Amateur George Gohagan III of Roswell, GA, defeated former PBA Women’s Series champion Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, in a one-ball sudden death roll-off, 10-9, that concluded a record-setting PBA All Regions South Point Open at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 10.
The Gohagan-Pluhowsky roll-off followed a 224-224 tie. After each player threw three matching strikes, Gohagan broke the tie for the win. But there was a great deal of additional drama leading up to the title match.
Gohagan, who earned $3,500, defeated England’s Dom Barrett, 300-298, in a nail-biting semifinal round match when Barrett left a pocket 7-10, ending a personal string of 32 consecutive strikes that began in the Round of 8. Pluhowsky ousted Tom Daugherty of Wesley Chapel, FL, 247-236, in the other semifinal match.
In the Round of 8, Barrett won his best-of-three-game match against Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, NC, 2-0, by winning an 11-ball roll-off after they tied at 280-280 in game two. Both players threw 10 strikes in a row before Troup left a pin standing on his 11th attempt while Barrett threw his 11th strike.
In the Round of 16, Gohagan and amateur Ron Nelson Jr. of Bridgeview, IL, battled to a 300-300 tie in the second game of their best-of-five match, and each then threw three more strikes in the roll-off before Gohagan’s fourth strike eliminated Nelson’s seven-count. Gohagan went on to win the contest, 3-2, with a 268-253 win in game five.
In a companion event held in conjunction with the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IV, amateur Adam Ishman of Las Vegas and Barrett defeated amateur Raul Rosales of El Monte, CA and Michael Haugen Jr. of Carefree, AZ, 502-459, to win the $4,000 top prize in the PBA West Region Member/Non-Member Doubles on Sunday, Nov. 11.
The All Regions South Point Open drew an international field of 157 competitors while the Member/Non-Member Doubles drew a field of 66 teams. Both events were conducted in conjunction with the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IV.
