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Walter Ray Williams Jr. takes early lead in PBA Senior Player of the Year points race

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06/03/12

2012 PBA Spare Shots #22

Heading into the Etonic PBA Senior U.S. Open at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas June 3-8, the all-time leader in PBA Tour titles, Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., (pictured left) holds a slim two-point lead in the 2012 PBA Senior Player of the Year race over "rookie" Bob Learn Jr. (right) of Erie, Pa.

After the first four tournaments of the season, Williams had 20 points in a Senior Tour race which awards 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1 points for first through fifth place finishes in standard events.

The 47-time PBA Tour title winner earned 16 points for his third career Senior Tour win in the Senior Don Carter Memorial and two points each for fourth-place finishes in The Sun Bowl in the Villages and the Senior Mooresville Classic.

Learn had 18 points, fellow "rookie" Lennie Boresch Jr. (left) of Kenosha, Wis., and PBA Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia (right) of Jackson, N.J., had 16 each, and Ron Profitt of Brookville, Ohio was fifth with 12.

During the first of two major championships, stakes will rise for the Senior U.S. Open where top-five point values increase to 24, 12, 8, 4 and 2 points. The same elevated points will apply to the USBC Senior Masters June 10-15 at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

The Senior U.S. Open will be covered extensively by PBA's exclusive online bowling channel, Xtra Frame, Monday-Friday, June 4-8, concluding with the four-player stepladder finals Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. Pacific).

Reigning PBA Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, will attempt to become the third two-time winner of the Senior U.S. Open, joining Wayne Webb (2008 and '09) and Tom Baker (2005 and '06) as multiple winners. Mohr also finished second in the 2010 Senior U.S. Open.

Schedule revised for GEICO Summer Shootout telecasts on ESPN

ESPN's coverage of the GEICO Summer Shootout from 10pin bowling lounge in Chicago has been modified.

The series of 15 30-minute shows will debut with four back-to-back shows on Saturday, July 7, at 2 p.m., followed by five consecutive shows on Saturday, July 14, starting at noon. All times are Eastern. The final six half-hour shows will air on Sunday, July 15, starting at 1 p.m.

ESPN2 will re-air the entire series starting with the first five shows on Sunday, July 8, at 1:30 p.m. Two shows will re-air on Saturday, July 21, at 4 p.m., and Saturday, July 28, at 3 p.m. Re-airs continue with five back-to-back shows on Saturday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m. and two shows on Sunday, Aug. 5, starting at 3 p.m.

Regional Roundup: Hall of Famer Pappas wins In Virginia

PBA Hall of Famer George Pappas (pictured) of Cornelius, N.C., continued to pad his resume, winning the South Region Liberty Fair Mall Senior Open presented by Track on Sunday, May 27, in Martinsville, Va. Pappas defeated Vince Honeycutt of Buford, Ga., 191-184, to claim the $1,500 top prize.

In back-to-back one-day PBA Midwest/Central Regional events hosted by Poplar Creek Bowl in Hoffman Estates, Ill., Larry Zacharias of Bolingbrook, Ill., topped Mike Mineman of O'Fallon, Ill., 190-169, to win Saturday's Viper Senior Open sponsored by Allstate Insurance, but Mineman avenged his loss in Sunday's Cheetah Senior Open sponsored by Allstate Insurance, defeating Randy Robertson of Evansville, Ind., 258-205, for the title. Both winners collected $1,200.

On the June 8-10 PBA Regional schedule is the joint Southwest/Midwest Region Wichita (Kan.) Open at Thunderbird Lanes, and the PBA East Region Dominick DiCicco Memorial Open at Brunswick Zone Turnersville (N.J.).

The June 15-17 weekend includes the PBA South Region Reality Check Classic at Brunswick Harbor Lanes in Melbourne, Fla.; the PBA East Region Howell Lanes Open presented by Brunswick in Howell, N.J., and a pair of "animal pattern" championship events: the PBA Central Region J.D. Producing Inc./Triway Lanes Cheetah Open presented by Hammer in Wooster, Ohio, and the PBA West/Northwest Wine Country Scorpion Open presented by Columbia 300 at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, Calif.

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