Pete Weber Wins PBA Marathon Open
As the #1 seed in the PBA Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open, Mike Scroggins had the privilege of deciding which oil pattern the bowlers would bowl on in the TV finals. Scroggins decided that they would bowl on the PBA Dick Weber pattern.
The opening match had #4 Brad Angelo bowing against #5 Wes Malott. Angelo won the match, 207-192, and went on to face #3 Chris Barnes. Brad Angelo defeated Barnes, 256-227, and earned his way to the next match against #2 Pete Weber. Weber defeated Angelo, 233-212, and went on to face #1 seed Mike Scroggins. Weber continued to bowl well on the pattern named after his father and defeated Scroggins, 268-224.
Weber won the $25,000 for first place and his 35th PBA title and his first in the last three years. Scroggins had an opportunity to become the 2009-2010 PBA Player of the Year by winning this event, but fell just short. This year’s PBA Player of the Year is Walter Ray Williams, Jr.
Malott Holds Lead in PBA Marathon Open
Wes Malott used a 7-game score of 1578 on the PBA Chameleon pattern to hold on to his lead in the PBA Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open. Malott currently sits at a total score of 7507 (+1107, 234.59 Average). Chris Barnes is close behind in second with 7416 and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. is in third at 7366. Rounding out the top five are Brad Angelo (7359) and Tommy Jones (7349).
The cut score to the top 32 is 6932 (+532, 216.63 Average). The top 32 bowlers will bowl 7 games on Friday with the top 24 bowling another 7 game set on Friday evening. The top 16 bowlers will bowl a final 7 game set on Saturday, before cutting to the top 5 bowlers for the live TV finals on ESPN on Sunday, April 4, 2010.
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.
Upsets Galore in Round 1 of Match Play Championship
The PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship is underway today. The first round of the tournament was full of upsets. Three of the top four seeds lost their opening match. #3 seed Bill O’Neill was the only of the top four to advance into round 2, but not without a struggle. O’Neill needed all seven games to defeat David O’Sullivan.
#1 seed Walter Ray Williams, Jr. lost in his opening match to Justin Warhol. #3 seed Wes Malott lost his match to Ryan Abel. #4 seed Chris Barnes lost his match to Alex Aguiar. Barnes hopes to get his revenge this saturday in the Chris Barnes Challenge.
This event is being bowled on both the PBA Cheetah and PBA Shark patterns. The rounds of 32, 16, and 8 will be bowled tomorrow, Friday, March, 19, 2010.
Go RVing Match Play Championship This Week
This week is the PBA Go RVing Match Play Championship. The Tour Qualifying Round will take place on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. TQR bowlers will bowl 7 games of qualifying and the top 8 bowlers will advance into the tournament. These 8 bowlers will face off against the top 8 ranked bowlers in the tournament. As the tournament starts on Thursday, bowlers will bowl best 4 games out of 7 matches against one another. The winner will go on to the next round. The top four seeds for this tournament are #1 Walter Ray Williams, Jr., #2 Bill O’Neill, #3 Wes Malott, and #4 Chris Barnes. These are the top guys looking to get into the final four. This tournament is the PBA’s version of March Madness. It should be a lot of fun to watch and to participate. To fill out your bracket, head over to PBA.com. This tournament is being bowled on the PBA Cheetah and PBA Shark patterns.
Walter Ray Covers the “Big 4″
This happened in the 2006 PBA Atlanta Classic. Walter Ray Williams, Jr. left the “big 4″ split, the 4-6-7-10. As it is typically not a make-able spare, Walter Ray even surprised himself as he covered it!
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.
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