Macpherson Leads Women's Series of the PBA's Earl Anthony Open

Defending Earl Anthony Memorial women’s champion Wendy Macpherson of Henderson, NV, averaged 216.14 for her first seven games to take the lead in the PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM event in a return to the area where she grew up.

Macpherson, the all-time earnings leader in women’s professional bowling, began her career as a youth bowler in nearby Walnut Creek, CA. She finished her first qualifying round with 1,513 pins for a 61–pin lead over Shannon Pluhowsky of Phoenix, AZ who had a 1,452 total. Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, NY, was third with 1,435 pins followed by Stefanie Nation of Grand Prairie, TX, at 1,416 and Lindsay Baker of Amherst, NY, at 1,413.

“It feels good to bowl well. Detroit was sub par for me,” Macpherson said of her PBA World Series of Bowling experience in August.

“Bowling has been better since then and I can’t think of a better place than to come back home and see some friendly faces in the crowd. It means a lot to me.

“I’ve struggled with rhythm and timing the past couple of years,” she added. “I felt it coming back toward the end of the World Series and I’ve been bowling a lot better.”

The fields of 64 men and 20 women will bowl seven additional qualifying games Thursday. The top 28 men and eight women then advance to the best-of-seven-game, single-elimination match play rounds Friday. Match play will cull the fields to four men and two women for the live ESPN finals Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Pacific).

PBA WOMEN’S SERIES PRESENTED BY BOWL.COM
FIRST ROUND (after 7 games)
1, Wendy Macpherson, Henderson, Nev., 1,513
2, Shannon Pluhowsky, Phoenix, 1,452
3, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,435
4, Stefanie Nation, Grand Prairie, Texas, 1,416
5, Lindsay Baker, Amherst, N.Y., 1,413
6, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 1,412
7, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,404
8, Jennifer Petrick, Canton, Ohio, 1,370
9, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,354
10, Tammy Boomershine, North Ogden, Utah, 1,351
11, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,350
12, Amanda Beck, Patchogue, N.Y., 1,348
13, Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic, 1,338
14, Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 1,331
15, Missy Bellinder, Fullerton, Calif., 1,319
16, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas, 1,312
17, Tina Stickney, Chandler, Ariz., 1,310
18, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,242
19, Nicole Ellison, Chatsworth, 1,208
20, Renae Gross, North Port, Fla., 1,120