Senior Player of the Year Race

The chase for Professional Bowlers Association Senior Player of the Year honors continues to mount as the 50-and-older generation invades Royal Scot Golf and Bowl in Lansing, Mich., Aug. 22-26 for the PBA Senior Dick Weber Open, the next-to-last event of the 2009 campaign. 

In addition to competing for a stunning crystal trophy honoring the memory of one of the greatest bowlers in history, the Senior Dick Weber Open will be the final contest leading into the new PBA Senior World Championship Aug. 30-Sept. 4 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, MI. 

The field in Lansing will feature Senior Player of the Year candidates Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, and Dale Traber of Cedarburg, WI, both two-time winners in 2009, as well as PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb of Sacramento, CA, who took over the Senior Tour earnings and points leads for 2009 with his third-place finish in the Senior Miller Lite Knockout Classic in Joliet, IL, Tuesday. 

Webb won his second consecutive Senior U.S. Open title earlier in the season. Fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Petraglia of Jackson, NJ and Mark Williams of Beaumont, TX, also have notched 2009 victories and rank among the Senior Tour’s top 10 this season. 

Also entered are some other players and Hall of Famers who were named to the PBA’s all-time 50 greatest players list last season: reigning four-time PBA Senior Player of the Year Tom Baker, King, NC, who is looking for this first title of the year, and Dave Soutar, Bradenton, FL. 

Competition gets underway with eight-game qualifying blocks today (Sunday) and Monday at 10 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. The field will then be cut to a minimum of 53 players (depending upon number of entries) who will advance to another eight-game qualifying round Tuesday at 10 a.m. The top 24 then advance to round-robin match play Tuesday at 6 p.m., and Wednesday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. All times are Eastern. The championship will be decided in a five-player stepladder final Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

2009 PBA SENIOR TOUR EARNINGS LEADERS (As of Aug. 18) 

1, Wayne Webb, Sacramento, CA, $37,900 

2, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, WI, $32,450 

3, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, AK, $30,750 

4, Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX, $29,100 

5, Brian Voss, Kennesaw, GA, $22,200 

6, Hugh Miller, Seattle, WA $17,600 

7, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, FL, $15,700 

8, Dale Eagle, Frisco, TX, $14,900 

9, Johnny Petraglia, Jackson, NJ, $14,600 

10, Tom Baker, King, NC, $13,920