PBA SPARE SHOTS.....

PBA Spare Shots

PBA50 SOUTH SHORE OPEN FINALS SET FOR TONIGHT ON XTRA FRAME

Coverage of the stepladder finals of the PBA50 South Shore Open are set to begin at 7:45 p.m. EDT tonight as the countdown to the conclusion of 2017 PBA50 Tour season continues. Among the leaders heading into today’s finals was Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., who is trying to add to his lead in the 2017 PBA50 Player of the Year points race.

Following the finals at Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Ind., the PBA50 Tour wraps up its year with the Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip July 30-Aug. 1 and the DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite Aug. 6-8. The final senior event of the year will be the PBA60 Dick Weber Championship for players 60 and older Aug. 10-12 at Pro Bowl West.

As the curtain comes down on the PBA50 Tour, competition resumes for PBA Tour players with the PBA-PWBA Xtra Frame Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles from Copperfield Bowl in Houston, Texas, July 28-30, which will award PBA and PWBA Tour titles if either/both winners are PBA and/or PWBA members.

Xtra Frame will then follow the women bowlers to Plano, Texas, for the preliminary rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open from Plano Super Bowl Aug. 1-5. The U.S. Women’s Open finals will air live on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, Aug. 6, at noon EDT.

The PBA Xtra Frame Storm Cup will become August’s focal point with the final three events in the 2017 series on tap: the Xtra Frame Chesapeake Open from AMF Western Branch in Chesapeake, Va., Aug. 12-13; the Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic from Mid-County Bowling and Entertainment in Middletown, Del., Aug. 19-20, and the series finale, the Xtra Frame Kenn-Feld Group Classic from Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, Aug. 26-27. Michael Haugen Jr., a leading contender for PBA50 Rookie of the Year honors in 2017, is defending champion in Delaware. The Chesapeake and Coldwater tournaments are new to the PBA Xtra Frame Tour schedule. EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind. (53 points) will take a narrow lead over England’s Dom Barrett andMarshall Kent of Yakima, Wash. (46 points each) into the final three events in the Xtra Frame Storm Cup series, which will award the top five players with shares of $50,000 in bonus prize money.

For live streaming time and other details, check under the “schedules” tab on pba.com. Xtra Frame subscription packages are available for three days, 30 days and a full year. To sign up, visit xtraframe.tv for details.

PBA fans also can follow real-time results for PBA50, PBA Xtra Frame Tour and all PBA Regional events by visiting the “live scoring” feature on pba.com or by downloading the new PBA app on Apple devices. PWBA live scoring is available on pwba.com.

Xtra Frame subscribers also are invited to tune in to a special “PBA Perspective” feature in which 2017 Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles champions Kyle Troup and Jesper Svenssonshare their insights about their victory over EJ Tackett and Marshall Kent at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. Next up for release in this series will be Francois Lavoie taking Xtra Frame subscribers through his 2016 U.S. Open victory. That feature will make its Xtra Frame debut on August 2.

INTERNATIONAL, U.S. PBA STARS SHINE IN WORLD GAMES

PBA members on both the men’s and women’s sides starred in the medal rounds of the 2017 World Games, an international competition for sports that are not included on the Olympic Games program, last week in Wroclaw, Poland. The bowling program included singles and doubles events for both genders.

In the men’s competition, Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz won the silver medal in singles, losing to Korea’s Youngseon Cho in the two-game title match, 483-435. Germany’s Tobias Bording was bronze medalist. In doubles, 2016 PBA Rookie of the Year Francois Lavoie and former PBA member Dan MacLelland won the gold medal over Ruiz and Venezuelan teammate Massimiliano Fridegotto, 972-935. Hong Kong’s Siu Hong Wu and Michael Mak won bronze.

American stars Tommy Jones and Marshall Kent were eliminated in the quarterfinal round in doubles. Jones also made it to the quarterfinals in singles before he was eliminated. Kent didn’t make it into the 16-man elimination rounds.

