2015 Junior Gold Championships in Chicago To Be Televised

The Junior Gold Championships presented by Storm, Roto Grip and 

Master, is the pinnacle event for top youth bowlers and this summer the title matches of the annual tournament will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. An agreement is in place to televise the boys and girls championships matches of the Under 12, Under 15 and Under 20 divisions.

"The Junior Gold program is exploding in both participation and

interest and national television will elevate our future stars of the sport into

an even brighter spotlight," USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. "A 

future for the sport starts with youth programs such as Junior Gold and kids atthe event will have the experience of a lifetime being part of a major television broadcast."

The television package was made possible in part thanks to funding from the sale of adult spectator passes. The Junior Gold Championships started selling the one-day or all-week passes at the 2014 tournament.

"All the funds from the spectator pass are going right back into the 

enhancement of the event," Murphy said. "We really appreciate the fantastic support from all of our Junior Gold parents and families for helping grow this event into something so special for the kids."

The 2015 Junior Gold Championships will be held in the Chicago area from July 13-17. All title matches will take place at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois, on July 17. Details on the broadcast agreement will be released soon.

The Junior Gold Championships annually awards scholarships and crowns a boys and girls champion in the three age divisions. Top qualifiers and champions also can earn spots on Junior Team USA. A record field of nearly 2,500 youth bowlers took part in the 2014 Junior Gold Championships.

Junior Gold competitors start the journey to the national tournament by 

qualifying through local tournaments. At the national championships, 

competitors must go through three days of qualifying and then match play to determine a champion.

The Junior Gold Championships week also includes exhibits, seminars and the Collegiate Experience, where bowlers have the opportunity to learn about bowling programs from colleges throughout the country.

Go to BOWL.com/JuniorGold to learn more about the Junior Gold program.

Duke Retains Inside Track in PBA50 Player of the Year Race

With the inside track in the PBA50 Player of the Year race on the
tour for players 50 and older, PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida, averaged 229.3 to lead qualifying Tuesday in the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino Open presented by Hammer at Island Xtreme Bowl, Welch, MN.

Duke, who has won two titles this season including the PBA Senior U.S. Open and has already earned PBA50 Rookie of the Year honors, finished qualifying with a 3,670 pinfall total for 16 games to hold a 25-pin lead over two-time PBA50 Tour winner Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wisconsin, in second with 3,645. Duke had games of 210, 277, 201, 248, 215, 258, 230 and 247 in Tuesday’s second round.

“That’s the reason we’re here,” said the 37-time PBA Tour winner about his quest for PBA50 Player of the Year. “There were some great players battling for it all season and it’s what we all want.”

The two other players in contention for PBA50 Player of the Year – Hall of
Famers Pete Weber and Tom Baker – also advanced to match play finishing
qualifying in eighth and ninth, respectively, but Weber and Duke will receive a
one-round bye in match play as a result of finishing in the top eight.

“It’s really a tournament inside of a tournament,” Duke added. “With the race
coming down to the last tournament of the year, it makes it fun. I’ll have to be
at my best because I know they’ll be prepared.”

If Duke can win PBA50 Player of the Year, he would join Baker as the only
players to earn Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.  Baker, who is trying for his fifth PBA50 Player of the Year title, accomplished the feat in 2005.

Duke leads the PBA50 Player of the Year race with 56 points, holding an
eight-point lead over Weber in second with 48 points. Baker is in third with 44
points. In the Player of the Year competition, 16 points are awarded to the
tournament winner, the runner-up gets eight points, third-place is worth four
points and the fourth-place finisher earns two points.

In the final tournament of the 2014 season, the field has been cut to the top 24
players for Wednesday’s match play which will culminate with the championship
rounds at 5 p.m. CT.

The top eight players in competition points (not player of the year points) will
also earn an entry into World Series of Bowling VI in Las Vegas Oct. 24-Nov. 2 and a special PBA50 qualifier preceding the World Series which will determine
the two players who will face off in the WSOB Challenge telecast on ESPN.

The final day of the tournament can be seen live on pba.com’s online bowling
channel Xtra Frame. Click on the Xtra Frame logo on the pba.com homepage for subscription information.

