03/21/08
2007-08 PBA Spare Shots #20
Weber leads top 32 into round robin match play at GEICO Classic
AMF Babylon Lanes in West Babylon, NY (March 19-23, 2008)
Pete Weber hasn't had many breaks go his way this season, but he figures two solid weeks to close out the campaign will salvage what has been, by his standards, a slow season.Weber led Thursday's Round of 64 in the 2008 GEICO Classic at AMF Babylon Lanes with a 3,544 14-game pinfall, taking the top seed into Friday's round robin match play.
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Hall of Famer with 34 Denny's PBA Tour titles has come up empty in three championship round appearances, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable in going just 1-3 in his matches. But a win in one – or both – of the final two events would leave him more than satisfied with his season.
"Just bowling well the last two weeks and feeling I ended the year just as well as I started is going to mean a lot to me," Weber (St. Ann, Mo.) said. "The U.S. Open is next week and I always get psyched up for that."
Last season, Weber had one of the finest seasons of his 27-year career, winning two titles including the prestigious U.S. Open. The victory was his record-tying fourth U.S. Open crown and eighth career Major title.
Weber is certainly not looking ahead to next week's season-ending 65th Denny's U.S. Open, however, averaging 253.14 on the Cheetah oil pattern Thursday, a pattern he has not made a championship round appearance on in the six seasons since the PBA went to the five standard patterns.
"I just hope the alarm doesn't go off," Weber joked. "I bowled well all day. I only missed one spare and had maybe two splits. Other than that every frame was filled. When you go out and have room and get some breaks your confidence gets sky high. Having that many days off helped my mind, too."
Weber took the Go RVing Classic off two weeks ago and the Tour was on hiatus last week, giving Weber plenty of time to gear up for the final two events.
All pinfall carries over into Friday's round robin, where bowlers earn 30 bonus pins for each win and 15 for each tie.
Chris Barnes (left), who currently leads the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year race by four points heading into the final two events, finished second with 3,426. Barnes leads PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. (right) in the race. Williams finished seventh Thursday with 3,290.The 2004-05 PBA Player of the Year Patrick Allen, who still has an outside chance at this year's award, finished third with 3,379 while 2006-07 Player of the Year Tommy Jones finished fourth with 3,320.
Two New Yorkers who were each in last year's finals at AMF Babylon Lanes finished in the top six as Long Island native Michael Fagan took fifth with 3,299 and Tommy Delutz Jr. took sixth with 3,292. Both bowlers lost in the stepladder finals last season to Norm Duke, who beat a total of four New Yorkers en route to the title. A new winner will be crowned this year as Duke did not qualify for match play, finishing 54th.
The top 32 advanced to round robin match play on Friday which gets underway at 11 a.m. ET with the first of two nine-game blocks. The top 16 after the first nine games advance to the second round Friday evening after which the field will be narrowed to five bowlers for Sunday's finals.
The live ESPN-televised championship round gets underway at 1 p.m. ET with the winner taking home $25,000 and an exemption for the 2008-09 Denny's PBA Tour.
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Tour Qualifying Round
Round of 64
Players with position, hometown and 14-game pinfall. Top 32 advance. Positions 33-64 cash.
