Finland's Lehtonen, Koivuniemi 1-2 in WSOB Viper Championship

10/27/10

2010-11 PBA Tour #2

Four international bowlers make the cut to the top 16 for match play

2010EBT16MikaKoivuniemi.jpg2010EBT16KimmoLehtonen.jpgFinland's amateur standout Kimmo Lehtonen (pictured left) and eight-time PBA champion and 2003-04 PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi (right), a native of Finland who is living in Hartland, Mich., held the lead after 12 games in the Viper Championship qualifying round as the 252-player field was cut to the top 16 for round robin match play on Monday, Nov. 1.

Among the top 16 during the second day of competition at the Professional Bowlers Association World Series of Bowling at South Point Bowling Center on Tuesday were another two international bowlers with Colombia's Andres Gomez in fourth and PBA Hall of Famer and 19-time PBA champion Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, in 10th place.

Left-handed Lehtonen, who was in 12th place after the first block of six games (1,371) on the Viper pattern posted the field-best 1447 series in the second block including games of 249, 209, 227, 235, 269 and 258, an average of 241,16 to shoot into the lead with 2818 (234.83).

Lehtonen said the difference between bowling on a freshly-oiled condition in the six-game morning block compared to an evening condition that had been broken down by the previous squad – commonly called a "burned condition" – was "not so many open frames. In the morning, I had a lot more open frames. Too many splits."

He also had high praise for Koivuniemi ("Mika is my best friend"), a long-time Team Finland teammate even though Koivuniemi currently lives in Hartland, Mich.

"Mika has coached me for many, many years. Every time I want to learn something new, I take a flight to see him and live in his home. One year he changed me from a crouched stance and a five-step approach to an upright stance with six steps. Two months later, I won the European Championship."

Lehtonen, a left-hander, decided to bowl in the World Series "because I'm hungry to learn something new and the best players in the world are here in the United States. The World Series is five different lane conditions. That's something new for me. I've played some tournaments in the U.S. before, but now my plan is I'm going to bowl all the tournaments I can this year."

Koivuniemi, who was fifth after the morning session with 1,397 had the second highest series of 1,420 to land in second place with 2817, just one pin short of the lead.

"I didn't start that well today," Koivuniemi said. "In my first four games, I only had one turkey. I felt I bowled good, but I didn't knock the pins down. Then I started striking and I shot 287, 286 the last two games.

"Tonight I bowled really good," he continued. "I changed ball for last two games and finished with 258, 268. I never played far outside on the lane. I started around the 15 board, and maybe moved in to 25. This morning I was playing closer to 30, but I could use my loft today, which was helpful to me."

Koivuniemi, who is trying for his first title since the 2007 Japan Cup, said he is indifferent to the Viper pattern, or any of the other special PBA conditions, for that matter.

2010EBT15SeanRash2.jpg200910PBAAndresGomez.jpg"Different houses, different kinds of oil, they all play differently," he said. "I feel like I can win on any pattern. But it's been too long since I won a title. That's why I'm here – to win, not to be just one of the guys who bowls. If I feel like I can't win, I won't bowl any more. But I still feel like I can."

First block co-leaders Sean Rash (pictured left), Wichita, Kan. and Gregory Thompson Jr., Dayton, Ohio, slipped to third and fifth place with 2,792 and 2,766, respectively.

Andres Gomez (right) used a 1,407 series to leap from eighth to fourth place with 2,789. Amleto Monacelli jumped from a tied 22nd to tenth place behind a 1,364 second block.

Five of the 16 players who made the first cut in the Brunswick Pro Bowling Cheetah Championship on Monday will also make a round robin match play appearance in the Viper Championship.

2010EBT05NormDuke.jpg201011PBA01RitchieAllen.jpgNorm Duke (pictured left), Clermont, Fla. fired a 1,437 series, the third-highest series of the event, to jump from 19th to seventh place with 2,711 total. Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa. was eighth with 2,704 and Cheetah qualifying leader Ritchie Allen (right), Columbia, S.C. was ninth with 2,695.

After 24 games, Allen leads the PBA World Championship qualifying with a total of 5,715 pins, 91 better than Lonnie Waliczek of Wichita, Kan., who missed the cut by 13 pins in 18th place with 2,645.

"It's a marathon. There are still three more days," Allen said. "I'm definitely not getting ahead of myself. The lanes were real difficult tonight, but my balls seems to want to knock them down right now and if I can keep making cuts, good things will happen."

Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., also made his second top 16 finish in 11th place with 2,682 as well as Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, in 13th place with 2,663.

Tyler Jensen , Ft. Worth, Texas, posted a 1,409 series to beat out Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, fort he 16th and last spot to advance by 12 pins, 2,658 to 2,646.

2010EBT13OskuPalermaaPeterLjung.jpg2010EBT15MartinLarsen.jpgAnother four international bowlers finished qualifying among the top 30. Martin Larsen (left) was in 20th place with 2, 624 with Peter Ljung, both Sweden, in 26th place with 2,607. South Korea's Choi Won-Young was tied with two-hander Osku Palermaa, Finland, for 30th place with 2,600. Pictured right: L-R Palermaa, Ljung.

The World Series field will bowl its third 12-game qualifying round on the Chameleon Championship lane conditioning pattern Wednesday. The Scorpion and Shark Championship patterns will follow on Thursday and Friday, respectively, completing the 60-game qualifying series that will produce the PBA World Championship standings.

All of the World Series action is being webcast live on PBA's Xtra Frame, the exclusive video-streaming service of the PBA. For one-day, World Series-only or full-season subscriptions to Xtra Frame, visit www.xtraframe.tv.

 


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Viper Championship - Round 2


The top 16 after 12 games advance to round-robin match play Monday, Nov. 1.
* indicates non-member bowler. INT = international. bowler.


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