PBA50 TREASURE ISLAND RESORT & CASINO OPEN PRESENTED BY HAMMER
Tuesday’s second round results after 16 games
Top 24 advance to match play At Island Xtreme Bowl, Welch, Minn.
a-Denotes amateur
s-Denotes super senior out of the regular prize fund cashing for $700

1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,670.
2, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 3,645.
3, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,620.
4, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 3,607.
5, Randy Pedersen, Orlando, Fla., 3,585.
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,583.
7, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3,546.
8, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,517.
9, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,510.
10, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,474.
11, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 3,457.
12, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 3,456.
13, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3,441.
14, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 3,426.
15, Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,410.
16, Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 3,373.
17, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3,342.
18, Jeff Richgels, Madison, Wis., 3,338.
19, Don Breeden, Clive, Iowa, 3,329.
20, Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 3,309.
21, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,306.
22, Darron Peters, Murrieta, Calif., 3,292.
23, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3,288.
24, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 3,280.

Missed Cut:

25, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,260.
26, a-Dana Wright, St. Paul, Minn., 3,241.
27, s-Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 3,236, $700.
28, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,231.
29, a-Sam Lantto, Eden Prairie, Minn., 3,229.
30, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 3,225.
31, a-Alan Harteneck, Red Wing, Minn., 3,202.
32, s-Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 3,195, $700.
33, a-Bob Markiewicz, San Diego, 3,192.
34, Gary Livingston, Papillion, Neb., 3,183.
35, s-Lucien Casagrande, Canada, 3,180, $700.
36, a-John Brockland, St. Charles, Mo., 3,151.
37, Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 3,150.
38, (tie) Steven Jansson, Barnes, Wis., and s-Phillip Moros, Lombard, Ill., 3,144, $700.
40, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,140.
41, s-Harv Pallas, Stevensville, Mich., 3,123, $700.
42, a-Curtis Matlock, Cloquet, Minn., 3,117.
43, Rick Francis, Linden, Calif., 3,107.
44, Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis., 3,105.
45, s-Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,093, $700.
46, (tie) Jerry Lau, St. Peters, Mo., and a-James Martin, Vero Beach, Fla., 3,077.
48, Bill Idzior, Crown Point, Ind., 3,049.
49, Michael Chrzanowski, Shepherd, Mich., 3,039.
50, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 3,036.
51, Dan Schmerbach, St. Joseph, Mo., 3,031.
52, William Keenan, Jr., Orlando, Fla., 3,027.
53, a-Gilbert Kuchta, West Allis, Wis., 3,013.
54, Tracy Teeters, Salem, Ore., 3,011.
55, Dale Eagle, Newport Beach, Calif., 3,005.
56, Darryl Traber, Waterford, Wis., 2,994.
57, a-Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 2,962.
58, a-Tom Havlish, Coon Rapids, Minn., 2,895.
59, Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., 2,854.
60, Don Birkentall, Omaha, Neb., 2,820.
61, a-Gary Ring, Woodbury, Minn., 2,804.
62, Allen Meskan, Addison, Ill., 2,780.
63, Rich Kleinman, Reno, Nev., 2,768.
64, Will Friedrich, Green Bay, Wis., 2,750.
65, Galen Keas, Alda, Neb., 2,736.
66, Howard Frostman, Washburn, Wis., 2,732.
67, a-Dean Bruinsma, Clear Lake, S.D., 2,730.
68, a=Joe Kolodziejczak, Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada, 2,699.
69, Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 1,489 (withdrew).

300 Games - Dave Axon

Shafer Knocking on The Door of a PBA Major AGAIN

Ryan Shafer, the ultimate bridesmaid in professional bowling major championship tournaments, is once again poised to grasp the title he covets most.

Shafer, a 45-year-old 25-year veteran of Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) competition, is the early second round leader in the 69th U.S. Open Wednesday after averaging 225.17 through the first 12 qualifying games at Brunswick Zone-Carolier.

On the freshly-oiled lane condition Wednesday morning, the Horseheads, NY, resident rolled games of 236, 188, 250, 255, 255 and 229 to finish with 2,702 pins and a 37-pin cushion over co-runners-up Mike Fagan of Dallas and Brian Kretzer of Dayton, Ohio. Amateur Ron Nelson Jr. of Bridgeview, IL, was fourth with 2,654 pins. First round leader Dan MacLelland of Canada, who led Shafer by 140 pins going into Wednesday’s round, dropped to fifth place with a 2,651 total.

Defending champion Norm Duke of Clermont, FL, was in 33rd place among the early finishers with 2,478 pins.

The final one-third of the field of 394 players completed their second round Wednesday evening.

