16-man finals. Burns started his road
to victory by edging Brett Cooper of Fort Worth, Texas, 2-1 in the best-of-three-game Round of 16. He then defeated Anthony Lavery-Spahr of Pasadena, Texas; Sean Lavery-Spahr, also of Pasadena, and Mike Bailey from Irving, Texas, in his ensuing single-elimination matches.
Ford, who began bowling in PBA competition as a 13-year-old amateur, advanced to the finals with elimination match wins over Andy Patterson of Tyler, Texas; Beau Peterson from Newton, Kan.; fellow two-hander Shawn Maldonado of Houston, and Devin Bidwell
of Wichita, Kan., before Burns ended his bid for his first PBA title.
Ford, who joined the PBA in 2016 at age 16, earned $2,500 for second
place.
As part of the tournament weekend, Dallas native Chris Warren of Grants Pass, Ore., and South Plains Lanes general manager/proprietor Jimmy (Jimbo) Evans of Lubbock, Texas, were inducted into the PBA Southwest Region Hall of Fame.
● Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio defeated Ryan Ciminelli
of Cheektowaga, N.Y. by 130 pins to win the PBA Autism Awareness
Central Open presented by K&R Mower Derby at Astro Lanes in
Wapakoneta, Ohio, Sunday.
Loschetter
finished with a 10-2 match play record and a total of 5,120 pins for 20
games, including match play bonus pins, to win the $3,300 first place
prize and his 14th PBA Regional title.
● Amateur Russ Oviatt defeated Jakob Butturff,
250-239, in a battle of Tempe, Ariz., bowlers to win the PBA West
Aquimo Open presented by Columbia 300 at Mesa East Bowl in Mesa, Ariz.,
Sunday.
Oviatt,
who earned $2,500 for his win, does not receive credit as a regional
champion because he isn’t a PBA member. He defeated Josh Blanchard of Mesa, 212-187, to set up the title match after Blanchard eliminated Ronnie Russell of Marion, Ind., 184-156, in the opening match of the stepladder finals.
● Nick Kruml of Downers Grove, Ill., defeated Mitch Beasley
of Clarksville, Tenn., 245-147, to win the PBA Diamond Jo Midwest Open
at Cherry Lanes Sunday in Dubuque, Iowa. Kruml, a PBA rookie, won his
first PBA title along with the $1,800 first prize.
Beasley defeated amateur Collin Smith of Huron, S.D., 210-204, to advance to the championship match. In the first stepladder match, Beasley edged another amateur, Bryan Hahlen of Greenwood, S.C., 235-171.
In the PBA-PWBA segment of the tournament, Jodi Gawlik of Schaumburg posted an eight-game total of 1,697 pins to defeat Nichole DePaul-Miller of Plano, Ill., by 98 pins for the $1,200 first prize.
●
September 15-17 PBA Regional events will include the PBA Rex &
Griffin Bigelow Memorial/M&D Blacktop/BW3’s Central Open presented
by Hammer at Troy Bowl in Troy, Ohio; the PBA Century Lanes Hampton
South Open in Hampton, Va., and the PBA and PBA50 Ken & Kathy Fowler
Auto Centers West/Northwest Opens doubleheader at Yokayo Bowling Center
in Ukiah, Calif.
●
The PBA Regional calendar for the Sept. 22-24 weekend includes the
PBA/PBA50 Millsboro Lanes Doubles in Millsboro, Del.; the Florence
Bowling Center Central Open in Florence, Ky.; the PBA50 Rocky Mount
South Open at Rocky Mount (Va.) Bowling Center; the Liberal Kansas
Southwest Open at Ayr Lanes; the PBA and PBA50 Mockingbird Lanes
doubleheader in Omaha, Neb., and the PBA West/Northwest TSI Inc. Open
presented by Onsite Express at Paradise Lanes in Tacoma, Wash.
●
The PBA Regional schedule for the Sept. 29-Oct. 1 weekend includes the
PBA50 Mel Westrich Memorial Central/Midwest Open at Delphos Recreation
in Delphos, Ohio; the PBA50 Spartanburg South Open at Paradise Lanes in
Spartanburg, S.C., and the Killeen Southwest Open at Hallmark Lanes in
Killeen, Texas.
●
For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit
pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on PBA Regional Tours to
find the event(s) in your area…and remember, you can follow “live
scoring” for all PBA Regional events on pba. com (easily accessible for
Apple device users using the new PBA app).
QUICK NOTES
● Ebonite International has named PBA Tour titlist Dave Wodka
as the company's new Global Marketing Manager. Wodka, who owns one PBA
Tour and 21 PBA Regional titles, will work closely with the EBI team to
drive the company’s brands worldwide.
● As a tribute to his grandfather, PBA member Andy Varipapa II of Brookeville, Md., has created a comprehensive website (www.andyvaripapa.com)
that chronicles the life of the legendary showman and trick shot artist
from the 1930s until his death in 1984 at age 93. Although Varipapa was
68 when the PBA was founded, his passion for the organization and the
sport is clearly outlined in his grandson’s extensive collection of
articles, photos, testimonials and more. A lengthy interview with
Varipapa II, conducted during the 2016 PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro
Shop Classic is included in PBA’s Xtra Frame archives.
