Current Race for Senior Player Feautures a Bunch of Jr.s

Heading into the Etonic PBA Senior U.S. Open at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas June 3-8, the all-time leader in PBA Tour titles, Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., holds a slim two-point lead in the 2012 PBA Senior Player of the Year race over “rookie” Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, PA.

After the first four tournaments of the season, Williams had 20 points in a Senior Tour race which awards 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1 points for first through fifth place finishes in standard events. The 47-time PBA Tour title winner earned 16 points for his third career Senior Tour win in the Senior Don Carter Memorial and two points each for fourth-place finishes in The Sun Bowl in the Villages and the Senior Mooresville Classic. Learn had 18 points, fellow “rookie” Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, WI, and PBA Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia of Jackson, NJ, had 16 each, and Ron Profitt of Brookville, Ohio was fifth with 12.

During the first of two major championships, stakes will rise for the Senior U.S. Open where top-five point values increase to 24, 12, 8, 4 and 2 points. The same elevated points will apply to the USBC Senior Masters June 10-15 at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

The Senior U.S. Open will be covered extensively by PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame, Monday-Friday, June 4-8, concluding with the four-player stepladder finals Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. Pacific). To enroll as an Xtra Frame subscriber, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo.

Reigning PBA Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, will attempt to become the third two-time winner of the Senior U.S. Open, joining Wayne Webb (2008 and ‘09) and Tom Baker (2005 and ’06) as multiple winners. Mohr also finished second in the 2010 Senior U.S. Open.