As a veteran of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, Mike Machuga (pictured) isn't sure what the inaugural Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling is going to be like from a competitor's viewpoint, but he's plenty happy to be the defending champion for the opening event, the Motor City Open which gets underway with pro-am squads Sunday at Taylor Lanes.

"Walking into a center where you are defending champion gives you that little extra motivation," the 33-year-old Erie, Pa., resident said. "I've always enjoyed bowling at Taylor Lanes and I've had good success here, so I'm looking forward to defending my title."

Machuga won the Chameleon Championship at Taylor Lanes last November, advancing as the No. 5 qualifier to the title match where he nipped Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., 209-204, for his second career PBA Tour title and his first in seven years.

The former University of Nebraska Collegiate All-American will be defending champion at Taylor Lanes, where a different lane condition will be used for the Motor City Open than the Chameleon lane condition he won on last year, but he'll also have a chance to defend his Chameleon Championship Aug. 18-20 when the World Series of Bowling moves a few miles to Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park.

Several other players will try to retain titles as the World Series progresses: Parker Bohn III will defend in the Cheetah Championship Aug. 10-13; Brad Angelo and Stefanie Nation will defend their Viper Championships Aug. 14-16; Michelle Feldman will join Machuga in defense of her PBA Women's Series presented by BOWL.COM Chameleon Championship Aug. 18-20; Wes Malott and Feldman will defend their Scorpion Championships Aug. 23-26, and Rhino Page and Jodi Woessner will defend in the Shark Championships Aug. 27-29.

Norm Duke will begin his bid for a third consecutive PBA World Championship Aug. 30-Sept. 4. The PBA Women's and Senior World Championships Aug. 30-Sept. 4 are new events.

Getting ready for the mega-series is new to all PBA members, but not something Machuga and friends worried about excessively over the summer months.

"Obviously the World Series is something we've never done before and like everything else there's probably going to be pros and cons to it," Machuga said. "I'm not sure how I feel about the schedule, but I'm going into it with no presumptions and just see how it goes.

"When the season's over I usually take about six weeks off from bowling to get refreshed," he continued. "Then about four weeks before the start of the season I start attacking it hard working on my game – getting sharp both physically and mentally. That's what I did this summer. I'm probably not doing anything a whole lot different getting ready than I would for a normal Tour season."

Actual competition in the Motor City Open gets underway Tuesday. The finals will be contested on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Thunderbowl Lanes for tape-delayed telecast on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 1.

 

Motor City Open

Taylor Lanes, Taylor, Mich., Aug. 2-6

Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009
2 and 6 p.m. – Pro/Am squads

Monday, Aug. 3, 2009
11 a.m. – Practice
6 p.m. – Pro/Am squad

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009
8 a.m. – A Squad, 5 games qualifying
11 a.m. – B Squad, 5 games qualifying
4 p.m. – B Squad, 5 games qualifying
7 p.m. – A squad, 5 games qualifying

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009
8 a.m. – B Squad, 5 games qualifying
1 p.m. – A Squad, 5 games qualifying (top 24 advance to round robin match play)
6 p.m. – Match Play Round One, 8 games

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009
11 a.m. – Match Play Round Two, 8 games
6 p.m. – Match Play Round Three, 8 games
Top 5 advance to stepladder finals (Saturday, Sept. 5, 3:30 p.m., Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich.)