Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, NY, who has endured a series of bad breaks in his
quest for his first PBA50 Tour title, made a breakthrough Thursday night when he
struck on eight of his first nine shots to defeat PBA Hall of Famer Randy
Pedersen of Clermont, FL, 242-205, in the title match of the PBA50 South Shore
Open at Olympia Lanes.
“It’s never an easy battle out here,” Jurek said. “I’ve won a couple of Steve
Nagy Sportsmanship Awards because I’ve lost a lot of times in title matches and
people think I’m a nice guy.”
Jurek, who had disappointing losses in Dayton, Ohio, a week earlier after
losing a crushing loss to Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. earlier in the
year in the USBC Senior Masters title match, came into the finale in Hammond
with a fresh attitude, thanks in part to some advice he got from Pedersen, his
traveling roommate.
“(Randy) and I talked a little after my debacle in Dayton and he gave me some
thoughts about how he approaches things,” Jurek said. “It helped. I’ve got a lot
of guys who have been trying to help. (PBA legend) Mark Roth has been telling
me, stop being so nice. Go beat people, so tonight I just decided to go for it.
I was a lot more aggressive than I have been.”
Against Pedersen, Jurek’s only major mistake was leaving a 2-4-8-10 split in
the fourth frame, but otherwise he was nearly perfect.
“Jack was due,” Pedersen said. “He’s been bowling really well. After he left
the 2-4-8-10 (in the fifth frame), I was wondering if the old Jack was going to
show up or the new one. He preserved.”
In the first semifinal round between a pair of PBA Hall of Famers, Pedersen
defeated Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, 267-226, putting a crimp in Weber’s hopes
to overtake fellow PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke in the 2014 PBA50 Player of the
Year race. That battle will be decided in the PBA50 Tour’s season finale in Welch, MN, next week.
Duke, who leads the race with 56 points, failed to add to his total in
Hammond when he was eliminated in the Round of 8. Weber picked up four points
for finishing fourth to increase his total to 48 heading into Welch, MN. Tom
Baker of King, NC, also remains in contention with 44 points. In the Player of
the Year competition, 16 points will be 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 second semifinal match, Jurek, a PBA50 Tour rookie and two-time PBA
Tour title winner, used a string of nine strikes to defeat Canadian John
Chapman, 267-206. For Chapman, who was trying for his first PBA50 title, it was
his highest finish as a senior player.
The most dramatic match of the tournament came in the best-of-five-game Round
of 16 when Chapman eliminated Duke, 3-2. After Duke jumped out to a 2-0 lead,
Chapman rallied to win the last three games, 247-234, 231-224 and 248-247.
The PBA50 Tour concludes its 2014 season next week with the PBA50 Treasure
Island Resort & Casino Open presented by Hammer at Island Xtreme Bowl in
Welch, MN. The season-finale gets underway with a special “Pete Weber Knock
Down Pins for Cancer” event on Sunday, Aug. 10, followed by eight-game
qualifying rounds Monday and Tuesday at 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. After 16
games, the top 32 players will advance to single-elimination match play
competition beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The Round of 8, followed by semifinal
and championship rounds, begin at 5 p.m.
The Pete Weber fund-raising event and all rounds of the tournament will be
carried live on Xtra Frame, PBA’s online bowling channel. For subscription
information, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link.
PBA50 SOUTH SHORE OPEN PRESENTED BY DV8 Thursday’s final results
At Olympia Lanes, Hammond, Ind.
Championship: Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. ($7,500) def.
Randy Pedersen, Clermont, Fla. ($4,000), 242-205.
Semifinal Round (losers earned $2,500): Pedersen def.
Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 267-226.
Jurek def. John Chapman, Canada,
267-206.
Round of 8 (best of three games, losers eliminated and earned
$1,600): Jurek def. Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-0.
Weber def. Don
Breeden, Clive, Iowa, 2-0.
Pedersen def. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.,
2-1.
Chapman def. Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 2-1.
Round of 16 (best of five games, losers eliminated and earned
$1,300): Weber def. Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3-0.
Breeden
def. Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3-1.
Pedersen def. Kerry Painter,
Henderson, Nev., 3-2.
Bohn def. Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-1.
Jurek def.
Rick Thomas, Willowbrook, Ill., 3-1.
Baker def. Harry Sullins, Chesterfield
Twp., 3-2.
Williams def. Monacelli, 3-0.
Round of 24 (best of five games, losers eliminated and earned
$1,100): Goebel def. Leroy Johnson, Chicago, 3-1.
Breeden def.
Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3-1.
Painter def. Dale Traber,
Cedarburg, Wis., 3-0.
Mohr def. Tracy Teeters, Salem, Ore., 3-2.
Thomas
def. Brad Snell, Mount Prospect, Ill., 3-0.
