Brian LeClair (center, with Fountain Bowl proprietors Dave Osborne, left, and Gary Forman, right) of Delmar, N.Y. competed on the PBA Tour for 18 seasons without a title. But now, bowling as a rookie on PBA50 Tour for players 50 and over, he can lay claim to his first national PBA title after winning the PBA50 Fountain Valley Open presented by Track Wednesday at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif.

The win didn't come easy. After surviving two come-from-behind matches which included a sudden-death roll-off in the championship match, LeClair defeated two-time PBA50 Tour titlist Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., for the title and the $7,500 top prize with a strike in the second sudden-death frame to Boresch's nine-count after the players tied the match with 247 games.

After both players struck in the first sudden death frame, Boresch left an eight pin on his shot to hand the win to LeClair.

"I don't know what to say," said LeClair, whose best showings on the PBA Tour were two second-place finishes. "This whole tournament was about finding a way to get it done. From choosing the right equipment to how I played the lanes, it was all about fighting back.

"My next win could come next week or 10 years from now, but what matters right now is that I won tonight."

And fight back he did. In both the championship match and the semifinal match, when it appeared that he might be eliminated early, LeClair came from behind in dramatic fashion by throwing the last six strikes.

In the semifinal, he made his late-game run to defeat Paul McCordic (left) of Sugar Land, Texas, 219-212, to advance to the championship match against Boresch.

Another illustration of the long road LeClair took to the title was having to claw his way through the casher's round to even make it to match play. "Throughout my career there have been some who may have thought I didn't have what it took to get it done and in some cases maybe they were right," LeClair said.

"This time there was no giving up. I guess I could have had the attitude that I was beaten in those matches but I turned it around and thought if there was room for me to come back and win I could do it."

LeClair's second-place PBA Tour finishes came in 1996 against tournament winner Hall of Famer and all-time Tour titles lead Walter Ray Williams Jr.

McCordic advanced to the semifinal match by defeating two-time PBA50 Tour and two-time PBA Tour titlist Jack Jurek (right) of Lackawanna, N.Y., trying for his second win of the season, 237-207.

In the opening match, Jurek defeated PBA50 Tour rookie Mike Scroggins (left) of Amarillo, Texas, who was trying for his third win of the season, 234-199.

The next stop for the PBA50 Tour will be Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif., June 14-17 for the PBA50 Northern California Classic presented by MOTIV. The seventh stop of the 2015 season will be covered live in its entirety on PBA's online bowling channel Xtra Frame.

 

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PBA50 Fountain Valley Open - Stepladder Results

Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, Calif., United States (June 7-10, 2015)

Championship Round:
1 Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., $7,500
2. Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., $4,000
3. Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, $2,500
4. Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., $2,000
5. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, $1,750

Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 4 Jurek def. No. 5 Scroggins, 234-199
Second Match: No. 3 McCordic def. Jurek, 237-207
Semifinal Match: No. 2 LeClair def. McCordic, 219-212
Championship Match: LeClair def. No. 1 Boresch in second sudden-death roll-off, 10-9, after a 247-247 tie.

 

PBA50 Fountain Valley Open - Match Play and Cashers' Rounds

ss-denotes PBA60 players ages 60 and over; a-denotes amateur.

Modified Match Play Round 2
(after six games, including match play bonus pins. Top five advanced to stepladder finals)
1, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 6-0, 1,582
2, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 3-3, 1,498
3, ss-Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, 4-2, 1,487
4, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 4-1-1, 1,457
5, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 4-2, 1,436
6, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4-2, 1,432, $1,500
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3-3-0, 1,414, $1,500
8, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-4, 1,407, $1,500
9, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 3-3, 1,396, $1,300
10, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 3-3, 1,369, $1,300
11, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 3-3, 1,361, $1,300
12, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1-5, 1,351, $1,300
13, Eric Forkel, Henderson, Nev., 2-4, 1,342, $1,300
14, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2-4, 1,325, $1,300
15, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 2-4, 1,280, $1,300
16, Robert Spaulding, Mckinney, Texas, 1-4-1, 1,232, $1,300

Modified Match Play Round 1
(after five games, including match play bonus pins)
17, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3-2, 1,150, $1,200
18, Dana Wright, St. Paul, Minn., 3-2, 1,147, $1,200
19, ss-Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 3-2, 1,142, $1,200
20, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-2, 1,139, $1,200
21, ss-Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 3-2, 1,138, $1,200
22, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 2-3, 1,137, $1,200
23, ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 2-3, 1,127, $1,200
24, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 2-3, 1,124, $1,200
25, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 2-3, 1,099, $1,100
26, ss-Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 2-3, 1,089, $1,100
27, Dave Arnold, Elk Grove, Calif., 2-3, 1,087, $1,100
28, (tie) John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, 2-3, 1,077, and Doug Kempt, Arcadia, Calif., 2-3, 1,077, $1,100
29, Warren Nelson, Middleburg, Fla., 2-3, 1,070, $1,100
30, ss-Johnny Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1-4, 1,048, $1,100
31, James Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 0-5, 957, $1,100

Cashers' Round
(after five games)
32, ss-Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 1,035, $1,000
33, ss-Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., 1,031, $1,000
34, Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., 1,030, $1,000
35, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 1,017, $1,000
36, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 1,011, $1,000
37, Kent Whitson, Sausalito, Calif., 1,009, $1,000
38, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 968, $1,000
39, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 919, $1,000
40, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 902, $1,000
41, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 866, $1,000