The 69th U.S. Open, will get underway Tuesday, Feb. 21, when a field of 350 of the world's top professional and amateur players from 11 different countries bowl their first eight qualifying games at Brunswick Zone-Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J.

Xtra Frame, the PBA's exclusive online bowling channel, will provide extensive qualifying and match play coverage including the position round of match play when the four players who will advance to Sunday's stepladder finals, televised live on ESPN Feb. 26 at 3 p.m. ET, will be decided.

Xtra Frame's schedule includes eight-game qualifying rounds Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday starting at 8 a.m., noon and 6 p.m. each day. Fridays' coverage will include the cashers' round at 9 a.m. and the first eight games of match play at 6 p.m. Saturday's match play coverage begins at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. All times are Eastern.

U.S. Open coverage followed the Xtra Frame Tour Ricart Ford Open from Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus, Ohio, which will be webcast live in its entirety on Xtra Frame Saturday and Sunday.

PBA fans around the world can follow all of the Ricart Ford Open and U.S. Open coverage for the $7.99 monthly rate. A full-year subscription costs $64.99. In addition to live coverage, subscribers have access to a complete library of previous telecasts, coaching segments, new product discussions and much more.

 

February 26 is final qualifying date for Xtra Frame Dick Weber PBA Playoffs

The deadline for PBA Regional players to earn points for the Xtra Frame Dick Weber PBA Playoffs is closing in.

Remaining qualifying events leading up to the February 26 deadline include the PBA South Region Dave Edwards Spartanburg Senior Open presented by Etonic, Feb. 17-19, at Paradise Lanes in Spartanburg, S.C.; and the PBA Central/Midwest Region Eastown Recreation Center Open presented by Hammer, Feb. 24-26, in Jasper, Ind., and the PBA Midwest/Central Region Showtime Lanes Senior Open sponsored by Allstate Insurance, Feb. 24-26, in Virden, Ill.

The Xtra Frame Dick Weber PBA Playoffs is set for March 30-April 1 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis. Fifteen players from six PBA Regional programs (East, South, Central, Midwest, Southwest and West/Northwest) will qualify for the playoffs along with the top 66 players on the 2011-12 PBA Tour points list and the top 11 PBA Senior Tour players based on their 2011 points list.

The field of 156 will meet in Indianapolis to bowl elimination rounds within their respective regional groups leading up to Regional, Conference and Championship rounds.

The PBA Regional schedule for March 2-4 includes the Midwest/Central Region Plamor Lanes Open presented by Brunswick in Muscatine, Iowa; the South Region New Liberty Lanes Open in Pensacola, Fla., and the Southwest Region Duncan Etonic Open at Freedom Lanes in Duncan, Okla.

For complete Regional tournament schedules and entry information, click here.

 

Xtra Frame Tour's next stop: Detroit

The third of four exclusive Xtra Frame Tour events, the Detroit Open presented by Track, is set for Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich., March 11-12. At stake is a $10,000 first prize, a PBA Tour title and an automatic berth in the Round of 36 in the PBA Tournament of Champions April 8-15 at Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas.

The Xtra Frame Detroit Open will be webcast live, exclusively on the PBA's online bowling channel to an international audience beginning with Saturday's qualifying squads at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET.

All of Sunday's match play competition will be webcast with squads at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. leading up to the four-player stepladder finals at 6 p.m. Full-year and monthly subscriptions to Xtra Frame are available on pba.com.

 

Quick notes:

Veteran PBA Senior Tour competitor Robert McDonald of Addison, Ill., died on Feb. 5 after a lengthy battle with pulmonary lung disease. He was 71. McDonald bowled in 112 PBA Senior Tour events, and almost as many PBA Senior Regional tournaments.

In his first tournament as a PBA member, McDonald finished third in the 1993 ABC Senior Masters. He never won a national title, but he won four senior regional titles during a career which after he turned 50. He is survived by his companion, Joyce Hardy; six children, 22 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

Two highly-visible and long-time personalities in the background at PBA Tour events have new roles. Storm Products Inc. has promoted long-time PBA Tour Consultant Chris Schlemer to a new position as Marketing Manager for Roto Grip, and the company has hired PBA Hall of Famer Del Ballard Jr. to fill Schlemer's role as PBA Tour Consultant.

March 1 is the "early bird" enrollment deadline for a new three-day, world-class Brunswick Bowling Camp hosted by Sean Rash (pictured left) and the entire Brunswick/DV8 pro staff. The event will be held at Brunswick Zone XL in Romeoville, Ill., July 6-8.

PBA Tour players who will be involved in the camp include PBA Hall of Famers Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Parker Bohn III, high-rev players Sean Rash, Tom Smallwood and Ronnie Russell, two-hander Brian Valenta, left-hander Ryan Ciminelli, and PBA Tour veterans Mike Machuga and Chris Loschetter.

The early enrollment fee is $1,200 ($1,300 after March 1). For more information, contact Rash at seanrashfan@gmail.com or visit parkerbohn.com.

PBA Hall of Famers Nelson Burton Jr. (right), Johnny Petraglia and Walter Ray Williams Jr. will be on hand for the 28th annual Frank Bacom Memorial Strike-A-Thon, a benefit for the Regional Hospice of Western Connecticut, Sunday, March 18 at Brookfield Lanes in Brookfield, Conn.

Burton, who has participated in all 28 fundraisers, has helped raise more than $200,000 for the hospice. For more information, contact Frank Acri with the Danbury News Times (frankacri@sbcglobal.net, cell phone: 203-733-7956).

 

Related Articles

2012 PBA Spare Shots #6 - Feb. 10, 2012
2012 PBA Spare Shots #5 - Feb. 1, 2012
2012 PBA Spare Shots #4 - Jan. 24, 2012
2012 PBA Spare Shots #3 - Jan. 19, 2012
2012 PBA Spare Shots #2 - Jan. 12, 2012
2012 PBA Spare Shots #1 - Jan. 5, 2012
2011 PBA Spare Shots