Baker def. Kenny Parks, Hammond,
Ind., 3-2.
Williams def. Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 3-0.
Duke
def. Lennie Boresch, Kenosha, Wis., 3-0.
Chapman def. Norm Duke, Clermont,
Fla., 3-2.
Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Pete Weber fired an 846 series in the first three games of second round qualifying Wednesday helping him surge into the lead in the PBA50 South Shore Open presented by DV8 at Olympia Lanes in Hammond, IN.
Weber, trying for his second PBA50 Tour title of the season after a win in the recent Pro Bowl West Fort Wayne Classic, bowled games of 278, 279, 289, 248, 259, 237, 278 and 226 in the second round, finishing qualifying with a 4,047 16-game overall pinfall total (253 average).
Weber led qualifying by 91 pins over two-time PBA Tour winner Jack Jurek who
finished second after qualifying with a 3,956 pinfall. The field was cut to the
top 24 players who advanced to Thursday’s match play rounds.
“How well I bowl really comes down to how relaxed and comfortable I am,” said
Weber, “Usually it’s adjusting to the conditions, finding the right line on the
lane and making sure you have the right ball, but for the past few years it all
comes down to how relaxed I am."
“I used the same equipment I used in the first round and played the lanes the
same way – I really didn’t change anything. I’m in a good rhythm and my timing is right where it should be and that’s really the key to me bowling well right now.”
In the 2013 South Shore Open, Weber, the 2013 PBA50 Rookie of the Year, also dominated qualifying leading eventual winner Walter Ray Williams Jr., who qualified second by more than 300 pins.
“When I walked in the door I immediately felt good about how I was going to bowl here,” added Weber, who owns 37 PBA Tour titles.
As a result of finishing in the top eight, Weber and Jurek earned a first round
bye for match play.
Rounding out the top eight were John Chapman, Canada, 3,921, followed by Hall of Famers Parker Bohn III, Jackson, New Jersey, 3,909; Randy Pedersen, Orlando, Florida, 3,890 and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,847. First round leader Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Michigan, 3,839 and Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3,837 finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Williams, the two-time defending PBA50 Player of the Year as well as South Shore Open defending champion, finished qualifying in 11th with a 3,795 pinfall.
The final day of the the South Shore Open, which is the second to last
tournament of the 2014 season, can be seen on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. For subscription and schedule information click on the Xtra Frame logo on the pba.com homepage.
PBA50 SOUTH SHORE OPEN PRESENTED BY DV8
Wednesday’s second round results after 16 games
Top 24 advance to match play
At Olympia Lanes
Hammond, Ind.
a-Denotes amateur
s-Denotes super senior out of the regular prize fund cashing for $700
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 4,047.
2, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,956.
3, John Chapman, Canada, 3,921.
4, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,909.
5, Randy Pedersen, Orlando, Fla., 3,890.
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,847.
7, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 3,839.
8, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3,837.
9, Don Breeden, Clive, Iowa, 3,799.
10, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,797.
11, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,795.
12, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3,778.
13, Tracy Teeters, Salem, Ore., 3,774.
14, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,766.
15, Brad Snell, Mount Prospect, Ill., 3,748.
16, Leroy Johnson, Chicago, 3,739.
17, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3,737.
18, Rick Thomas, Willowbrook, Ill., 3,715.
19, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 3,708.
20, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3,704.
21, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,663.
22, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 3,660.
23, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,648.
24, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,645.
Missed Cut:
25, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 3,641, $900.
26, (tie) George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., and Jeff Richgels, Madison, Wis., 3,620.
28, s-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 3,613, $700.
29, a-Bob Markiewicz, San Diego, 3,612.
30, s-Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 3,611, $700.
31, William Peters, Dayton, Ohio, 3,608.
32, Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 3,595.
33, Rick Francis, Linden, Calif., 3,587.
34, s-Bill Idzior, Crown Point, Ind., 3,586, $700.
35, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,577.
36, s-Dale Eagle, Newport Beach, Calif., 3,576, $700.
37, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 3,568.
38, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 3,554.
39, s-Michael Chrzanowski, Shepherd, Mich., 3,546, $700.
40, s-Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 3,527, $700.
41, Darron Peters, Murrieta, Calif., 3,522.
42, s-Richard Hunt, Valparaiso, Ind., 3,521, $700.
43, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 3,510.
44, Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 3,506.
45, Dean Billings, Rootstown, Ohio, 3,485.
46, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,459.
47, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3,442.
48, Bill Neumann, Rensselaer, N.Y., 3,436.
49, William Keenan, Jr., Orlando, Fla., 3,431.
50, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 3,426.
51, Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 3,425.
52, Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., 3,417.
53, Mark Medler, Waterloo, Ind., 3,407.
