Sean Rash dominates PBA World Championship Qualifying, earns fifth TV final
11/10/11
Sean Rash (pictured left) of Montgomery, Ill., completed the most impressive five-day run in the three-year history of the Professional Bowlers Association's World Series of Bowling Wednesday, earning the top qualifying position for the PBA World Championship and earning an unprecedented fifth consecutive television finals berth.
Rash, a 29-year-old four-time PBA Tour champion, averaged 234.03 over 40 games bowled on five different lane conditioning patterns at South Point Bowling Center to finish with 9,361 pins and earn a $5,000 bonus as top qualifier by 296 pins over Tom Smallwood (right) of Saginaw, Mich. "I've got my foot down and going full force," Rash said. "There are so many great players here, you can't let up. If you think positive, positive things will happen. You need to avoid the negativity. With this (40-game) format, you have to have that mindset."
Smallwood, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship for his first PBA Tour title and finished second in the 2011 Tournament of Champions, finished qualifying 296 pins behind Rash in second place with 9065.
Australia's Jason Belmonte (left) was the best of six international players, who survived the cut to the top 16, in third place with 9047. Stuart Williams, England, was fourth with 9023 and Belmonte's fellow two-hander Osku Palermaa (right), Finland, was fifth with 8974.
Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, was seventh with 8921, and was followed by Andres Gomez, Colombia, in tenth place with 8861 and Dom Barrett, England, in 12th place with 8843.
Maximum three internationals can make it to the World Championship finals but chances are 3 to 1 that at least one international will make it as three of them, Williams, Palermaa and Barrett, were pitted together with Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. in the Mike Aulby Division.
Ruiz and Gomez will clash in the Billy Hardwick Division with Smallwood and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y. Belmonte is the lone international in the Johnny Petraglia Division and bowls Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio; Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz. and Mike Fagan, Dallas.
In the Don Carter Division top seeded Rash meets the only PBA Hall of Famer in the elimination round finals, Pete Weber (left), St. Ann, Mo. as well as Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y. and Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan.
Defending champion Chris Barnes (right), Double Oak, Texas, missed the cut in 21st place with 8723.
Rash, who qualified in third place each for the Bayer Viper, Chameleon, Scorpion and GEICO Shark Open finals the previous four days, is the first player to reach more than three television finals in a World Series. He will be among the 16 players who now advance to a series of four divisional elimination rounds in determining the PBA World Championship winner.
In each divisional final, named in honor of past PBA World Champions Don Carter, Billy Hardwick, Johnny Petraglia and Mike Aulby, four players will bowl one game with the lowest-scoring player eliminated.
The three surviving players will bowl a second game, again eliminating the low score. The two survivors will then bowl a game to decide who advances to the PBA World Championship finals which will follow the same format.
All five PBA World Championship rounds will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 19, in a special arena lanes setup at South Point, starting at 10:30 a.m. PT. The telecasts will air on ESPN on five consecutive Sundays except Christmas Day (Dec. 11, 18, Jan. 1, 8 and 15) at 1 p.m. ET.
First prize in the 2011 PBA World Championship is $50,000.
The World Series of Bowling will take a break Thursday. Competition resumes Friday with the All Region South Point Open and Carmen Salvino Classic Tour Qualifying Round, followed by a special PBA West Region Member/Non-Member Doubles event Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
Competition for PBA Tour players resumes Monday with Carmen Salvino Classic qualifying rounds.
All preliminary rounds of World Series competition are being webcast live on PBA's Xtra Frame online bowling channel.
Sean Rash leads field of 53 survivors into PBA World Championship cashers' round
Chris Barnes ready to defend PBA World Championship title
Players with position, hometown and 40-game total. The top 16 advance to ESPN finals. Places 17-53 show earnings.
