Mike Fagan (pictured left) of Patchogue, N.Y., earned top-qualifier honors Friday for Sunday's stepladder finals of the Professional Bowlers Association One A Day® Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl.

Fagan posted a 17-7 overall match play record and was 8-0 after Friday night's final match play round. His 9,136 39-game overall pinfall was 172 pins ahead of PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. (right) who qualified second for the finals.

Fagan will be hoping to avenge his 278-168 championship match loss to Norm Duke in last season's Dick Weber Open.

"Well I can't do any worse than last year," said the 29-year-old Fagan. "I'm going to be thinking about a game plan for Sunday so I'll be as prepared as I can be for the championship match and hopefully the results will be different this year."

Fagan is trying for his first individual Tour title. He has one PBA Tour win which came in the 2007-08 season in the PBA Exempt Doubles Classic with Danny Wiseman.

Williams, the all-time leader in career PBA Tour titles, will be looking to win his 47th title and second of the season after winning the Motor City Open. He had a 12-12 match play record and 8,964 pinfall.

"It's just a matter of finding the right line and getting a good ball reaction," said the 50-year-old Williams. "I've won from every position in the finals so I like my chances for Sunday."

Qualifying No. 3 for the finals was Hall of Famer Pete Weber (left) with a 8,941 39-game pinfall and 14-9-1 overall match play record.

Weber, who finished third in last year's Dick Weber Open, which is named after his legendary father, is hoping to win his 35th Tour title which would put him in third place all alone on the all-time list.

"I love this house," Weber said. "I always bowl well here but I just haven't been able to put it all together for TV. Hopefully, it will be a different story on Sunday."

Qualifying fourth was last year's fourth-place finisher and four-time Tour titlist Ryan Shafer (left) with 8,919 including a 17-6-1 match play record. Bill O'Neill (right) defeated Eugene McCune in the position round match 278-227 to beat out McCune for the fifth and final stepladder spot by 25 pins, 8,814 to 8,789.

The tournament featured the "traditional" qualifying and match play format used in the PBA's early years with three rounds of qualifying determining the top 24 advancing to three eight-game blocks of round-robin match play. The top five players after match play advance to the stepladder finals.

Sunday's live ESPN2 finals will get underway at 1 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Pacific).

 

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Standings after Match Play Round Three (sixth round overall)

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 39-game total including bonus pins. The top 5 advance to Sunday's stepladder finals at 1 p.m. Eastern.

1, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 17-7, 9,136
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 12-12, 8,964
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 14-9-1, 8,941
4, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 17-6-1, 8,919
5, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 14-10, 8,814

Missed Cut:
6, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 12-12, 8,789, $5,000
7, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 14-10-0, 8,720, $4,500
8, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 14-10-0, 8,640, $4,000
9, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 14-10-0, 8,597, $3,800
10, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 10-14-0, 8,556, $3,600
11, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 10-13-1, 8,514, $3,400
12, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 10-14-0, 8,507, $3,200
13, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 12-12-0, 8,501, $3,000
14, Christopher Collins, Savannah, Ga., 10-13-1, 8,484, $2,800
15, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 13-10-1, 8,466, $2,700
16, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 7-14-3, 8,389, $2,600
17, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 12-12-0, 8,383, $2,500
18, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 14-10-0, 8,345, $2,400
19, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 12-12-0, 8,330, $2,350
20, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, Fla., 9-15-0, 8,317, $2,300
21, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 8-15-1, 8,263, $2,250
22, Ronnie Russell, Camby, Ind., 8-15-1, 8,225, $2,200
23, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 10-14-0, 8,200, $2,150
24, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 10-14-0, 8,160, $2,100

 

Standings after Match Play Round Two (fifth round overall)

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 31-game total including bonus pins.

1, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 9-7-0, 7,110
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 10-5-1, 7,076
3, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 7-9-0, 7,033
4, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 11-5-0, 7,010
5, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 10-5-1, 6,982
6, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 9-7-0, 6,968
7, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 8-8-0, 6,935
8, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 8-8-0, 6,891
9, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 7-8-1, 6,822
10, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6-10-0, 6,812
11, Christopher Collins, Savannah, Ga., 8-8-0, 6,795
12, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 8-8-0, 6,793
13, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 8-8-0, 6,731
14, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 7-9-0, 6,683
15, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 8-7-1, 6,675
16, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, Fla., 6-10-0, 6,660
17, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 7-8-1, 6,641
18, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 8-8-0, 6,632
19, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 10-6-0, 6,605
20, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 8-8-0, 6,593
21, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 7-9-0, 6,583
22, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 7-9-0, 6,571
23, Ronnie Russell, Camby, Ind., 6-9-1, 6,564
24, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 5-9-2, 6,537