54, Larry Salvati, Canada, 3,406.
55, (tie) Harv Pallas, Stevensville, Mich., and Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,394.
57, (tie) Galen Keas, Alda, Neb., and Dave Bernhardt, Romeo, Mich., 3,393.
59, Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,391.
60, Ken Waters, Kingsport, Tenn., 3,372.
61, Rich Wilkinson, Bennington, Neb., 3,368.
62, a-Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 3,353.
63, Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, 3,322.
64, Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 3,313.
65, Robert Kicmal, LaGrange, Ill., 3,310.
66, Rick Woloszyn, Griffith, Ind., 3,279.
67, Ray Johnson, Battle Creek, Mich., 3,268.
68, Lyle Zikes, Arlington Heights, Ill., 3,258.
69, Brendan Bierch, Grafton, Mass., 3,256.
70, Gary Kammes, Winfield, Ill., 3,255.
71, Don Holmes, Itasca, Ill., 3,235.
72, Peter Brainard, Tampa, Fla., 3,145.
73, Lee Brosius, Ashburn, Va., 3,130.
74, Larry Helton, Bolingbrook, Ill., 3,115.
75, Kevin Vostry, Bolingbrook, Ill., 3,093.
76, Allen Meskan, Addison, Ill., 2,994.
77, Rich Kleinman, Reno, Nev., 2,929.
Finland’s Osku Palermaa took a big step forward in his quest to win his second Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) title, advancing to the finals of the PBA World Championship by eliminating PBA Tour veteran Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, NY, and England’s Stuart Williams and Dom Barrett in the Don Carter Division finals that aired Sunday on ESPN.
Palermaa, Europe’s premier two-handed bowling star, won the first of four PBA World Championship elimination rounds at South Point Hotel Exhibition Hall in Las Vegas, NV, with a 223-188 victory over Barrett in the final game of the Carter finals. The divisional finals consist of three one-game rounds, starting with four players, and eliminating the lowest-scoring player after each game with the surviving player advancing to the PBA World Championship finals on Jan. 15.
In the opening game, Barrett led the group with a 257 game, Williams followed with a 215, Palermaa posted a 187 and Jurek was the first man eliminated with a 169. Back-to-back unconverted splits in the second and third frames contributed to Jurek’s early exit.
Barrett again led the group in the second game with a 201, Palermaa was second with a 188 and Williams was eliminated with a 170 game. In game three, three splits which he failed to convert doomed Barrett’s bid to advance to the World Championship final round.
The Carter finals were conducted on the PBA’s Viper lane condition, selected by Williams as the highest qualifier in the field of four.
Palermaa, who won his first PBA Tour title in the GEICO Shark Championship during the 2010 PBA World Series of Bowling, will join the winners of the Billy Hardwick, Johnny Petraglia and Mike Aulby Division finals in the PBA World Championship finals on Jan. 15 on ESPN. The PBA World Championship offers a $50,000 first prize and the first major title of the 2011-12 PBA Tour season.
“It was difficult today,” Palermaa said. “We didn’t make the lane condition easy. The key was to try to bowl a clean game, because no one was going to strike a lot.”
Palermaa, one of 52 international players who represented 16 countries in the World Series of Bowling, said his international experience was a big help in Las Vegas.
“We bowl on everything in all different kinds of environments,” Palermaa said of his world-wide experience. “We have to be good on all kinds of conditions or we don’t get a paycheck.
“I’ve been battling a flu-like virus for almost two months,” he added. “I’m feeling better, but if I can bowl like this in the finals, maybe I’ll want to be sick again.”
The Billy Hardwick Division finalists will be the next World Championship group to bowl. Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, MI, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship for his only PBA Tour title, is the top qualifier in the Hardwick group and selected the Scorpion pattern as the lane condition for the second eliminator round. Other Hardwick Division players will be Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz, Colombia’s Andres Gomez, and four-time PBA Tour titlist Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, NY. Ruiz, who is making his PBA television debut, and Gomez are both seeking their first PBA Tour titles.
The Hardwick Division finals air Sunday, Dec. 18, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN. A special pre-game show will be webcast beginning Wednesday on pba.com’s Xtra Frame and a post-game Xtra Frame interview with the winner will immediately follow Sunday’s telecast.
PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DON CARTER DIVISION FINALSSouth Point Exhibition Hall, Las Vegas
Round One (lowest score eliminated): Dom Barrett, England, 257; Stuart Williams, England, 215; Osku Palermaa, Finland, 187; Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 169 ($4,000).
Round Two (lowest score eliminated): Barrett 201, Palermaa 188, Williams 170 ($4,500).
Championship (winner advances to PBA World Championship finals): Palermaa def. Barrett ($5,000), 223-188.
