Ziesig Wins Plastic Ball Championship
The PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship took place this week in West Babylon, New York. The opening match had Wayne Garber bowling against Mike Machuga. Garber won the match, 258-245, and went on to face Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Walter Ray defeated Garber 280-211 to advance. He went on to bowl against amateur Brian Ziesig. Ziesig defeated Walter Ray in another high scoring match, 255-237, and went on to face Jason Belmonte in the finals. The two tied in the final match with a score of 247 and bowled a one ball roll off. Ziesig won the roll off 10-9 to win the tournament. This is Brian Ziesig’s first PBA title and this is the first title won by an amateur since 2002. This event was bowled on the PBA Shark pattern.
Belmonte Leads Plastic Ball Championship Going Into TV Finals
Jason Belmonte was able to hang on to his lead through the round of 16 in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. Belmonte finished with a score of 8081 (+1681, 243.16 Average) and a 10-8 record to qualify first for the TV finals. Brian Ziesig was close behind in second at 8070 (+1670). Others making the top five include Walter Ray Williams, Jr. (+1544), Wayne Garber (+1512), and Mike Machuga (+1425).
They are using a stepladder format for the TV finals of this event. The #5 and #4 bowlers will face off, with the winner going on to bowl against the #3 qualifier, and so on. Jason Belmonte will take on whoever comes out of the other four bowlers in the final match. This event is being bowled on a modified version of the PBA Shark pattern. This pattern is similar to the shark pattern, but has a much lighter volume of oil to make up for the use of plastic balls.
PBA Plastic Ball Championship Round of 32 Results
The round of 32 has completed in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. After completing 23 games, there is a very tight race for the few spots around the cut. Jason Belmonte is in the lead at +1125 with a 5-4 record. Brian Ziesig is in second with +1091. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is in third at +1011. Other bowlers rounding out the top 5 are Bill O’Neill and Mike Machuga.
The field will now be cut to the top 16, with the cut score being at +774. Scores have been high for this event with the lowest bowler in the round of 32 averaging 217.22 for the tournament. The field of 16 will bowl today and the field will be cut to the top five for the TV finals. The TV finals will be aired live on ESPN on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
Belmonte Leads Plastic Ball Championship Round of 64
Jason Belmonte has taken the 14 game lead in the PBA GEICO Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship. After 14 games, Belmonte is leading the field with a score of 3366 (+566, 240.43 Average). Jason has thrown two 300 games and finished his second block with 811 for his last three games.
Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is currently in second with 3339. Others in the top 5 include Mike Fagan (3320), Wayne Garber (3293), and Brian Ziesig (3241). The field will now be cut to the top 32, with the cut score at 3035 (+235, 216.79 Average).
Scores have been pretty high so far for this event, with only one bowler averaging under 200. This event is being bowled on a modified version of the PBA Shark pattern. This pattern is the same length, but has a lighter volume of oil. This volume makes up for the weaker surface of the polyester bowling balls.
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.
Voss/Asbaty Win in PBA Mixed Doubles
Brian Voss and Diandra Asbaty came from the final qualifying position to run the ladder and win the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles tournament. Voss and Asbaty took on Tom Smallwood and Jodi Woessner in their first match, winning by a score of 276-224. The went on to face Rhino Page and Shannon Pluhowsky in the second match. Voss and Asbaty threw another big 276 game to beat their opponents’ 227 to go on and face Wes Malott and Shannon O’Keefe. Voss and Asbaty won the match 224-202 to earn their spot in the championship match against Jason Belmonte and Michelle Feldman. Voss and Asbaty were victorious, winning the match 234-212. See the equipment used by the pros on my InTheBag page for the PBA Don and Paula Johnson Mixed Doubles event.
In winning this tournament, Brian and Diandra won the first place prize of $50,000. This coming week, bowlers are headed to Indianapolis, Indiana for the U.S. Open. Good luck to everyone this week!
Loschetter Leads Going into Matchplay of USBC Masters
Chris Loschetter has retained the lead in the USBC Masters with a third block score of 1155 to bring his 15 game total score to 3498 (+498, 233.2 Average). Jason Belmonte has moved into second place with a score of 3421. Patrick Allen moved up into third at 3404. Chris Barnes and Ryan Shafer are in fourth and fifth with 3377 and 3369.
The field has been cut to the top 63 bowlers plus last year’s champion John Nolen. The cut score for the top 63 is 3068 (+68, 204.53 Average). Double Elimination matchplay will begin this evening at 4:00 Pacific Time, 7:00 Eastern Time. Matchplay will continue tomorrow (Friday) throughout the day. The TV Finals will be bowled Sunday afternoon on ESPN at 3:00 Eastern Time, 12:00 Pacific Time.
Chris Loschetter Takes Over Lead in USBC Masters
Chris Loschetter had a score of 1143 (+143, 228.6 Average) in the second block of the USBC Masters to take over the lead. Loschetter’s leading 10 game score is 2343 (+343, 234.3 Average). Wes Malott had the highest block 2 score of 1215 to move him into third place with a total of 2268. Chris Barnes is currently in second place at 2329. Jason Belmonte and Patrick Allen are in fourth and fifth with 2285 and 2268.
The field has been cut to the top 25% (67 bowlers) with the cut score at 2063 (+63, 206.3 Average). Today the bowlers will bowl 5 more games of qualifying. The field will be cut to the top 63 bowlers and last year’s champion John Nolen will be added as the 64th bowler to begin matchplay.
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