Walter Ray Williams Jr. Wins PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open

For 12th Career PBA50 Tour Title

Hall of Famer beats Sammy Ventura 288-205 in title match

to move into tie for second on PBA50 all-time win list

CLEARWATER, Fla. (April 17, 2019) – PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, won the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open Wednesday for his 12th career title on PBA’s tour for players 50 and over, moving him into a tie for second on the all-time titles list with three other players.

In the first tournament of the 2019 season, the 59-year-old Williams beat finals top qualifier Sammy Ventura of Syracuse, N.Y., 288-205, in the title match at Maple Country Lanes to tie Tom Baker, Gary Dickinson and Dale Eagle on the all-time list. John Handegard holds the record of 14 PBA50 Tour titles.

Technical difficulties prevented the finals from airing live on FloBowling but the stream will be archived for later viewing on www.flobowling.com.

“I wasn’t really bowling well in qualifying until I made some ball changes later in the tournament where I could play outside and go straighter to the pocket,” said Williams, who had to battle all the way from the cashers round. “I started getting a much better ball reaction as the tournament went on. I was finally able to get to the pocket and then it was just a matter of getting all the pins to go down.”

In the semi-final match, Williams, who qualified second for the finals, also dominated by beating 2017 PBA50 Player of the Year Brian LeClair of Albany, New York, 277-225.

LeClair, the 2017 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open winner, started the finals by beating No. 4 qualifier PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida, 10-9, in a one-ball roll-off after tying the match 237-237.  LeClair then went on to beat No. 3 qualifier Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio, 238-213, to advance to the semifinal against Williams. Duke was trying for his sixth career PBA50 Tour title and Kretzer his second.

With his win, Williams, the PBA Tour’s all-time titles leader with 47 wins, moved a step closer to becoming the all-time leader on both of PBA’s national tours.

“If I’m going to challenge that record I’m going to need to get going,” said Williams. “The senior tour keeps getting better and better which means it’s going to be much harder to get the wins.”

Williams’ last win on the PBA50 Tour came in the 2017 USBC Senior Masters. He finished second three times in 2018 including the Johnny Petraglia BVL Open which was held at Farmingdale Lanes in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Ventura’s second-place finish was his career best on the PBA50 Tour eclipsing his previous best of third in the 2017 Race City Open.

The PBA50 Tour heads to The Villages, Florida for the first major of the season when Spanish Springs Lanes hosts the PBA50 National Championship April 22-26.

PBA50 JOHNNY PETRAGLIA BVL OPEN

Presented by Lucas Magazine and Brunswick

Maple Country Lanes, Clearwater, Fla., Wednesday

Final Standings:

1, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., $7,500.

2, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., $4,000.

3, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., $3,000.

4, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, $2,500.

5, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., $2,000.

Stepladder Results:

Match One – LeClair def. Duke, 237-237, LeClair won roll-off 10-9.

Match Two – LeClair def. Kretzer, 238-213.

Semifinal Match – Williams def. LeClair, 277-225.

Championship Match – Williams, def. Ventura, 288-205.

Match Play Round 2 (after six games, including match play bonus pins. Top five advance to stepladder finals)

1, ss-Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 5-1, 1,646.
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 6-0, 1,619.
3, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 4-2, 1,595.
4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-2, 1,582.
5, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 4-2, 1,558.
6, (tie) ss-James Storts, Westfield, Ind., 5-1, 1,528, and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 4-2, 1,528, $1,600.
8, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 2-4, 1,481, $1,600.
9, (tie) Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2-4, 1,461, and Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 4-2, 1,461, $1,400.
11, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1-5, 1,399, $1,400.
12, Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 2-4, 1,398, $1,400.
13, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 2-4, 1,391, $1,400.
14, Joe Scarborough, Charlotte, N.C., 1-5, 1,384, $1,400.
15, Steve Kenyon, Grosse Ile., Mich., 1-5, 1,235, $1,400.
16, Robert Leonard, Lockwood, N.Y., 1-5, 1,155, $1,400.

Match Play Round 1 (After five games, including match play bonus pins)

17, ss-Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 4-1, 1,206, $1,250.

18, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 2-3, 1,192, $1,250.

19, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 4-1, 1,187, $1,250.

20, (tie) Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 2-3, 1,182, and Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2-3, 1,182, $1,250.

22, Steve Hoskins, New Port Richey, Fla., 3-2, 1,151, $1,250.

23, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-3, 1,142, $1,250.

24, Brian Menini, Brookfield, Mo., 2-3, 1,122, $1,250.

25, Don Herrington, Ballston Lake, N.Y., 2-3, 1,100, $1,150.

26, ss-William Peters, Dayton, Ohio, 1-4, 1,092, $1,150.

27, Keith Lesko, Prosper, Texas, 1-4, 1,078, $1,150.

28, (tie) Michael Duran, Banning, Calif., 2-3, 1,058, and ss-Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 1-4, 1,058, $1,150.

30, ss-George Gomez, Orlando, Fla., 1-4, 1,052, $1,150.

31, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 1-4, 1,018, $1,150.

32, Tony Rodriguez Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 0-5, 1,008, $1,150.

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers round)

33, ss-Lee Brosius, Ashburn, Va., 1,136, $1,100.
34, Rolando Sebelen, Dominican Republic, $1,100.
35, Doug Becker, Clermont, Fla., 1,134, $1,100.
36, ss-Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1,133, $1,100.
37, Joel Carlson, Omaha, Neb., 1,132, $1,100.
38, Paul Fleming, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1,122, $1,100.
39, ss-Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 1,112, $1,100.
40, John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, 1,111, $1,100.
41, n,ss-Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 1,110, $1,100.
42, Darin Hays, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,109, $1,100.
43, ss-Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 1,096, $1,100.
44, Warren Eales, Chandler, Ariz., 1,085, $1,050.
45, Carlos Denot, Mexico, 1,077, $1,050.
46, ss-Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,073, $1,050.
47, ss-Johnny Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,069, $1,050.
48, ss-Pete DiChiara, Ardsley, N.Y., 1,067, $1,050.
49, ss-Jim Pitts, Elmira, N.Y., 1,066, $1,050.
50, Ricky Schissler, Brighton, Colo., 1,051, $1,050.
51, Ralph Brunt Jr., Jensen Beach, Fla., 1,050, $1,050.
52, James Campbell, Clearwater, Fla., 1,042, $1,050.
53, ss-Chris Fedden, Albany, N.Y., 1,033, $1,000.
54, ss-Kerry Fulford, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1,030, $1,000.
55, ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1,026, $1,000.
56, ss-Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 1,023, $1,000.
57, ss-Mike Mineman, St Louis, 1,019, $1,000.
58, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 1,016, $1,000.
59, ss-Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1,000, $1,000.
60, David Taylor, Largo, Fla., 355, $1,000.

n-non-member

ss-PBA60 player ages 60 years and older