Jason Couch became the first No. 1 seed to win a stepladder final since February 2005 and he did it in style, repeating as the Dick Weber Open champion with a 258-236 win over Patrick Allen at Fountain Bowl.

The left-hander became the first bowler to defend a Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour title since Tommy Jones in the Dydo Japan Cup 2005 and just the fourth in history to defend a title in two different events. The three-time Tournament of Champions winner captured his 14th career title, pulling him even with PBA Hall of Fame left-hander Johnny Petraglia.

In a tournament dominated by lefties – four of the five finalists were southpaws – Couch was far and away the most dominant. He led the field from the end of qualifying through three rounds of match play, breaking a nine-match losing streak by top seeds in stepladder finals.

"We all know the problems the top seeds have had and I said last night 'I'm going to shoot 250 and win tournament. 'I didn't think I was actually going to (shoot 250) but I certainly did," Couch (Clermont, Fla.) said. "To win the Dick Weber Open last year was just an honor because the Weber's are such a great family. To win two consecutive years is very special. Pete and Tracy treat me like family."

Couch has rebounded from a lackluster first half of the season when he did not make a TV appearance and was 27th in points to make the finals in two of the three events in the second half.

"I wasn't very pleased with myself the first half of the season," Couch said. "I had a couple good weeks but I didn't bowl like I expect myself to. I told my wife at the break I was going to come back with a positive attitude and it's paid off."

In the title match, the two fiery lefties traded strikes through the first three frames before Allen had trouble in the middle frames. The 2004-05 PBA Player of the Year had four spares in frames 4-8, while Couch had a big strike in the 8th after a nine-spare in the 7th. Couch then struck in the 9th and 10th to clinch his first title this season.

The No. 2 seed Allen advanced to the title match with a 249-245 win over all-time titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. Williams had a chance to win with a strike in the 10, but he left the 4-pin, giving Allen his second win over the PBA Hall of Famer on TV in three weeks.

The fifth-seed Williams advanced with wins over No. 4 Parker Bohn III, 227-225, in the first match and No. 3 Andrew Cain, 216-205, in the second match.

Couch earned $25,000 and an exemption for the 2007-08 season, while Allen (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) took home $13,000 for second. Williams (Ocala, Fla.) earned $7,000 for third, Cain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) earned $6,000 for fourth and Bohn (Jackson, N.J.) earned $5,000 for fifth.

Next week the Denny's PBA Tour heads to Henderson, Nev., for the 2007 Motel 6 Classic, Jan. 24-28 at Strike Zone at Sunset Station. The live ESPN televised finals take place Sunday, Jan. 28 at 9:30 a.m. PST.

It was no surprise that Jason Couch and Patrick Allen were two of the five Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour exempt bowlers to advance to the finals of the 2007 Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl.

It was a mild surprise that rookie Andrew Cain and Parker Bohn III advanced to the finals, while it was definite surprise for Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured) as the all-time Denny's PBA Tour titles leader used 24 games of round robin match play to finish with a 16-8 match play record and a 39-game pinfall of 9,395.

Williams entered the first Round of match play Thursday night in 12th, before moving up three spots in the first and second rounds to begin Friday night's final round in sixth. Williams sat in sixth until the final game of the eight-game block, a positioning match against Mike Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas). In a match that went to the 10th frame, Williams edged Scroggins, 231-215.

Williams will face Bohn (right, Jackson, N.J.) in Sunday's first match. Bohn finished 14-10 with 9,556.

"The guys on top were scoring so well. I really didn't know if I could strike that much, but fortunately this morning I did get some good strikes," said Williams (Ocala, Fla.), the only right-hander of the five finalists. "Tonight I kind of hung in there and fortunately for me, Mike didn't get many breaks against me. He bowled a great game until the last shot, but unfortunately that's part of the game."

Couch (left, Clermont, Fla.) pulled away from the field early in match play and battled fellow Florida resident Allen (right, Wesley Chapel, Fla.) for the top seed in Sunday's show. In the end it was Couch with 9,893 and a 15-8-1 record edging Allen, who shot 9,794 and finished 17-5-2 in match play.

One story worth watching Sunday is Cain (left, Scottsdale, Ariz.). Cain, who is bowling in his first event as a PBA member after joining this past week, finished third with a match play record of 19-5 and a total pinfall of 9,595.

The five bowlers advance to Sunday's live ESPN televised finals at 10 a.m. PST at Fountain Bowl. The winner will take home $25,000 and a one-season Denny's PBA Tour exemption.

Lefties continue to control Dick Weber Open In a sea of left-handed bowlers, right-handed Tommy Delutz Jr. is quietly emerging as a threat to win the thus-far left-handed dominated 2007 Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl.

Delutz went 6-2 in the first Round of match play Thursday night to move up to fifth place with a 5,541 23-game pinfall. Pinfall totals from qualifying carry over into round-robin match play where bowlers earn 30 bonus pins for each win and 15 for each tie.

The two-time Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour titlist was the highest right-hander after the 15 games of qualifying, sitting 10th in the standings. His six wins and 244.25 average over the eight games Thursday night moved him into the top five, which if it holds up would get him into Sunday's finals.