1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,544
2, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,426
3, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,379
4, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,320
5, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,299
6, Tommy Delutz Jr., Flushing, N.Y., 3,292
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,290
8, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,271
9, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 3,262
10, Mitch Beasley, Arlington, Texas, 3,239
11, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,232
12, Mike Mineman, Belleville, Ill., 3,206
13, David Leverage, Peoria, Ariz., 3,189
14, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,186
15, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,177
16, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,170
17, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,162
18, Paul Molnar, Commack, N.Y., 3,152
19, Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 3,149
20, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 3,142
21, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 3,133
22, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan, 3,127
23, Jason Mahr, Spring Hill, Fla., 3,125
24, Bryan Paul, Brooklyn, N.Y., 3,103
25, Jonathan Van Hees, Newport, R.I., 3,097
26, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La, 3,092
27, Riga Kalfas, Florence, Ky., 3,091
28, Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 3,085
29, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 3,083
30, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,075
31, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 3,074
32, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 3,073
Missed Cut:
33, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,072, $1,890
34, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,068, $1,800
35, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 3,064, $1,800
36, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,063, $1,800
37, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 3,060, $1,800
38, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,055, $1,800
39, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 3,038, $1,800
40, Bill Beck, RonKonKoma, N.Y., 3,036, $1,800
41, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 3,034, $1,800
42, Mark Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,011, $1,800
43, Todd Book, Cantonment, Fla., 3,010, $1,800
44, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 3,008, $1,800
45, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 2,992, $1,800
46, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 2,982, $1,800
47, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 2,975, $1,800
48, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,973, $1,800
49, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 2,964, $1,800
50, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 2,962, $1,800
51, Bob Oakes, Akron, Ohio, 2,941, $1,800
52, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,939, $1,800
53, Bill O'Neill, Levittown, Pa., 2,889, $1,800
54, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,878, $1,800
55, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 2,877, $1,800
56, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 2,862, $1,800
57, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 2,820, $1,800
57, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 2,820, $1,800
59, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 2,791, $1,800
60, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 2,768, $1,800
61, Norm Ginsberg, Kissimmee, Fla., 2,744, $1,800
62, Steven Silverman, W. Babylon, N.Y., 2,727, $1,800
63, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 2,611, $1,800
64, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,015, $1,300
300 games (3) – Walter Ray Williams Jr., Mika Koivuniemi, Tommy Delutz Jr.
Round of 64 – Block One
Players with position, hometown and seven-game pinfall.
(Pos., 1, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,730
2, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,716
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,715
4, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,687
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,687
6, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 1,684
6, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,684
8, Paul Molnar, Commack, N.Y., 1,662
9, Tommy Delutz Jr., Flushing, N.Y., 1,637
10, Chad Kloss, Greenfield, Wis., 1,624
11, Jason Wojnar, Chicago, 1,610
12, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,589
13, Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 1,584
14, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,581
15, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan, 1,577
16, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 1,575
17, Billy Oatman, Chicago, 1,574
18, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,567
19, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,565
20, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 1,563
21, David Leverage, Peoria, Ariz., 1,559
22, Steve Harman, Indianapolis, 1,556
23, Mike Mineman, Belleville, Ill., 1,553
24, Mark Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,552
25, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,551
25, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 1,551
27, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,549
27, Mitch Beasley, Arlington, Texas, 1,549
29, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 1,546
30, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,545
31, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La, 1,542
32, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 1,539
33, Jonathan Van Hees, Newport, R.I., 1,538
34, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,525
34, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,525
36, Riga Kalfas, Florence, Ky., 1,523
37, Ken Simard, Greenville, S.C., 1,512
38, Bob Oakes, Akron, Ohio, 1,500
39, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 1,497
40, Jim Tomek Jr., Camp Hill, Pa., 1,493
41, Bryan Paul, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1,490
42, Todd Book, Cantonment, Fla., 1,486
42, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 1,486
44, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,485
45, Jason Mahr, Spring Hill, Fla., 1,479
46, Ronnie Russell, Indianapolis, 1,476
46, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,476
48, Brian LeClair, Athens, N.Y., 1,472
49, Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 1,467
50, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,458
51, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,441
52, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 1,438
53, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 1,437
54, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,431
55, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,428
56, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 1,426
57, Bill O'Neill, Levittown, Pa., 1,421
58, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,409
59, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,404
60, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,402
61, Bill Beck, RonKonKoma, N.Y., 1,373
62, Steven Silverman, W. Babylon, N.Y., 1,367
63, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 1,347
64, Norm Ginsberg, Kissimmee, Fla., 1,336
300 games (1) – Walter Ray Williams Jr.
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