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.
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!
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.
Chris Paul Celebrity Invitational Results
Chris Paul and Jason Belmonte were able to come from behind to win the Chris Paul Celebrity Invitational. The final match had Paul and Belmonte taking on Norm Duke and LaMarr Woodley. Chris Paul and Jason Belmonte ended up winning the match 180-177. The first semifinal match had Pete Weber teamed up with Ludacris taking on Chris Paul and Jason Belmonte. Paul and Belmonte won the match easily, 175-131. The other semifinal match had Norm Duke and LaMarr Woodley taking on Hines Ward and Wes Malott. Duke and Woodley won the match 165-149.
There was a little added pressure coming from Garth Brooks as well. Garth pledged to donate $1000 to the CP3 Foundation for every strike that was thrown by a celebrity.
Congratulations to Chris Paul and Jason Belmonte! Next week is the USBC Masters tournament, taking place in Reno, Navada.
Tom Smallwood Wins PBA World Championship
Tom Smallwood won the PBA World Championship by defeating Wes Malott in the finals, 244-228. Malott beat Rhino Page in the semifinals, 203-191, to move on to bowl against Smallwood. Smallwood defeated Bill O’Neill, 211-159, to move on to the finals. The PBA World Championship is Smallwood’s first PBA Tour title, coming after a third place finish in the Scorpion Championship earlier this season.
The PBA World Championship was bowled on the PBA World Championship pattern, which is a modified version of the 41′ pattern D from the 2002-2003 season. Tom was throwing the Columbia 300 Pure Swing to win the World Championship. You can pre-order the full swing from BowlingBall.com. For the full list of equipment used in the PBA World Championship, see InTheBag.
Congrats to Tom Smallwood!
Tim Mack Wins Korea Cup
The 2009 Korea Cup featured five great international bowlers in the TV finals. The five finalists were Tim Mack, Wes Malott, Sean Rash, Kim Yoon Hoo, and Kim Yung Gwan. Kim Yung Hoo defeated Kim Yung Gwan, Sean Rash, and Wes Malott on his way to the finals. Tim Mack was too much for Kim to handle, as Mack won the match and the title, 237-232.
See the full results at KoreaPBA.com (Korean site, translated into English)
Tim Mack Takes Over Lead in Korea Cup
After round robin matchplay Tim Mack has taken over the lead in the 2009 Korea Cup. Mack finished with a 3 pin lead over fellow exempt PBA bowler Wes Malott. Other finalists are Sean Rash, Kim Yoon Ho, and Kim Young Kwan. Jung Tae Hwa had a 300 game in matchplay, but fell 51 pins short of making the cut. The five finalists will bowl the TV finals.
You can see the full results at KoreaPBA.com (Korean site, translated into English… It’s still pretty rough.)
Wes Malott Leads Korea Cup
There’s not much news right now in the U.S. bowling world, but in the current PBA break, bowlers have time to travel overseas for international events. Wes Malott leads the 2009 Korea Cup field after 24 games with a score of 5807 (+1007, 242 Average). Tim Mack is currently in 2nd with a score of 5740 (+940, 239.2 Average). The field has been cut to the top 12 for round robin matchplay. Also making the cut to matchplay are exempt PBA bowlers Sean Rash and Pete Weber. After round robin matchplay, the field will be cut to the top 4 for the TV finals.
See the full results at KoreaPBA.com (Korean website, translated into English)
Jack Jurek Wins Shark Championship
Jack Jurek defeated Wes Malott, 255-213, to earn his way to the finals of the PBA Shark Championship. Michael Fagan defeated Jason Couch in the semifinals, 224-201. Jurek and Fagan squared off in the finals match, tying with a score of 218. In a one ball rolloff, Jurek beat Fagan by throwing a strike to Fagan’s 8 count.
This is Jurek’s first PBA title of the season, and second of his career.
View the full results on PBA.com
The bowlers will now have a break until December, when the season will pick back up.