Shafer’s goal is to end a PBA-record string of 13 television finals in major championships without a title. He has finished second in majors five times, including the PBA World Championship earlier this season, and he has three additional top five finishes in majors when fewer than five players advanced to the TV finals.

In the U.S. Open alone, he has six top five finishes.

While Shafer has made at least one television appearance for 15 consecutive years, and has won four standard PBA Tour titles, he has never won a major.

He also realizes the only way he can end the streak is to continue putting himself into position to win one.

“This tournament is too long to worry about Sunday,” Shafer said. “You can’t think ahead.”

“Ahead” is the four-player stepladder finals which will be contested live on ESPN Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern. There also is a $60,000 carrot dangling in front of the winner, but there are still 14 qualifying games plus another 24 games of match play on the sport’s most demanding bowling conditions to get through. Shafer just hopes to be one of the final four.

“I love this tournament,” he said. “It can be frustrating at time, but house knowledge helps a lot. We’ve bowled a lot of tournaments here (at Brunswick Zone-Carolier) and I remember characteristics of the center that help. There are certain sections of the house where I know I can’t use the same ball on both lanes. You’re taking a chance when you do that, but I know I’ll shoot 160 if I don’t do it.

“You don’t expect to bowl that well on the fresh condition,” he said. “But I got a good night’s sleep and came in feeling good. I had one bad game, but for the most part, everything went as planned and I carried the pocket. That was the big thing.”

The entire field will bowl six more qualifying games Thursday. The top 98 players after 18 games will then advance to the eight-game cashers’ round Friday morning. After a total of 27 games, the top 24 will advance to three eight-game round robin match play rounds Friday evening and Saturday to decide the four stepladder finalists. 

All preliminary rounds leading up to Sunday’s ESPN finals are being webcast live on the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, click on the logo on the home page of pba.com.

69TH U.S. OPEN

Brunswick Zone-Carolier, North Brunswick, NJ, Wednesday

EARLY SECOND ROUND (top 64 after 12 games; one-third of the field had yet to complete the second round)

1, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 2,702.
2 (tie), Mike Fagan, Dallas, and Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 2,665.
4, Ron Nelson Jr., Bridgeview, Ill., 2,654.
5, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 2,651.
6, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,620.
7, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,607.
8, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 2,591.
9, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 2,589.
10, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 2,580.
11, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 2,566.
12 (tie), Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, and John Janawicz, Winter Haven, Fla., 2,560.
14, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 2,555.
15, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 2,554.
16, Shannon Buchan, Waterloo, Iowa, 2,553.
17, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,541.
18, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 2,537.
19, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 2,529.
20, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 2,527.
21, Rusty Thomsen, Morgan, N.J., 2,526.
22 (tie), Daniel Farish, Louisville, Ky., and Missy Parkin, Lake Forest, Calif., 2,518.
24, Adam Chase, Seaford, N.Y., 2,510.
25, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,498.
26 (tie), Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., and John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 2,494.
28, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2,489.
29, Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., 2,486.
30, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,482.
31, David Stouffer, Fort Myers, Fla., 2,480.
32, Stephen Haas, Enola, Pa., 2,479.
33, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,478.
34, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 2,477.
35, Michael Steil, Wheeling, Ill., 2,470.
36, Brandon Tarabek, Cleveland Hts., Ohio, 2,459.
37, Jake Peters, Decatur, Ill., 2,458.
38 (tie), Rob Gotterbarn, Garden City South, N.Y., and Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 2,457.
40, Dom Barrett, England, 2,456.
41, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,455.
42, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2,450.
43, T.J. Schmidt, Osceola, Ind., 2,449.
44, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 2,446.
45, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 2,445.
46, Stephen Pavlinko, Sewell, N.J., 2,441.
47, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 2,433.
48, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 2,431.
49, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 2,428.
50 (tie), Andrew Burke, St. Clair Shores, Mich., and Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 2,427.
52, Anthony Colosimo, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 2,417.
53, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 2,412.
54 (tie), Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn.; Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio; Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, and Paul Gibson, Brunswick, Ohio, 2,411.
58, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 2,408.
59 (tie), Alex Aguiar, N. Dartmouth, Mass., and Kenneth Lane, Rosedale, Md., 2,406.
61, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 2,401.
62, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 2,400.
63, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 2,396.
64, John Briggs, Warwick, N.Y., 2,395.