Weber Back on Top at PBA Motor City Open

Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr., who between them own 79 Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)Tour titles, are one-two heading into the match play portion of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Motor City Open, the kick-off event in the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling.

Weber, 46, rolled back into the tournament lead with a 15-game total of 3,466
pins. Williams, 49, was in second place with 3,398 pins as the field of 131 was
trimmed to 24 for the start of round-robin match play Wednesday night at Taylor
Lanes, Taylor, MI. Chris Barnes of Double Oak, TX, was third at 3,381 followed by Chris Loschetter of Avon, OH, at 3,375 and Bill O’Neill of Southampton, PA, at
3,363.

Weber, a 34-time PBA Tour winner, led after the first five games before slipping
to fourth after 10. He said he had no explanation for Tuesday night. “I felt as
good last night as I did in the morning, and I felt as good today as I did last
night,” the St. Ann, MO, veteran said.

Weber admitted he’s usually a slow-starter, but got a kick-start this year after
a disappointing performance in a PBA regional tournament in Oak Forest, Ill.,
leading into the World Series.

“That tournament was on a lane condition that caters to me, and I didn’t even
cash,” he said. “I went home and started working with my brother Rich. He
noticed I was leaning to the right and leaning forward in my stance. Now it’s a
matter of watching my posture. I’m trying not to lean any direction. When I stay
upright, my pushaway is longer and that makes my backswing higher. It might not be quite as high as it used to be, but it’s closer and I’m actually on balance.
I feel like the old Pete.”

Williams, the all-time PBA Tour titles leader with 45, was surprised to be as
close to the lead as he is, considering he didn’t spend much time practicing
over the summer months and when he got to Taylor, he wasn’t very excited about how the lanes were playing in practice. The Ocala, FL, resident is noted for
his extraordinary skills playing the outside part of the lane, but most
observers believe an inside angle like the one dominating scoring at Taylor is
his weakness.

“I’ve always been able to play inside,” Williams said, “but my rev rate usually
doesn’t allow me to play as deep as the other guys. This week the lanes are
hooking a lot more than I expected after practice, but I was able to find an
angle where my carry was pretty good.

“I wasn’t overly optimistic after practice; I usually don’t do that well on
shorter oil patterns,” Williams continued. “It isn’t that I can’t play the left
side of the lane; it’s just that that part of the lane isn’t my forté.”

The top 24 advancing to match play Wednesday night and Thursday includes two
international players – Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa and Colombia’s
Andres Gomez – who will represent one of the largest groups of international
players ever to bowl a standard PBA Tour event. Ten countries including the
United States were represented in the starting field.

