Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions winner Mika Koivuniemi (pictured left) of Hartland, Mich.; defending Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open champion Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., and PBA World Champion Chris Barnes (right) of Double Oak, Texas, pace the PBA statistical races heading into the start of the Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open Tuesday at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J.

Koivuniemi, with his record $250,000 first prize in the TOC, easily tops PBA Tour earnings race with $285,940 through nine events. TOC runner-up Tom Smallwood, who won $100,000 in that event, is second with $115,200. Barnes and O'Neill are third and fourth, respectively, with $95,760 and $79,440.

Koivuniemi also is the average leader, scoring at a 225.35 pace for 203 games. O'Neill is about two pins behind at 223.05, and Barnes is third at 222.24.

In the important PBA competition points race, however, O'Neill (pictured left) is the leader, followed by Barnes and Koivuniemi. While the points race will no longer be the sole deciding factor in the 2010-11 PBA Player of the Year race, it will play an extremely important role in the new end-of-season Dick Weber PBA Playoffs.

The top six in points after the U.S. Open and the Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship will earn three "bye" rounds in the PBA Playoffs. Heading into the U.S. Open, Sean Rash, Jason Belmonte (right) and Mike DeVaney round out the top six.

The next six – ranking seventh through 12th in points – earn two bye rounds in the PBA Playoffs. Those six currently are Michael Haugen Jr., Osku Palermaa (left), Tommy Jones, Wes Malott, Tom Smallwood and Mike Fagan.

A third group of six – from 13th through 18th in points – will get one "bye" in the Playoffs: Dan MacLelland (right), Ronnie Russell, Norm Duke, Pete Weber, Jack Jurek and Ritchie Allen occupy those positions.

The top 72 on the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour points list will qualify for the Dick Weber PBA Playoffs, joining 108 players who have qualified through the PBA's regional program in a unique elimination tournament. The Dick Weber PBA Playoffs will be held March 8-13 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.

Xtra Frame will follow all of the action in the U.S. Open and the concluding tournaments of the 2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.

 

Masters champ receives exemption for Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship

Bayer USBC Masters champion Tom Hess (pictured) of Urbandale, Iowa, has been granted a PBA Commissioner's Exemption to participate in the Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship at AMF Thruway Lanes in Buffalo, N.Y., March 1-6. PBA Hall of Famers Johnny Petraglia and Tom Baker, defending champion Brian Ziesig and five-time PBA Tour champion Bob Learn Jr. also have been granted Commissioner's Exemptions.

 

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2010-11 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Statistics

As of Feb. 19, thru 10 events

Earnings List with Titles and Money
1, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1, $285,940
2, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich. 0, $115,200
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1, $99,760
4, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 1, $79,440
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1, $59,200
6, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill. 0, $55,430
7, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 0, $54,210
8, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1, $50,000
9, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 0, $50,000
10, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 0, $49,450
11, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich. 0, $48,090
12, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1, $41,850
13, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. 0, $37,930
14, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y. 0, $36,750
15, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. 0, $32,400
16, Michael Haugen Jr. Carefree, Ariz. 0, $32,300
17, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J. 0, $27,395
18, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla. 0, $27,050
19, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind. 0, $24,950
20, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif. 0, $24,800

 

Scoring Averages with number of Events Games and Average
1, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. 9, 203, 225.35
2, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa. 9, 204, 223.05
3, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 9, 191, 222.24
4, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 7, 154, 221.91
5, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich. 8, 176, 220.22
6, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich. 9, 185, 220.08
7, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9, 198, 220.03
8, Tommy Jones, Greenville, S.C. 9, 153, 219.81
9, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill. 9, 194, 219.62
10, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y. 9, 196, 219.60
11, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J. 9, 169, 219.55
12, Michael Haugen Jr. Carefree, Ariz. 9, 176, 218.89
13, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 9, 131, 218.85
14, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla. 9, 148, 218.56
15, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. 9, 183, 218.45
16, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif. 9, 165, 218.33
17, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C. 8, 127, 217.80
18, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 9, 153, 217.67
19, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 9, 173, 217.53
20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo. 9, 151, 217.52

 

Competition Points with number of Cashes, Match Play Appearance,
Championship Round Appearance and Points
1, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa. 9, 8, 3, 110,814
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 7, 5, 2, 96,523
3, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. 7, 6, 3, 92,385
4, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill. 7, 6, 2, 89,461
5, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 7, 7, 3, 86,882
6, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif. 6, 4, 2, 81,719
7, Michael Haugen Jr. Carefree, Ariz. 8, 6, 2, 77,022
8, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 4, 4, 3, 75,476
9, Tommy Jones, Greenville, S.C. 5, 3, 2, 75,063
10, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 6, 5, 2, 70,257
11, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich. 7, 4, 2, 64,384
12, Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y. 7, 5, 1, 62,801
13, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich. 5, 4, 2, 60,377
14, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind. 7, 4, 0, 60,214
15, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla. 7, 5, 1, 58,944
16, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo. 5, 2, 1, 56,494
17, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. 7, 2, 1, 53,626
18, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C. 7, 2, 1, 53,047
19, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 5, 3, 0, 51,305
20, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4, 2, 1, 51,090