Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Battle For Exemption on The PBA Tour

With three regular-season tournaments remaining on the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators
Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour
, the battle for 40
exempt spots for the
2009-10 season is becoming intense.


As the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour heads for Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center in
Norwich, CT for next week’s Go RVing Match Play Championship, the
points “cut” to earn an
exemption for 2009-10 was 38th place on the points list
because there are three players below
the cut line who also have earned
exemptions. Mike Wolfe, who ranks 43rd, won the Ultimate
Scoring Championship in
November. Doug Kent and Michael Haugen Jr. are exempt based upon
their victories
in the 2007 Denny’s PBA World Championship and PBA Tournament of
Champions
,
respectively.

Eight additional players earned exemptions based upon their finishes in the PBA Regional Players
Invitational
(RPI) in Reno, NV in January. Because John Nolen of
Waterford, MI won both the RPI
and the Masters, the spot he earned in the
RPI will be returned to the pool of spots to be awarded
in the PBA Tour Trials
later this spring.

One additional spot will be awarded to the non-exempt player earning the most points for the season,
in the mini tournament Tour Qualifying Rounds (TQR's) prior to each event. The player
leading that
competition with three events to go – the Go RVing Match Play
Championship; the Long Island
Classic
, March 25-29 in West Babylon, NY; and
the 66th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open, March
29-April 5, in North Brunswick,
NJ – is Troy Wollenbecker of Miami, Fla.

2008-09 LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA TOUR POINTS LIST
As of Sunday, March 8
1, x-Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 199,856
2, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 198,345
3, x-Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 192,240
4, x-Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 166,741
5, x-Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 164,324
6, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 160,920
7, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 156,043
8, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 155,440
9, x-Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 152,705
10, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 152,239
11, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 148,565
12, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 142,539
13, x-Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 141,231
14, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 138,196
15, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 135,350
16, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 128,969
17, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 125,797
18, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 123,613
19, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 117,552
20, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 107,094
21, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 105,438
22, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 103,711
23, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 101,488
24, x-Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 99,648
25, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 98,166
26, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 95,372
27, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 93,110
28, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 91,729
29, x-Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 90,294
30, x-Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 89,954
31, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 88,050
32, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 84,838
33, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 84,457
34, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 84,371
35, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 80,733
36, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 80,666
37, x-John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 80,638

Other Contenders
38, Ken Abner, Cincinnati, 80,519
39, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 79,981
40, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 79,581
41, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 79,391
42, Joe Bailey, Pittsburgh, 76,753
43, x-Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 75,315
44, a-Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 73,930
45, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 72,328
46, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 70,539
47, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 66,738
48, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 66,527
49, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis, 65,117
50, Tommy Delutz Jr., Flushing, N.Y., 64,380
82, b-Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 15,054
x–Exempt based on 2008-09 PBA tour title
a–Exempt for 2009-10 based on 2007 Denny’s PBA World Championship title
b–Exempt for 2009-10 based on 2007 Tournament of Champions title

2009 PBA REGIONAL PLAYERS INVITATIONAL EXEMPTIONS
1, John Nolen, Waterford, Mich.
2, P.J. Haggerty, Clovis, Calif.
3, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan.
4, Dave Arnold, Reno, Nev.
5, John May, Lincolnton, N.C.
6, Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich.
7, Derek Sapp, Keokuk, Iowa
8, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif.

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