O'Neil - Mr. Consistent - Leads Field for PBA World Championships

The PBA World Series of Bowling is a combination of a series of sprints in the middle of a marathon. While players are trying to finish in the top 16 in each of the five daily 12-game qualifying rounds on five different PBA lane conditioning patterns, the real race is to finish high in the standings after 60 games for the 2010 PBA World Championship, the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour’s first major championship of the 2010-11 season.

Reigning U.S. Open champion Bill O’Neill of Southampton, PA, has demonstrated he isn’t the most talented sprinter, but he’s doing great in the marathon. O’Neill hasn’t won a stage yet, but he has been the most consistent player in the field
of 252, advancing to next week’s match play finals in all four “animal pattern” championships completed thus far: 15th in the Cheetah round, eighth on the Viper pattern, seventh on the Chameleon (where he is defending champion) and 13th in the Scorpion round. That performance has landed him in the lead for the PBA World Championship after 48 of 60 games.

With only Friday’s 12 games on the Shark pattern remaining, O’Neill appears to be a lock for one of the top eight spots in the ESPN/ESPN2 finals, and depending on Friday’s performance, he may remain No. 1 on the list of players who will advance to the live, three-day television finals on ESPN and ESPN2 on Jan. 14, 15 and 16.

After the first 48 games, O’Neill was averaging 228.52 to finish with 10,969 total pins. He held a 30-pin edge over Sean Rash of Wichita, KS. Defending PBA World Champion Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, MI, was in 30th place heading into Friday’s GEICO Shark Championship qualifying round.

PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
(After 48 of 60 games; top 63 cash; top 8 advance to live ESPN/ESPN2 stepladder 
finals on Jan. 14, 15 and 16 at South Point Bowling Center)
1, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 10,969.
2, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 10,939.
3, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 10,901.
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 10,867.
5, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 10,834.
6, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 10,808.
7, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 10,793.
8, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 10,787.
9, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 10,781.
10, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 10,779.
11, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 10,776.
12, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 10,770.
13, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 10,755.
14, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 10,746.
15, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 10,734.
16, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 10,730.
17, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 10,725.
18, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 10,691.
19, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 10,672.
20, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 10,665.
21, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 10,664.
22, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 10,652.
23, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 10,626.
24, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 10,620.
25, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 10,611.
26, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 10,607.
27, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 10,598.
28, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 10,596.
29, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 10,592.
30, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 10,587.
31, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 10,584.
32, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 10,553.
33, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 10,501.
34, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 10,491.
35, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 10,486.
36, Dominic Barrett, England, 10,478.
37, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 10,471.
38, Kip Roberts, Glenallen, Va., 10,468.
39, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 10,449.
40, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 10,448.
41, (tie) Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., and Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 10,435.
43, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 10,420.
44, Andy Mortensen, Irving, Texas, 10,412.
45, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 10,403.
46, Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y., 10,395.
47, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 10,388.
48, Patrick Girard, Canada, 10,376.
49, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 10,364.
50, D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 10,353.
51, Gregory Thompson Jr., Dublin, Calif., 10,344.
52, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 10,338.
53, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 10,333.
54, Mark Buffa, Canada, 10,329.
55, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 10,314.
56, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 10,305.
57, Peter Ljung, Sweden, 10,298.
58, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 10,283.
59, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 10,279.
60, Jun-Yung Kim, Korea, 10,278.
60, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 10,278.
62, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 10,276.
63, Dennis Horan Jr., Temecula, Calif., 10,272.
64, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 10,261.
65, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 10,256