I'm just trying to play that little strip I'm comfortable with in the middle of the lane. When you have a center this big there are three different sections that play differently and I took good notes crossing through qualify. A lot of my guesses tonight were pretty good. I didn't waste four frames trying to line up," Delutz (Flushing, N.Y.) said.

"Match play really has to do with luck of the draw. If I keep popping 220s and 240s I'm going to win a lot of games. The scores aren't that high except for guys who have tremendous looks."

Four bowlers – all left-handed – who have tremendous looks are Jason Couch (Clermont, Fla.), Patrick Allen (left, Wesley Chapel, Fla.), Parker Bohn III (Jackson, N.J.) and Mike Scroggins (on the right, Amarillo, Texas), who sit first through fourth in the standings heading into Friday. Couch maintained his lead from qualifying with a 6-2 record, while Allen went 7-1 to move into second, the best record among the 24 bowlers remaining.

Places 6-8 belong to left-handers Andrew Cain (left, Scottsdale, Ariz.), Dennis Horan Jr. (Temecula, Calif.) and Billy Oatman (on the right, Chicago). Walter Ray Williams Jr. (Ocala, Fla.) is the only other rihght-hander among the top 10 in 9th place. Rounding out the top 10 is lefty Joel Reyes (Chula Vista, Calif.)

All 24 bowlers return Friday for the final 16 games of match play which will be broken into two eight-game blocks. The first eight games get underway at 11 a.m. PST.

The top five will advance to Sunday's live ESPN televised finals at 10 a.m. PST. The winner will take home $25,000 and an exemption for the 2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour season.

Just over a year ago, Jason Couch was raising the trophy at the 2006 Dick Weber Open. If his play Thursday was any indication, Couch could be the latest Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour bowler to successfully defend a tournament crown as he leads in the 2007 Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl.

Couch (Clermont, Fla.) opened Thursday's five-game block with his low score of the day, 216, before improving to games of 247, 265 and 280. The left-hander finished with a 245 for a 15-game qualifying score of 3,701 to advance to the 24-bowler match play round, beginning Thursday evening.

"I would say my scores are a combination of a couple of things," said Couch, who also won last season's 2005 Chicago Classic. "I was pretty comfortable in this center last year and I've always bowled pretty well on the strips pattern in the past. On top of that, I have a little momentum from finishing third and sixth the past two weeks."

If Couch were successful in defending the title, he would become the first to do so since Tommy Jones (Simpsonville, S.C.) did so in the Dydo Japan Cup 2005.

Wednesday's leader, Parker Bohn III (left, Jackson, N.J.), is Couch's closest competitor, 67 pins behind with 3,624. Patrick Allen (right, Wesley Chapel, Fla.), who won the 2007 H&R Block Classic two weeks ago, enters match play in third with 3,558.

Dennis Horan Jr. (Temecula, Calif.), who has four career Denny's PBA Tour titles, is in fourth with 3,519. Rounding out the top five is Mike Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas), who was in the same position after Wednesday. Scroggins ended Thursday's qualifying with 3,512.

The top 24 bowlers return Thursday evening for the first Round of round robin match play which begins at 6 p.m. PST. The eight-game block will be followed by two additional eight-game blocks on Friday to determine the event's top five bowlers.

The top five bowlers will advance to Sunday's live ESPN televised finals at 10 a.m. PST at Fountain Bowl. The winner will take home $25,000 and a one-season Denny's PBA Tour exemption.

In a day dominated by left-handers, Parker Bohn III took control after the first 10 games of qualifying Wednesday in the 2007 Dick Weber Open at Fountain Bowl despite a little more on his mind than bowling.

"My father-in-law passed away about 11 hours ago," said the 2006 Dick Weber Open runner-up. "I have a little extra help right now from above. He's pulling for Doug (Kent, Bohn's brother-in-law) as well. My wife, Leslie, told me to go out and win one for dad."

Bohn (Jackson, N.J.), who bowled one of the day's four perfect games in the first block, opened the second block with a 269 before throwing a 279 in the third game and ending with a 248 to take the lead with a 10-game pinfall of 2,474.

Joel Reyes (Chula Vista, Calif.) opened Wednesday night's five-game block with a 300 and followed it up with three consecutive games of at least 259 before finishing with a 244. His total of 2,470 puts him four pins behind Bohn in second place.

"When I first got here this morning, I was watching the left-handers in the first block and planned to bring the same game in the second block," said the left-hander who has won two regional titles in the PBA West Region. "I didn't blow the lanes up like I wanted to this morning, so tonight I took advantage of the fresh oil like the lefties did this morning. Things started to fall my way and I took advantage."

Defending champion Jason Couch (Clermont, Fla.) is in third with 2,448. The left hander finished Wednesday night with a 255.

Patrick Allen (Wesley Chapel, Fla.), who won the 2007 H&R Block Classic, continues his recent streak, sitting in fourth with 2,391. Mike Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas) rounds out the top five with 2,352. Rookie Andrew Cain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) is sixth with 2,338.

All 153 bowlers return Thursday for another five games with the first squad bowling at 8 a.m. PST and the second at 1 p.m. The top 24 will advance to round robin match play which begins tomorrow at 6 p.m.

The top five bowlers will advance to Sunday's live ESPN televised finals at 10 a.m. PST at Fountain Bowl. The winner will take home $25,000 and a one-season Denny's PBA Tour exemption.