Zelger, Banks Win in PBA Regional Events
Two PBA Regional events took place this past weekend. The PBA East Region Ft. Meade Senior Open took place in Fort Meade, Maryland. The PBA South Region Kernersville, NC Senior Open took place in Kernersville, North Carolina.
In the Ft. Meade Senior Open, David Zelger jumped out and took the lead in qualifying with a score of 1861 (+261, 232.625 Average). Zelger finished with a 7-2 overall record, defeating Bob Caruso in the finals to win the tournament. Dennis Erion and Darryl Bower finished in third and fourth. This event was bowled on PBA Senior Pattern #1.
Tom Baker led qualifying in the South Region Kernersville, NC Senior Open. Baker finished qualifying with a score of 1943 (+343, 242.88 Average). William Banks finished with a 10-2 match play record to take over the lead by over 200 pins over the second place finisher, Timothy Kauble. Frank Gallo, Jr. and Bobby Johnson finished in third and fourth. This event was bowled on PBA Senior Pattern #4.
Scroggins Wins Don Johnson Eliminator
The finals of the PBA Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator started off with Osku Palermaa leading the first game, but it soon showed that didn’t mean much in the format of this event. The first game had Palermaa leading with a 233 game. Brian Kretzer had a 211, Mike Scroggins had a 203, and Wes Malott was low with 195. Malott was eliminated during this round. The next game had Scroggins leading with a 254 game. Brian Kretzer was close behind with a 245, while Palermaa fell short with a 211 and was eliminated. The finals had Scroggins and Kretzer facing off. Scroggins won the match by a score of 206-195.
This is Mike Scroggins’ 8th career title and his 1st this season. Scroggins also won the USBC Red, White, and Blue tournament, but that event was not a PBA event. Scroggins won this event while using a Columbia 300 Full Swing and a Total Bedlam. See which equipment the other pros were using on my InTheBag page for the Don Johnson Eliminator.
TV Finals Set for PBA Don Johnson Eliminator
The TV finals field has been set for the PBA Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator. The final four players advancing are Osku Palermaa, Wes Malott, Brian Kretzer, and Mike Scroggins. Sean Rash had led the tournament throughout qualifying, but was eliminated in the group led by Palermaa. This event is being held on the PBA Chameleon pattern.
The scoring pace for this event has been fairly high, with most bowlers averaging over 200 for the week. The 14-game cut score to the top 30 bowlers was 3034 (+234, 216.71 Average). The 28-game cut to the top 16 was 6162 (+562, 220.07 Average). Once bowlers reached the round of 16, they were put into groups of four. In each round, they bowled a 3-game series and eliminated the lowest bowler in each group. This eliminated four bowlers in each round, until we now reach the final four.
The TV finals will have all four bowlers facing off in the first game. Three games will be bowled, with one bowler being eliminated after each game. The TV finals will air live on ESPN at 12:30 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, March 7, 2010.
PBA Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator TQR Results
The PBA Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator is taking place this week in Columbus, Ohio. The Tour Qualifying Round took place this week. Bowlers bowled 8 games in the TQR with he top 9 bowlers advancing into the tournament this week. Bill Oatman led the qualifier with a score of 1846 (+246, 230.75 Average). Other bowlers in the top 5 include Jesse Buss (1844), Eddie Graham (1801), Scott Newell (1793), and Joe Bailey (1768). Others making the cut include Anthony LaCaze (1752), Chad Kloss (1749), Liz Johnson (1747), and Andres Gomez (1739). The cut score was 1739 (+139, 217.38 Average).
This tournament is being bowled on the PBA Chameleon pattern. The eliminator will begin on Thursday, March 4, with the TV Finals airing live on ESPN on Sunday, March 7.
Kasimakis, Frankos Win Regionals Over the Weekend
Two PBA regional tournaments took place last weekend. The PBA Central/Midwest Region Eastown Recreation Center Open took place in Jasper, Indiana. The PBA West Region Jackson Rancheria Classic took place in Sutter Creek, California.
The PBA Central/Midwest Region Eastown Recreation Center Open was bowled on the PBA Cheetah pattern. This event had 86 bowlers and a $2400 first prize. It took a cut score of 1808 (+208, 226 Average) to make the top 16 for matchplay. Jason Sterner led qualifying with a score of 2019 (+419, 252.37 Average). Rudy Kasimakis ran over the field in matchplay, finishing with a 7-1 record, defeating David Traber in the finals. Traber finished in second, with Tim Paul, Jr. and Billy Oatman in third and fourth.