In women’s singles, Germany’s Laura Beuthner defeated PBA champion Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., 509-372 in the title match while Colombia’s Clara Guerrero took bronze. Guerrero and fellow PBA member Rocio Restrepo earned gold for Colombia in doubles, defeating the U.S. team of Kulick and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., 922-875. Mexico’s Tannya Lopez andSandra Gongora won the bronze medal.

PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: KLINGLER UPSETS TACKETT FOR SECOND PBA TITLE

Andrew Klingler of Grand Rapids, Mich., won his second PBA title in style Sunday, defeating reigning PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind. by 55 pins to win the Angola Central/Midwest Open at Angola Bowl in Angola, Ind.

Klingler, a 25-year-old second-year PBA member, finished with a 5-3 match play record and a total of 4,816 pins for 21 games, including match play bonus pins, to upset Tackett and a field including several PBA Tour title-winners for the $2,600 first prize.

● A day after celebrating his 23rd birthday, Anthony Caso won his first PBA title in his hometown center Sunday, defeating PBA Tour titlist Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Fla., to win the 29th PBA Crystal Automotive Spring Hill South Open in Spring Hill, Fla.

Caso, a third-year PBA member, spoiled Daugherty’s run at defending his Spring Hill title by defeating Daugherty in the championship match, 244-225. The no. 3 qualifier for the stepladder, Caso took care of Jason Sterner of Rockledge, Fla., in his first match, 279-221, and then defeated Chris Arcaro of Carolina Beach, N.C., 268-203, to advance to the title match. Caso earned $2,500 along with his title in the PBA South Region’s longest-running tournament.

● Bob Leonard of Lockwood, N.Y. recorded an 8-0 match play record to win the PBA50 Investors Bank Open at Parkway Lanes Saturday for his first PBA title, and Liz Kuhlkin of Rotterdam, N.Y., completed the weekend program at Parkway Lanes with a victory in the PBA-PWBA Investors Bank Open in Elmwood Park, N.J., on Sunday.

Leonard, an 18-year PBA member, qualified ninth in the 52-man field. He moved steadily through the field but did not take the lead until position round where he retained his perfect match play record for a 101-pin victory over runner-up Sammy Ventura of Norwich, N.Y. The victory was worth $1,500.

In Sunday’s women’s event, Kuhlkin compiled a 4-2 match play record to outscore Jennifer Russo of Monmouth Junction, N.J., by 50 pins to win her second PBA-PWBA Women’s Regional title and a $1,700 prize. Kuhlkin won last season’s East Region PBA-PWBA event in Hornell, N.Y.

Russo, a non-member, finished with a 5-1 match play record and earned $925 as the runner-up. USBC Hall of Famer and New Jersey native Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, was third, another 63 pins behind Russo.

● Keith Lesko of Chicago began the title match of the Beverly Lanes PBA50 Midwest Regional Open with eight straight strikes, routing top qualifier Patrick Shipley of Spring Valley, Calif., 279-165, to win his second PBA50 regional title in three weeks Sunday in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Lesko, who won a pair of PBA South Region titles in 2001 and 2003 before taking an extended sabbatical from PBA competition, advanced to the title match by getting past Chris Keane of Cape Coral, Fla., 215-194, in the semifinal match after Keane eliminated defending champ Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Township, Mich., 236-225, in the opening game of the stepladder finals.

● Mike Bailey of Irving, Texas, dominated the match play finals of the eighth annual PBA Fort Sill Southwest Open, presented by DV8, Sunday at Twin Oaks Bowling Center in Fort Sill, Okla., to win his fifth PBA Southwest Region title.

Bailey opened the tournament with a 290 game and built his tournament lead to 73 pins after the 13 games of qualifying. Losing his first match in the modified eight-game round robin finals allowed 2014 USBC Queens champion Maria Rodriguez of Colombia to take a one-pin lead, but Bailey rebounded by winning five of his next six matches to build an insurmountable 272-pin lead heading into position round. Amateur Jack Zuniga of Tulsa, Okla., beat Bailey in the final match, 244-237, to retain second place but Bailey earned the $2,500 winner’s check with a 5,114 total.

● Cameron Weier of Tacoma, Wash.; Hugh Miller of Mercer Island, Wash., and Catherine Rawsthorne of Federal Way, Wash., were victorious in a PBA Northwest Region tripleheader at Secoma Lanes in Federal Way Sunday.

