Making his PBA Senior Tour debut, Williams, the PBA Tour’s all-time leader in career titles with 47, notched his first Senior Tour win by defeating Keith Sharp of Orlando, FL, 267-245 in the championship match.
“It’s a little more relaxed out here than the regular tour but that doesn’t mean these guys aren’t competitive,” said Williams, who now owns a record seven
PBA Player of the Year honors. “Fortunately I averaged close to 260 today and I
needed to bowl that well because I had some tough opponents who were bowling
very well including Keith in the final match.
“In general it was a lot of fun and the guys made me feel very welcome out here
on the Senior Tour.”
In the semifinal match Williams defeated Roger Kossert of Lithia, Fla., 269-211
and Sharp defeated Dave Patchen of Oregon, Ohio, 218-147 to advance to the
championship match.
“I didn’t bowl as well as I would have liked in qualifying but in match play the
condition seemed to be a bit tighter which was a better match up for the ball I
was using and where I was playing on the lane,” Williams added.
After a three-week break, the Senior Tour will resume with the PBA Senior
Northern California Open in Brentwood May 30-June 2 followed by the PBA Senior
U.S. Open and USBC Senior Masters in Las Vegas.
“I’ll bowl in Brentwood and the Senior Masters for sure,” said the 50-year-old
Williams, “Because of my schedule it doesn’t look I’ll make the Senior U.S. Open
and I’ll just have to see how things work out during the rest of the summer.”
Bob Kelly of Dayton, Ohio, rolled three 300 games in the tournament which tied
the record for most 300 games by an individual in a tournament with reigning PBA
Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr who set the mark in last week’s Senior
Columbus Open. Kelly now has four 300s for the season which also ties that
record.
Final day coverage of the Senior Miller High Life Classic was streamed live on
pba.com’s Xtra Frame.
PBA SENIOR MILLER HIGH LIFE CLASSIC
George Pappas Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C., Wednesday
Championship Match
Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla. ($8,000) def. Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla.
($4,500), 267-245.
Semifinal Round (losers earn $3,000)
Williams def. Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 269-211.
Sharp def. Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 218-147.
Round of 8 (best-of-three games, losers eliminated, $1,700 each)
Patchen def Bennie Holman, Decatur, Ill., 2-1.
Sharp def. Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 2-1.
Kossert def. Steve Lickliter, Beckley, W. Va., 2-1.
Williams Jr. def. Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 2-0.
Round of 16 (best-of-five games, losers eliminated, $1,300 each)
Patchen def. Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 4-1.
Holman def. John Chapman, Canada, 3-2.
Kelly def. Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., 3-0.
Sharp def. Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 3-2.
Kossert def. John Pepper, Albuquerque, 3-2.
Lickliter def. Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3-1.
Williams def. Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3-0.
Parks def. Roy Buckley, New Albany, Ohio, 3-0.
Round of 24 (best-of-five games, losers eliminated, $1,150 each)
Patchen def. Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3-1.
Chapman def. Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 3-1.
Berke def. Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 3-1.
Brazeau def. Steve Neff, Homosassa Springs, Fla., 3-0.
Kossert def. Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3-0.
Lickliter def. Larry Popp, Marion, Ohio, 3-0.
Williams Jr. def. George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 3-0.
Buckley def. Dave Flemming, Fairborn, Ohio, 3-1.
Round of 32 (best-of-five games, losers eliminated, $1,050 each)
Ferraro def. George Pappas, Charlotte, N.C., 3-0.
Shultis def. Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 3-0.
Harvey def. Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3-0.
Neff def. Gale Voshell, Dover, Del., 3-0.
Kossert def. Bill Spigner, Vernon Hills, Ill., 3-0.
Popp def. Guppy Troup, Taylorsville, S.C., 3-2.
Lord def. Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn., 3-2.
Buckley def. Fred Kaczmarczyk, Martinez, Calif., 3-1.
300 games – Gary Shultis, Bob Kelly, Kenny Parks and Steve Lickliter.
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