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.
Mike Fagan Wins PBA Dick Weber Open
In the opening stepladder match of the 2009-2010 PBA One A Day Dick Weber Open, Bill O’Neill took on Ryan Shafer. O’Neill won the match, 226-200. Bill O’Neill went on to face #3 qualifier Pete Weber. Weber won the match, 214-202, to go on and face #2 qualifier Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Walter Ray won the match, 234-178, and advanced to bowl in the championship match against #1 qualifier Mike Fagan. Fagan continued to bowl well, as he had done all week, and beat Walter Ray, 241-213.
This is Mike Fagan’s first individual PBA Tour title. He has one doubles title, in the 2007-2008 PBA Exempt Doubles tournament with his teammate Danny Wiseman. Fagan came close to winning this same tournament last year, but fell just short, losing to Norm Duke in the championship match. The Chris Paul PBA Celebrity SNL Invitational will be taking place next week.
Mike Fagan used an Ebonite The Mission to win the tournament. See the rest of his equipment and the other pros’ equipment at my InTheBag page for the Dick Weber Open.
Mike Fagan Leads Field for PBA Dick Weber Open
Mike Fagan has been the top qualifier for the TV finals of the 2009-2010 PBA One A Day Dick Weber Open. Fagan finished with a total of 9136 (39 Games + Bonus Pins). This gave him a 172 pin lead over second qualifier Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Other qualifiers include Pete Weber (#3), Ryan Shafer (#4), and Bill O’Neill (#5).
The TV Finals will consist of stepladder matches, starting with O’Neill taking on Shafer, with the winner going on to bowl against Pete Weber. The show will be aired live on ESPN2 at 1:00, rather than ESPN this week. This tournament is being bowled on the 39 foot Dick Weber Open pattern, which was designed to force bowlers into making constant moves because of ongoing lane transitions.
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!
Team USA Cleans House in PABCON Championships
In the 2009 Pan-American Bowling Championships, the Team USA men swept all five gold medals while the women took 3 of the 5.
Starting off with singles, Bill O’Neill set a new record with a score of 1475 (+275, 245.83 Average). He was followed up by Mexico’s Jorge Rosado in 2nd and USA’s David Haynes in 3rd. Venezuela’s Karen Marcano won gold in the singles event for the women. USA’s Diandra Asbaty took the silver and Panama’s Tilcia Lancini took the bronze.
Team USA’s duo of Tommy Jones and Chris Barnes took gold in the doubles event. USA’s David Haynes and Bill O’Neill took the silver while Peurto Rico’s Luis Rodriguez and Frankie Colon took the bronze. Guatemala took the gold medal on the women’s side followed by Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
In the men’s trios event, Team USA’s team of Chris Barnes, Bill O’Neill, and Tommy Jones won the gold medal. USA’s team of David Haynes, Cassidy Schaub, and Patrick Allen took the silver and Columbia’s team of Manuel Otalora, Jaime Monroy, and Andres Gomez took the bronze. Team USA won the women’s gold medal with the team of Shannon Pluhowsky, Shannon O’Keefe, and Lynda Barnes. Columbia’s Paola Gomez, Rocio Rostrero, and Clara Guerrero took the silver while the Venezuelan team of Patricia De Faria, Karen Marcano, and Alicia Marcano took the bronze.
Team USA won gold in both the men’s and women’s team events. The men’s gold medal team was led by Bill O’Neill, Cassidy Schaub, and David Haynes. Mexico and Venezuela took the silver and bronze medals. The women’s gold medal team was led by Lynda Barnes, Shannon O’Keefe, and Diandra Asbaty.
Team USA was all across the top of the leader board in the All Events category. USA swept the men’s side with Bill O’Neill at #1, Tommy Jones at #2, and David Haynes at #3. USA’s Shannon O’Keefe and Shannon Pluhowsky finished 1st and 3rd on the women’s side. Columbia’s Clara Guerrero finished in 2nd.
When it was all said and done, Team USA took 8 of 10 gold medals.
Bill O’Neill Wins Chameleon Championship
In the semifinals, Bill O’Neill defeated Amleto Monacelli, 170-142. Ronnie Russell beat Sean Rash, 172-170. In the finals, O’Neill defeated Russell, 205-192.
This is the first career PBA title for the 3 time Collegiate Player of the Year Bill O’Neill, who had a very successful college career at Saginaw Valley State University.
Check PBA.com for the full results.
Walter Ray Wins Motor City Open
In the first stepladder match of the Motor City Open, Bill O’Neill defeated Tommy Jones, 201-169. O’Neill won again in his next match, beating Pete Weber, 257-224. O’Neill met his match against Chris Barnes in the semifinals, losing 183-169. After defeating O’Neill, Barnes went on to lose to Walter Ray Williams Jr., 238-230.
This Walter Ray’s first championship of the season, giving him his 46th all time PBA title. Walter Ray’s 46 PBA titles is the most of anybody in PBA Tour history. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. was using the 900 Global Bounty Hunter to win this tournament. You can see what the other pros were throwing on my InTheBag page for the Motor City Open.
The PBA Motor City Open is the first event of the inaugural World Series of Bowling, which includes the first 7 PBA Tour events of the year, all taking place in Detroit, MI. The TV Finals will be aired on ESPN on Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 PM.
View the full Motor City Open results at PBA.com
DV8 Hell Raiser