Wes Malott, Tom Hess lead penultimate qualifying squad at WTBA International Open

    02/05/12

    2012 World Bowling Tour #3

    Five PBA champions crack the top 42; cut is currently 1365 (227.50 avg.)

    201112PBAWesMalott.jpg201112PBAEugeneMcCune.jpgFive PNA champions including three PBA Player of the Year led the penultimate qualifying squad of the WTBA International Open Saturday morning at Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas to position themselves in the top 43, who will advance to the finals on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, starting at Noon Pacific (3 p.m. EST / 9 p.m. CET).

    Wes Malott (pictured left) of Pflugerville, Texas, who owns seven PBA Tour titles including three in the 2008-09 season on his way to PBA Player of the Year honors, led the 26 players of Squad 18 with 1412 six-game total and an average of 235.33.

    Malott had games of 223, 198, 245, 252, 277 and 217 on the WTBA Atlanta oil pattern to leap into 16th place in the overall qualifying standings. Qualifiers 9-16 will bypass the first round of the finals.

    201112PBAMikeFagan.jpg200506PBADJArcher.jpgThree-time PBA champion Eugene McCune (above right) of Munster, Ind., continued to lead the field of 128 players - 120 men and eight women - with 1505 total and an average of 250.83.

    USBC Masters champion Mike Fagan (left) of Grapevine, Texas, remained in second place with 1503 and was followed by former PBA exempt player DJ Archer (right) of Pt Arthur, Texas, in third place with 1485.

    Alex Aguiar, of N Dartmouth, Md., and 2010 USBC Open Championships All Events winner Matt McNiel of Prior Lake, Minn., are currently tied for eighth place at 1429. If no player from the 19th and last qualifying squad will move into the top 8, Aguiar and McNiel will break the tie in a one-game roll-off as only the top 8 will receive two byes for the finals.

    201112PBATomHess.jpg201112PBAParkerBohn.jpg2011 USBC Masters champion Tom Hess (left) of Urbandale, Iowa, closed out his set with 236, 237 and 236 to leap into 20th place with 1307 total.

    PBA Player of the Year 1999 and 2001-02 Parker Bohn III (right) of Jackson, N.J., a 32-time PBA champion and PBA and USBC Hall of Famer, and PBA Player of the Year 2005-06 Tommy Jones (below left) of Simpsonville, S.C., who owns 13 PBA Tour titles, both checked in with 1377 to tie eight-time PBA champion Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, for 35th place.

    201112PBATommyJones.jpg201011PBAStuartWilliams.jpgStuart Williams (right) of England, who won the season-opening PBA Viper Open for his first PBA title, used high games of 278 and 256 for 1371 series, good for 38th place overall.

    With the final qualifying squad 19 to go, 2010-11 PBA Tour Rookie of the Year Scott Norton of Costa Mesa, Calif., and PBA Regional champion Eddie Van Daniker of Essex, Md., are "on the bubble" as they are tied for 42nd place with 1365 and an average of 227.50.

    Qualifying ends on Saturday, Feb. 4, with Squad 19 scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and concludes with the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad at 6 p.m. (all times Pacific.

    2012LVInternationalOpenLogo2_small.jpg The WTBA International Open, the first World Tenpin Bowling Association owned and operated event, is the third stop of the 2012 World Bowling Tour and runs concurrently with The International Mini from Jan. 28 through Feb. 5.

    BowlingdigitalBanner.gif Bowlingdigital will cover the WTBA International Open and The International Mini live from Sunset Station's Strike Zone Bowling Center in Las Vegas all the way through to the finals on Feb. 5, 2012.

    The third event, the USBC Masters, concluded on Sunday morning. Jan. 29. All three events, which offer a total combined prize fund of approximately $500,000, have a special additional prize fund of $30,000 available to those who compete in all three events.

    The WTBA International Open features a European-style re-entry format. There will be 19 qualifying squads and bowlers may compete on any squad to try to post their best six-game total. The 20th and last squad to qualify for the finals is the ultimate one-game Desperado Squad on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 4. Women receive six pins handicap per game.

    Remaining Squad Times
    Saturday, February 4 at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. (Desperado Squad)
    Sunday, February 5 - Finals starting at Noon.

    After the conclusion of the qualifying, total 48 players will qualify for the finals - the top 44 qualifiers including the squad leaders from all Monday and Tuesday squads (two each; earn automatic berths into the finals) along with four bowlers from the one-game Desperado Squad at the end of qualifying.

    Qualifiers in positions 1-8 get two byes, while qualifiers 9-16 will bypass the first round of the finals. All qualifying pinfall will be dropped.

    The remaining 32 players (qualifiers 17-48) bowl 6 games scratch across 12 lanes with the top 16 based on total pinfall advancing to Round 2. The top 16 high qualifiers from Round 1 plus qualifiers 9-16 bowl another six-game block. The top 8 meet the top 8 qualifiers in Round 3.

    Those 16 bowl a final six-game block to cut to the top 3, who will advance to the stepladder finals to be held in St. Maximin near Paris, France, on March 25, 2012.

    The three finalists earn an expenses-paid trip to suburban Paris for the stepladder finals, which will be held in conjunction with the Brunswick Euro Challenge, the seventh stop of the 2012 World Bowling Tour, which takes place at Plaza Saint Maximin from March 16-25. Bowlingdigital will cover the BEC live from Plaza Bowl.

    The WTBA International Open features a guaranteed prize fund of $100,000 with $20,000 going to the winner and $10,000 and $8,000 to the second and third place finishers, resp.

    For more information on the WTBA 2012 International Open please click here
    WBTLogo.jpg The 2012 World Bowling Tour consists of 14 tournaments in America, Asia, Europe and Australia - five in the United States and one each in Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, Kuwait and Thailand.

    Players earn ranking points based on how they finish in each event. The current points system is based on a continuous two-year cycle, so points earned in 2011 are added to points earned in 2012 to determine the points list.

    World Bowling Tour Rankings - Complete Standings as of January 29, 2012
    WBT Women's Ranking
    WBT Men's Ranking

    The top three men and top three women will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association at the end of 2012 featuring total prize fund of $70,000.

    The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit WorldTenpinBowling.com.

     


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    Standings after Qualifying Squad 18/19

    300 Games (2) - Johnathan Bower, Jason Sterner

    * indicates leaders of squads 5-8, who earn automatic berths into the finals.

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