LUMBER LIQUIDATORS PBA MOTOR CITY OPEN
Taylor Lanes, Taylor, Mich., Aug. 5
THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND (After 15 games)
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,466
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,398
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,381
4, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,375
5, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3,363
6, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 3,359
7, John May, Lincolnton, N.C., 3,348
8, Osku Palermaa, Espoo, Finland, 3,342
9, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., and Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 3,340
11, Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Andres Gomez, Bogota, Colombia, 3,339
13, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,321
14, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3,320
15, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 3,315
16, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 3,314
17, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,304
18, Dave Arnold, Dublin, Calif., 3,300
19, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,298
20, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 3,296
21, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,293
22, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 3,274
23, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 3,267
24, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 3,264
Did not advance:
25, Fero Williams, Fairfield, Ohio, 3,262, $2,000
26, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,260, $1,950
27, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,255, $1,900
28, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 3,254, $1,850
29, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 3,244, $1,800
30, Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 3,235, $1,750
31, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 3,224, $1,700
32, Bo Goergen, Midland, Mich., and Martin Larsen, Gothenburg, Sweden, 3,220, $1,635
34, Tim Pfeifer, Cranberry Twp., Pa., 3,217, $1,600
35, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,211, $1,580
36, Jonathan Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 3,208, $1,660
37, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,203, $1,540
38, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 3,199, $1,520
39, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,194, $1,500
40, Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 3,189, $1,480
41, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 3,188, $1,460
42, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,184, $1,440
43, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 3,176, $1,420
44, Todd Sim, Belle River, Ontario, and Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3,166, $700
46, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 3,162
47, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 3,159
48, John Nolen, Grand Blanc, Mich., 3,156
49, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kans., 3,155
50, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La,, 3,154
51, Quinton Bohlen, Decorah, Iowa, and Jason Belmonte, Orange, NSW, Australia, 3,152
53, Brian Voss, Kennesaw, Ga., and George Lambert IV, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 3,149
55, Paul Moor, Hull, East Yorks, England, 3,144
56, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,138
57, Ronnie Russell, Camby, Ind,, 3,130
58, Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, 3,125
59, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 3,121
60, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 3,120
61, Paul Gibson, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,112
62, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,111
63, Bruce Falcon, Bay City, Mich., 3,107
64, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,099
65, Ed Carter, Akron, Ohio, 3,097
66, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,089
67, Amleto Monacelli, Barquisimeto, Venezuela, 3,088
68, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 3,086
69, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 3,085
70, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 3,084
71, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,080
72, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,079
73, Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 3,064
74, Brian Thompson, Flat Rock, Mich., 3,063
75, Stuart Williams, Cheshire, England, 3,056
76, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 3,055
77, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,054
78, D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 3,053
79, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 3,041
80, Derek Sapp, Keokuk, Iowa, 3,036
81, Andrew Horodecki, Jackson, Mich., 3,030
82, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,028
83, Mike Keily, Lakewood, Colo., 3,013
84, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 3,002
85, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 3,001
86, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 2,992
87, Jeff Austreng, Waterford, Mich., 2,990
88, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., and Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 2,984
90, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 2,982
91, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 2,980
92, Cassidy Schaub, Ashland, Ohio, 2,979
93, Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 2,972
94, Chris Kliczinski, Pinckney, Mich., 2,968
95, Bill Oravecz, Mentor, Ohio, 2,965
96, Thomas Larsen, Assens, Denmark, 2,956
97, Terrence Haines II, Garden City, Mich., 2,955
98, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., and Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 2,947
100, Bryan Paul, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2,933
101, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,928
102, Matt Mueller, Bay City, Mich., 2,926
103, Tae-Hwa Jeong, Dae-Jeon, S. Korea, 2,922
104, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2,921
105, BJ Satkowski, Jackson, Mich., 2,919
106, PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 2,906
107, Tony Campagna Jr., Chesapeake, Va., 2,904
108, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 2,901
109, Jeff Hicks, Allen Park, Mich., 2,900
110, Abed Daher, Brownstown, Mich., and Billy Plane, Atlanta, 2,885
112, Anthony Moses, Dearborn Heights, Mich., 2,883
113, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 2,879
114, Thomas Wall III, Fayetteville, N.C., 2,874
115, Michael Wall, Fayetteville, N.C., and Andrew Koff, Miami, 2,825
117, Andrew Featherstone, White Lake, Mich., 2,806
118, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 2,805
119, Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 2,802
120, Johnny Petraglia Jr., Youngstown, Ohio; Jason Zook, Tampa, Fla., and
Douglas Mazurco, Brownstown, Mich., 2,788
123, Nick Kokenos, St Clair Shores, Mich., 2,688
124, Danial Cline, Lansing, Mich., 2,668
125, Robert Flunder IV, Toledo, Ohio, 2,663
126, Alex Medveditskov, Russia, 2,589
127, Christopher Brennan, Baltimore, 2,578
128, Jack Nealon, Bowie, Md., 2,570
129, Brian DiCicco, Agawam, Mass., 2,471
130, Ivo Raul Chiriboga, Miami, 2,396
131, Ed Campbell, Rochester Hills, Mich., 1,773