The PBA West Region Jackson Rancheria Classic was also bowled on the PBA Cheetah pattern. This event had 96 bowlers and a first prize of $2500. The top 32 bowlers advanced to matchplay with a cut score of 1714 (+114, 214.25 Average). Jeff Frankos led qualifying with a score of 2001 (+401, 250.125 Average). Frankos went undefeated in match play, finishing with a 7-0 record. Wayne Garber finished in second behind Frankos. Craig Donaldson and William K. Wilson finished in third and fourth.
Bill O’Neill Wins U.S. Open
The opening match of the U.S. Open TV finals had Tommy Jones up against Jason Couch. Jones started off on fire, running the front six strikes to jump out to a big lead. Tommy’s lead was too big for Couch to make up. Tommy Jones won the match 245-192, making the Ebonite Mission look great, just like everyone else has done since its release. Match #2 had Tommy Jones Taking on Bill O’Neill. Jones started to lose his carry toward the end of his first match and made a ball change. Tommy Jones was not able to get his reaction back. Bill O’Neill had to grind out the beginning of the match, but was able to find a good reaction and finally string a few strikes together, winning the match 203-152. O’Neill went on to face Mike Scroggins in the final match. O’Neill caught fire in the middle of the match and jumped out to a huge lead. Scroggins tried to make a come back, but it was too late as Bill O’Neill finished striking out from the third frame to win 267-207. O’Neill won the tournament using a Hammer Black Widow Sting. See the equipment used by all of the pros in the TV finals on my InTheBag page for the U.S. Open.
U.S. Open TV Finals are set
Mike Scroggins made a great run during matchplay to move from 15th place all the way to the #1 spot for the TV stepladder finals of the U.S. Open. Bill O’Neill ended up getting the #2 seed, while Tommy Jones and Jason Couch took the #3 and #4 seeds. Couch and Jones will face off in the opening match of the stepladder finals. The winner of that match will face O’Neill in the semifinals. The winner of the semifinal match will go on to bowl Scroggins in the finals. Mike Scroggins averaged 216.80 and had a 16-8-0 record to earn the top position with a final score of 11537 (+1337, total pins + matchplay bonus points). The cut score ended up at 11282 (+1082, total pins + matchplay bonus points). A few bowlers came very close to making the TV finals, but fell just short. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. missed the cut by 2 pins, while Jason Belmonte couldn’t hold on to his lead and missed the show by 5 pins.
The U.S. Open TV finals will air live on ESPN at 12:30 PM tomorrow, Sunday, February 28, 2010.
Jason Belmonte Retains Lead in U.S. Open
Jason Belmonte used his 9 game score of 1934 (+134) to bring his total to 6051 (+651, 224.11 Average) and keep his lead in the U.S. Open. Belmonte will lead all bowlers going into match play this afternoon. Belmonte currently has an 85 pin lead on the second place bowler Andres Gomez’s score of 5966. Other bowlers currently in the top five include Bill O’Neill (5958), Jason Couch (5866), and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (5850). The field will now be cut to the top 24 bowlers with a cut score of 5637 (+237, 208.78 Average). Matchplay will begin this afternoon and continue throughout the day tomorrow.
Jason Belmonte Takes Over Lead in U.S. Open
Jason Belmonte had a huge score of 1493 (+293, 248.83 Average) to take over the lead in the third round of qualifying in the U.S. Open. Belmonte’s final qualifying score was 4117 (+517, 228.72 Average). Qualifying second was David Beres with a score of 3939. Rounding out the top five were Andres Gomez (3920), Chris Barnes (3915), and Bill O’Neill (3914). The field will now be cut to the top 88 bowlers (25% of field) with the cut score being 3594 (-6, 199.67 Average)
The remaining bowlers will bowl 9 games on Friday and cut to the top 24. After cutting to the top 24 bowlers, the remaining bowlers will bowl 24 games of match play Friday night and Saturday.
Jack Jurek Leads after Round 2 of U.S. Open
Jack Jurek used a 1298 (+98) score in the second round of the U.S. Open to bring his 12 game total to 2672 (+272, 222.67 Average), which leads Amleto Monacelli’s 2659. Other bowlers rounding out the top five are David Beres (2656), Jason Wojnar (2652), and Robert Smith (2650). Bill O’Neill had the high score for the day of 1457, but currently sits in 13th place. As of right now, the cut score (top 25%, 88/352 bowlers) is at 2396 (-4, 199.67 Average). Today bowlers are bowling 6 more games, then the cut will be made to the top 88 of the 352 bowler field. Those who make the cut will come back on Friday for 9 more games, before cutting to the top 24. Then matchplay begins on Friday night and will continue throughout the day on Saturday.