1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 9,361
2, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 9,065
3, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9,047
4, Stuart Williams, England, 9,023
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 8,974
6, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 8,954
7, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 8,921
8, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 8,906
9, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 8,874
10, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 8,861
11, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 8,849
12, Dom Barrett, England, 8,843
13, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 8,838
14 (tie), Mike Fagan, Dallas, and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 8,831
16, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 8,825
Did not advance:
17, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 8,794, $3,500
18, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 8,780, $3,300
19, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 8,747, $3,100
20, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 8,736, $3,000
21, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 8,723, $2,950
22, Patrick Allen, Baltimore, 8,712, $2,900
23, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 8,706, $2,850
24, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 8,701, $2,800
25, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 8,700, $2,750
26, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 8,685, $2,700
27, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 8,666, $2,650
28, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 8,665, $2,600
29, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 8,662, $2,550
30, Patrick Girard, Canada, 8,659, $2,500
31, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 8,644, $2,450
32, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 8,614, $2,400
33, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 8,597, $2,200
34, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 8,596, $2,150
35, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 8,594, $2,100
36, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 8,593, $2,080
37, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 8,586, $2,060
38, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 8,584, $2,040
39, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 8,570, $2,020
40, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 8,562, $2,000
41, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 8,560, $1,980
42, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 8,557, $1,960
43, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 8,556, $1,940
44, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 8,552, $1,920
45, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 8,550, $1,900
46 (tie), Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., and Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 8,535, $1,870
48, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 8,525, $1,850
49, Hyun Bum Kim, South Korea, 8,512, $1,840
50, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 8,501, $1,830
51, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 8,481, $1,820
52, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 8,470, $1,810
53, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 8,436, $1,800
Single-game elimination rounds; divisional winners advance to World Championship finals
Don Carter Division
Saturday, Nov. 19, 10:30 a.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 11, 1 p.m. ET
L-R #9 Ryan Ciminelli (USA), #16 Nathan Bohr (USA), #1 Sean Rash (USA), #8 Pete Weber (USA)
Billy Hardwick Division
Saturday, Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET
L-R #10 Andres Gomez (Colombia), #14 Ryan Shafer (USA), #2 Tom Smallwood (USA), #7 Ildemaro Ruiz (Venezuela)
Johnny Petraglia Division
Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET
L-R #11 Josh Blanchard (USA), #3 Jason Belmonte (Australia), #14 Mike Fagan (USA), #6 Brian Kretzer (USA)
Mike Aulby Division
Saturday, Nov. 19, 5:30 a.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 8, 1 p.m. ET
L-R #4 Stuart Williams (England), #5 Osku Palermaa (Finland), #13 Jack Jurek (USA), #12 Dom Barrett (England)
PBA World Championship Finals
Saturday, Nov. 19, 8:30 a.m. PT; ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 15, 1 p.m. ET
2011-12 PBA Tour #5
Six international bowlers in the elimination rounds set for Saturday, Nov. 19
Sean Rash (pictured left) of Montgomery, Ill., completed the most impressive five-day run in the three-year history of the Professional Bowlers Association's World Series of Bowling Wednesday, earning the top qualifying position for the PBA World Championship and earning an unprecedented fifth consecutive television finals berth.Rash, a 29-year-old four-time PBA Tour champion, averaged 234.03 over 40 games bowled on five different lane conditioning patterns at South Point Bowling Center to finish with 9,361 pins and earn a $5,000 bonus as top qualifier by 296 pins over Tom Smallwood (right) of Saginaw, Mich. "I've got my foot down and going full force," Rash said. "There are so many great players here, you can't let up. If you think positive, positive things will happen. You need to avoid the negativity. With this (40-game) format, you have to have that mindset."
Smallwood, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship for his first PBA Tour title and finished second in the 2011 Tournament of Champions, finished qualifying 296 pins behind Rash in second place with 9065.
Australia's Jason Belmonte (left) was the best of six international players, who survived the cut to the top 16, in third place with 9047. Stuart Williams, England, was fourth with 9023 and Belmonte's fellow two-hander Osku Palermaa (right), Finland, was fifth with 8974. Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, was seventh with 8921, and was followed by Andres Gomez, Colombia, in tenth place with 8861 and Dom Barrett, England, in 12th place with 8843.
Maximum three internationals can make it to the World Championship finals but chances are 3 to 1 that at least one international will make it as three of them, Williams, Palermaa and Barrett, were pitted together with Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y. in the Mike Aulby Division.
Ruiz and Gomez will clash in the Billy Hardwick Division with Smallwood and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y. Belmonte is the lone international in the Johnny Petraglia Division and bowls Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio; Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz. and Mike Fagan, Dallas.
In the Don Carter Division top seeded Rash meets the only PBA Hall of Famer in the elimination round finals, Pete Weber (left), St. Ann, Mo. as well as Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y. and Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan. Defending champion Chris Barnes (right), Double Oak, Texas, missed the cut in 21st place with 8723.
Rash, who qualified in third place each for the Bayer Viper, Chameleon, Scorpion and GEICO Shark Open finals the previous four days, is the first player to reach more than three television finals in a World Series. He will be among the 16 players who now advance to a series of four divisional elimination rounds in determining the PBA World Championship winner.
In each divisional final, named in honor of past PBA World Champions Don Carter, Billy Hardwick, Johnny Petraglia and Mike Aulby, four players will bowl one game with the lowest-scoring player eliminated.