Weier posted a 10-2 match play record and a 20-game total of 5,181 pins, including match play bonus pins, to win Sunday’s Secoma Lanes Open, a standard PBA Northwest/ West Regional event, by 144 pins over Darren Tang of San Francisco. Weier’s performance included a trio of 300s (including back-to-back) in match play on his way to the $2,500 first-place check.

Miller won the PBA50 portion of the tripleheader with a 6-5-1 match play record and 5,075 total pins, beating Robert Harvey of Boise, Idaho by 262 pins for the $1,500 first prize.

Rawsthorne had a 4-4 match play record and knocked down 3,499 total pins for her 16 games to top Lori Eskew of Hillsboro, Ore., for the win in the PBA/PWBA women’s event to earn the $1,000 prize. Eskew had 3,417 pins.

● Paul McCordic of Sugar Land, Texas, defeated PBA Hall of Famer Tom Baker of King, N.C. by 50 pins to win the PBA50 Fairborn Central Classic at Bowl 10 Fairborn in Fairborn, Ohio, on Thursday, July 20. McCordic averaged 218.7 for the tournament to claim his second PBA50 regional title along with the $1,500 first prize.

In a unique format, the top 14 players after qualifying bowled 10 games of round robin match play where the winner received 10 bonus pins. After the final position round match, the top four advanced to a two-game final round where bonus pins were awarded based on score. The top scorer received 12 bonus pins, second place received eight bonus pins, third four bonus pins and fourth received no bonus pins.

● Closing the July regional schedule are the PBA Japan Region’s first events of 2017, the PBA Chameleon Open on July 23 followed by the Women’s Chameleon Championship on July 30, both at Shinsayama Grand Bowl in Sayama.

● PBA’s August regional calendar gets underway over the Aug. 4-6 weekend with the PBA50 Progressive/Gerdman Insurance Agency/Al Smith Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep Central/Midwest Classic at Al-Mar Colonial Lanes in Bowling Green, Ohio; the Bowlers Supply/Storm Products Open at Colony Park Lanes North in York, Pa.; the Boss Snow Plows/Ebonite Central Open at PinHeads in Fishers, Ind., and the Poplar Creek Bowl Midwest Open presented by Columbia 300 in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

● A mid-week event for PBA50 players – the PBA50 Pro Bowl West Central/Midwest Shootout – is set for Aug. 9 in Fort Wayne, Ind.

● The Greater Richmond Central Open at Richmond 40 Bowl in Richmond, Ind., a one-day event on Aug. 13, is the lone regional event over the Aug. 11-13 weekend.

● The Aug. 18-20 PBA Regional calendar includes the Emerald Bowl Houston Southwest Challenge for non-title winners plus the PBA-PWBA Emerald Bowl Southwest Open in Houston, Texas, for women, and the Dave Husted Northwest Open presented by 900 Global at Husted’s Milwaukie Bowl in Milwaukie, Ore.

● Closing out the August schedule will be the PBA60 Wilson & Sons Super Senior Open presented by the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C., followed immediately by the PBA50 Samuel Adams South Open presented by the Mooresville Convention and Visitors Bureau at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C.

● The Labor Day weekend calendar of PBA Regional action includes the PBA50 Strike Zone Open presented by Track in Pottsville, Pa.; the Tony Reyes Memorial Member/Non-Member Doubles at Fourth Street Bowl in San Jose, Calif.; the Illinois Valley Midwest Open at IV Super Bowl in Peru, Ill., and the DHC Japan PBA Doubles Open, Japan Cheetah Masters and Japan Cheetah Queens at Nagoya Grand Bowl in Nagoya, Japan.

● 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:

● Tim Pierce of Portland, Ore., went from embarrassed to elated in record time Tuesday morning in the PBA50 South Shore Open. On his first shot of the tournament at Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Ind., the 62-year-old Pierce left the dreaded 5-7-10 split. On his second shot, he converted the “lily” for a spare. It’s extremely rare for PBA competitors (of any age) to leave the 5-7-10…but it’s even more rare to convert the spare.