Reigning Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Player of the Year Wes Malott of Pflugerville, TX, led the field of 40 PBA World Championship finalists who moved into match play rounds at Thunderbowl Lanes Thursday by sitting on the sidelines, resting.
Malott, Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, and Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix, AZ were the top qualifiers in the PBA, PBA Women’s and PBA Senior World Championships, respectively, which earned each of them – and a handful of others – byes for the first two rounds of best-of-seven-game, single elimination match play.
Also earning byes in the PBA World Championship field were Mike Scroggins,
Amarillo, TX; Sean Rash, Wichita, KS; Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, MI; Mike DeVaney, San Diego, CA; Chris Barnes, Double Oak, TX; Walter Ray Williams
Jr., Ocala, FL, and Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, SC.
Senior World Championship players earning byes along with Mohr were Kent Wagner, Palmetto, FL; Harry Sullins, Chester Township, MI, and Dave Patchen, Oregon, OH. Joining Pluhowsky in the women’s bye pool were Kelly Kulick, Union, NJ; Michelle Feldman, Auburn, NY, and Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, NY.
The remainder of the top 40 men, 20 seniors and 20 women’s advanced to
best-of-seven-game, single-elimination match play rounds. During Thursday’s
afternoon PBA World Championship Round of 32 session, Michigan players Thomas Smallwood, Brian Waliczek and Dan MacLelland advanced to Friday’s Round of 16 while PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, and Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte were eliminated. The Senior and Women’s Rounds of 16 were contested Thursday night.
Three rounds of matches Friday will reduce the fields to four men, two seniors
and two women for the ESPN finals.
“My concern was staying in the top four,” Malott said. “Scroggins has a great
look on fresh lane conditions. He has been bowling some big games, so I figured
if I could stay in the top four, the first time I’ll have to bowl against him
would be on TV. That was on my mind. Now I can get some rest, which is always a good thing.
“But I will be in the center watching to see how the guys break down the lane
condition on the pairs I’ll be on tomorrow.”
“I’m tired,” Mohr admitted. “When you’re trying to bowl at this level, every
shot is important. It’s draining. It’ll be nice to have a couple of rounds to
rest.
“The lanes today played the hardest they have all week,” the three-time 2009 PBA Senior Tour titlist said. “There was no mistake room. When that happens, you become afraid of making a shot too fast or too slow. You just can’t relax.”
Pluhowsky overtook Kulick for the first time, but being the top women’s
qualifier didn’t excite her.
“All pins are dropped now and we’re moving into a different section of the
bowling center for match play, so there’s no advantage to being No. 1 other than
having fewer matches to bowl and the guarantee of a bigger check,” Pluhowsky
said. “So far I’m very pleased with the way I have been bowling. Everything’s
good. It’s going to be a busy weekend (she has already qualified for two
television finals over the weekend), but that’s much better than watching.”
The Women’s and Senior World Championship title matches will be contested
Saturday at noon for delayed telecast on ESPN. The men’s finals will be
contested live on ESPN on Dec. 13 at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, KS.
PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Sept. 3
Round of 40 (best of 7 games, losers eliminated and earned $2,000)
Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, def. Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 4-2
Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., def. PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 4-1
Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., def. Andres Gomez, Colombia, 4-1
Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., def. Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 4-1
Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla., def. Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 4-1
Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, def. Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 4-2
Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., def. Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 4-0
Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich., def. Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 4-1
Martin Larsen, Sweden, def. Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 4-1
Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., def. Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 4-0
Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., def. Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 4-0
Chris Johnson, Garland, Texas, def. Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 4-0
Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., def. Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., 4-2
Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., def. Robert Lawrence, Austin, Texas, 4-2
Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., def. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4-1
Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., def. Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 4-1
Final Qualifying Standings (after 24 games, top 40 advance to match play; top 8
earned byes for the first two rounds of match play)
1, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 5,573
2, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 5,544
3, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 5,524
4, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 5,487
5, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 5,457
6, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5,454
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 5,441
8, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5,433
9, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 5,370
10, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 5,345
11, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,341
12, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 5,330
13, Jeffrey Roche, Dearborn, Mich., 5,311
14, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 5,291
15, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 5,284
16, Brian Waliczek, Birch Run, Mich., 5,272
17, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 5,257
18, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 5,244
19, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 5,242
20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 5,230
21, (tie) Mitch Beasley, Puyallup, Wash., and Robert Lawrence, Austin, Texas, 5,226
23, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 5,225
24, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 5,223
25, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 5,214
26, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 5,210
27, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 5,202
28, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 5,197
29, Chris Johnson, Garland, Texas, 5,191
30, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 5,185
31, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 5,178
32, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 5,175
33, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 5,170
34, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 5,163
35, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 5,157
36, Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 5,123
37, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 5,115
38, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 5,098
39, PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 5,083
40, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 5,070
PBA SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Sept. 3
Final Qualifying Standings (after 24 games, top 20 advance to match play; top 4
earned byes for the first two rounds of match play)
1, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 5,238
2, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 5,195
3, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 5,151
4, Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 5,124
5, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 5,077
6, Ted Hannahs, Zanesville, Ohio, 5,064
7, Steve Neff, Homosassa Springs, Fla., 5,056
8, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 5,034
9, Roy Buckley, Westerville, Ohio, 5,028
10, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 5,019
11, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 5,005
12, Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., 4,993
13, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 4,984
14, Dale Csuhta, Wadsworth, Ohio, 4,970
15, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 4,968
16, Carl Kinyon, Lockport, N.Y., 4,956
17, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 4,951
18, Wayne Webb, Sacramento, Calif., 4,939
19, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 4,912
20, John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich., 4,901
Did not advance:
21, Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 4,885, $1,500
22, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 4,869, $1,450
23, Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., 4,858, $1,400
24, Jeff Schrum, Cherryville, N.C., 4,856, $1,350
25, Dale Eagle, Frisco, Texas, 4,849, $1,320
26, Bob Knipple, Long Beach, Calif., 4,836, $1,280
26, Dick Selgo, Archbold, Ohio, 4,836, $1,280
26, Rick Minier, Houston, 4,836, $1,280
29, Bobby Johnson, Chillicothe, Ohio, 4,832, $1,240
30, Larry Franz, Redford, Mich., 4,829, $1,220
31, Rick Vittone, Canada, 4,813, $1,200
32, Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 4,812, $1,180
33, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 4,785, $1,160
34, William Peters, Dayton, Ohio, 4,779, $1,140
35, Dave Bernhardt, Shelby Twp., Mich., 4,715, $1,120
36, Randy Rau, Belleville, Ill., 4,696, $1,100
Super Senior cashers (after 18 games)
37, Bob Chamberlain, Auburn Hills, Mich., 3,586, $700
38, Harv Pallas, Stevensville, Mich., 3,584, $700
40, Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., 3,580, $700
54, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 3,520, $700
58, Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 3,499, $700
61, George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 3,479, $700
62, Derek Smith, Hicksville, Ohio, 3,478, $700
63, Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., 3,477, $700
66, Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn., 3,457, $700
PBA WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Sept. 2
Final Qualifying Standings (after 24 games, top 20 advance to match play; top 4
earned byes for the first two rounds of match play)
1, Shannon Pluhowsky, Phoenix, 5,482
2, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 5,332
3, Michelle Feldman, Auburn, N.Y., 5,250
4, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 5,187
5, Tammy Boomershine, North Ogden, Utah, 5,157
6, Cheryl Daniels, West Bloomfield, Mich., 5,125
7, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 5,101
8, Robin Orlikowski, Grand Rapids, Mich., 5,093
9, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas, 5,065
10, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 5,062
11, Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev., 5,060
12, Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 5,054
12, Joy Esterson, Annapolis, Md., 5,054
14, Missy Bellinder, Fullerton, Calif., 5,010
15, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 4,974
16, Adrienne Miller, Albuquerque, N.M., 4,969
17, Amanda Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 4,931
18, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 4,914
19, Lindsay Baker, Waterford, Mich., 4,883
20, Paola Gomez, Colombia, 4,874
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