Mohr Wins PBA Senior US Open Title Defeating Webb and Williams

After finishing second in last year’s Professional Bowlers Association (PBA)
Senior U.S. Open presented by Suncoast, 2009 Senior Player of the Year 
Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, returned to win the sport’s most 
demanding Senior Tour tournament for his first major title Friday at the 
Suncoast Bowling Center.

Qualifying fourth for the stepladder finals, Mohr defeated PBA Hall of Famer and 
top qualifier Walter Ray Williams Jr., 246-189, in the championship match to 
also win his fifth career Senior Tour title.

It was shortly after last year’s Senior U.S. Open that Mohr had to miss the rest 
of the 2010 season to return to Alaska to care for his wife, Linda, who 
eventually passed away in January as the result of complications from surgery 
last year.

“She was my guardian angel and she was with me today,” Mohr said. “Both the 
support back home and out here on tour has been unbelievable and that has been 
very important to my success this year.”

In the opening stepladder match, Mohr defeated reigning Senior Player of the 
Year and PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb 265-258, thanks in large part to 
converting a crucial 4-10 split in the sixth frame. Webb, who finished fourth, 
was trying to become the tournament’s first three-time winner after returning to 
Senior Tour competition as the result of missing the first four tournaments of 
the season recovering from knee surgery earlier this year.

In the semifinal match, Mohr defeated 2009 PBA Senior World Championship winner 
Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Township, Mich., in a back-and-forth 220-211 
match. Sullins, who won the Sun Bowl In The Villages earlier in the season was 
trying for his third Senior Tour title to go along with his five PBA Tour wins, 
and finished third.

“In the semifinal match I made too much of an adjustment and threw a couple bad 
shots,” Mohr said. “I thought I was going to have to make more of a major move 
after the first match but the transition really wasn’t that drastic for me so I 
just made a small couple board adjustment and got back on track.”

The win was especially satisfying for Mohr who had to come from 67th place after 
the first round of qualifying on Monday.

“It’s probably one of the biggest moves I’ve ever had to make in a tournament,” 
Mohr said. “I was concerned at that point but not overly worried,” Mohr said. 
“There was a lot of bowling left and I wasn’t that far out of the first cut (to 
56 players) so I just made the adjustments and took it a day at a time which you 
have to do in a marathon tournament like this.”

The Senior U.S. Open format is one of the most demanding in the sport. To get to 
the championship round a bowler must get through four qualifying rounds and 
three match play rounds for a total of 51 games.

As the Senior Tour heads into the second half of the season Mohr now takes the 
lead in the Senior Player of the Year race over Williams.  Mohr won the Senior 
Miller High Life Classic and also has second, third and fourth-place finishes 
this season. He avenged his second-place finish to Williams in the recent Senior 
Mark Roth Allentown Open where he lost in the title match 268-168.

“Walter’s the best out here and everyone kind of expects him to be the guy,” 
Mohr said. “It’s nice to become the top senior player in the world by winning 
the toughest tournament we bowl but right now I’m just going to enjoy the 
moment.”

The next stop for the Senior Tour will be the Senior Northern California Classic 
June 19-22 at Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif.

2011 PBA SENIOR U.S. OPEN
Suncoast Bowling Center, Las Vegas

Final Standings
1, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 731 (three games), $15,000.
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, FL, 189 (one game), $8,500.
3, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, MI, 211 (one game), $6,500.
4, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 258 (one game), $5,000.

SEVENTH ROUND
(51-game pinfall totals including match play record, total pins and money 
earned. Top four advanced to championship round.)

1, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 14-10, 11,971.
2, Harry  Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 15-8-1, 11,846.
3, Wayne  Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 18-5-1, 11,824.
4, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 13-11, 11,706.
5, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 14-10, 11,694, $4,000.
6, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 14-10, 11,548, $3,400.
7, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 14-10, 11,536, $3,100.
8, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 13-11, 11,443, $2,800.
9, Howard Partell, Las Vegas, 17-7, 11,435, $2,500.
10, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 8-15-1, 11,389, $2,300.
11, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 10-14, 11,334, $2,200.
12, Eric Forkel, Las Vegas, 10-14, 11,322, $2,100.
13, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 11-13, 11,271, $2,000.
14, John Chapman, Canada, 11-13, 11,240, $1,900.
15, Barry Zimmerman, Grand Forks, N.D., 12-12, 11,176, $1,850.
16, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 8-16, 11,110, $1,800.
17, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 11-13, 11,090, $1,750.
18, Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 10-14, 11,088, $1,700.
19, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 11-12-1, 11,064, $1,650.
20, Junichi Yajima, Japan, 11-13, 11,044, $1,600.
21, Ricky Beck, Box Elder, S.D., 11-13, 11,019, $1,575.
22, Marv Sargent, Temecula, Calif., 12-12, 10,938, $1,550.
23, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 10-14, 10,934, $1,525.
24, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 8-16, 10,759, $1,500.