The three surviving players will bowl a second game, again eliminating the low score. The two survivors will then bowl a game to decide who advances to the PBA World Championship finals which will follow the same format.
All five PBA World Championship rounds will be contested on Saturday, Nov. 19, in a special arena lanes setup at South Point, starting at 10:30 a.m. PT. The telecasts will air on ESPN on five consecutive Sundays except Christmas Day (Dec. 11, 18, Jan. 1, 8 and 15) at 1 p.m. ET.
First prize in the 2011 PBA World Championship is $50,000.
The World Series of Bowling will take a break Thursday. Competition resumes Friday with the All Region South Point Open and Carmen Salvino Classic Tour Qualifying Round, followed by a special PBA West Region Member/Non-Member Doubles event Saturday afternoon and Sunday.Competition for PBA Tour players resumes Monday with Carmen Salvino Classic qualifying rounds.
All preliminary rounds of World Series competition are being webcast live on PBA's Xtra Frame online bowling channel.
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PBA World Championship - Final Qualifying Standings
Players with position, hometown and 40-game total. The top 16 advance to ESPN finals. Places 17-53 show earnings.
1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 9,361
2, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 9,065
3, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9,047
4, Stuart Williams, England, 9,023
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 8,974
6, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 8,954
7, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 8,921
8, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 8,906
9, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 8,874
10, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 8,861
11, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 8,849
12, Dom Barrett, England, 8,843
13, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 8,838
14 (tie), Mike Fagan, Dallas, and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 8,831
16, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 8,825
Did not advance:
17, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 8,794, $3,500
18, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 8,780, $3,300
19, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 8,747, $3,100
20, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 8,736, $3,000
21, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 8,723, $2,950
22, Patrick Allen, Baltimore, 8,712, $2,900
23, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 8,706, $2,850
24, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 8,701, $2,800
25, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 8,700, $2,750
26, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 8,685, $2,700
27, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 8,666, $2,650
28, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 8,665, $2,600
29, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 8,662, $2,550
30, Patrick Girard, Canada, 8,659, $2,500
31, Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., 8,644, $2,450
32, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 8,614, $2,400
33, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 8,597, $2,200
34, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 8,596, $2,150
35, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 8,594, $2,100
36, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 8,593, $2,080
37, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 8,586, $2,060
38, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 8,584, $2,040
39, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 8,570, $2,020
40, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 8,562, $2,000
41, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 8,560, $1,980
42, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 8,557, $1,960
43, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 8,556, $1,940
44, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 8,552, $1,920
45, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 8,550, $1,900
46 (tie), Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., and Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 8,535, $1,870
48, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 8,525, $1,850
49, Hyun Bum Kim, South Korea, 8,512, $1,840
50, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 8,501, $1,830
51, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 8,481, $1,820
52, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 8,470, $1,810
53, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 8,436, $1,800
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PBA World Championship Finals Pairings
Single-game elimination rounds; divisional winners advance to World Championship finals
Don Carter Division Saturday, Nov. 19, 10:30 a.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 11, 1 p.m. ET
- Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill.
- Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo.
- Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
- Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan.
L-R #9 Ryan Ciminelli (USA), #16 Nathan Bohr (USA), #1 Sean Rash (USA), #8 Pete Weber (USA)
Billy Hardwick Division Saturday, Nov. 19, 12:30 p.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Dec. 18, 1 p.m. ET
- Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich.
- Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela
- Andres Gomez, Colombia
- Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.
L-R #10 Andres Gomez (Colombia), #14 Ryan Shafer (USA), #2 Tom Smallwood (USA), #7 Ildemaro Ruiz (Venezuela)
Johnny Petraglia Division Saturday, Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET
- Jason Belmonte, Australia
- Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio
- Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz.
- Mike Fagan, Dallas.
L-R #11 Josh Blanchard (USA), #3 Jason Belmonte (Australia), #14 Mike Fagan (USA), #6 Brian Kretzer (USA)
Mike Aulby Division Saturday, Nov. 19, 5:30 a.m. PT;
ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 8, 1 p.m. ET
- Stuart Williams, England
- Osku Palermaa, Finland
- Dom Barrett, England
- Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y.
L-R #4 Stuart Williams (England), #5 Osku Palermaa (Finland), #13 Jack Jurek (USA), #12 Dom Barrett (England)
PBA World Championship Finals
Saturday, Nov. 19, 8:30 a.m. PT; ESPN air date Sunday, Jan. 15, 1 p.m. ET
- Carter, Hardwick, Petraglia and Aulby Division winners
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