PBA Players Span The Globe

Professional Bowlers Association players are spanning the globe during the “off 
season,” some of them helping to create international exposure for the bowling 
product companies they represent, and others gaining more competitive 
experience.

In mid-May, native Finlander Mika Koivuniemi won the 7th Istanbul Open in 
Turkey, defeating Mykhaylo Kalika of Ukraine, 548-424, in the two-game title 
match for a first prize of $10,000 Euros. For the globe-trotting Koivuniemi, it 
was the 12th different country where he has won a title. American two-handed 
player Cassidy Schaub set a tournament record with a six-game qualifying block 
of 1,591. Fellow 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour competitors Tim Mack,
Brian Voss and Stu Williams of England also bowled in the Istanbul event.

Speaking of Williams, the English star captured his first Asian title a week 
earlier, defeating Hussain Al-Suwaidi of the United Arab Emirates, 245-216, to 
win the 9th Kingdom of Bahrain International Open in Manama. The win for 
Williams, who bowled the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour as a rookie in 2009-10, was 
worth US$20,000.

“Absolutely my year in the PBA helped me,” Williams said. “I have become a lot 
more versatile and I was able to use some of the new tricks I picked up to take 
advantage of the different ways the lanes were breaking down during the finals.”

Mack finished third in Bahrain, Schaub was fourth and former PBA Touring Player 
Patrick Healey Jr., who is now coaching in the Middle East, was fifth.