With his mental game still a work in progress, Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli was able to keep his emotions in check enough to win the PBA50 Northern California Classic presented by MOTIV at Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif., Wednesday for his fourth career PBA50 Tour title.

The photo shows Amleto Monacelli, left, with Harvest Park Bowl proprietor Jim Wangaman.

The Venezuelan (left) defeated last week's Fountain Valley Open winner Brian LeClair (right) of Delmar, N.Y., 237-225, in the championship match for his first title of the season.

With his physical game and his equipment choices in good shape, the 53-year-old Monacelli admits he needs to work on his emotions during the course of a tournament if he wants to be a consistent winner on the PBA50 Tour.

"I still have the tendency to get down on myself and get mad when things aren't going my way," said the 19-time PBA Tour winner. "It's something that I have to keep working on and don't let it get to me.

"I think I have too much expectation and just need to relax," he continued. "Sometimes before each squad I will do a little meditation which helps, but sometimes I just need to tell myself to let it go when I throw a bad shot or get a bad break."

Monacelli, who qualified for the top spot in the stepladder final, said that he was very focused in the championship match which translated into good shot-making.

"I had a game plan for what I wanted to do because I could see how the lanes were changing in the previous matches," he said. "I basically took a guess at what ball I thought would work best and it all came together very well."

Previous to his win, Monacelli had four top-10 finishes this season including two sixth-place finishes as his best.

Two-time major league all-star pitcher John Burkett (left) of Southlake, Texas, established himself as a force to be reckoned with in his new career as a professional bowler finishing fourth for his best finish of the season.

He started the stepladder final with a come-from-behind, 226-216, win over Bob Spaulding (right) of McKinney, Texas, but then lost to LeClair in the second match 212-196.

In the five tournaments Burkett has competed in this season he has made the cut to match play in four of them with a previous best finish of 15th in the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open.

LeClair went on to beat PBA50 Tour newcomer Jimmy Hansen of Anchorage, Alaska, 214-202, in the semifinal to advance to the title match against Monacelli.

The 2015 PBA50 Tour season will take a month-long break before returning to action July 19-22 for the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino Open presented by Roto Grip at Island Xtreme Bowl in Welch, Minn.

 

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Northern California Classic - Stepladder Results

Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif., United States (June 14-17, 2015)

Championship Round:
1, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, $8,000
2, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., $4,000
3, Jimmy Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, $2,500
4, John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, $2,000
5, Bob Spaulding, McKinney, Texas, $1,750

Playoff Results:
First Match One: No. 5 Burkett def. No. 4 Spaulding, 226-216
Second Match: No. 3 LeClair def. Burkett, 212-196
Semifinal Match: LeClair def. No. 2 Hansen, 214-202
Championship: No. 1 Monacelli def. LeClair, 237-225

 

Northern California Classic - 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, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4-2, 1,559
2, Jimmy Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 4-2, 1,532
3, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 5-1, 1,525
4, John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, 3-3, and
Bob Spaulding, McKinney, Texas, 4-2, 1,512
6, Joe Goldstein Sr., San Bruno, Calif., 4-2, 1,489, $1,500
7, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 4-2, 1,477, $1,500
8, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-3, 1,453, $1,500
9, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3-3, 1,452, $1,350
10, Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 3-3, 1,436, $1,350
11, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2-4, 1,417, $1,350
12, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1-4-1, 1,412, $1,350
13, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2-4, 1,381, $1,350
14, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1-5, 1,371, $1,350
15, Dave Arnold, Elk Grove, Calif., 1-4-1, 1,311, $1,350
16, Rob Rice, Sunnyside, Wash., 3-3, 1,290, $1,350

Modified Match Play Round 1
(after five games, including match play bonus pins)
17, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 2-3, 1,237, $1,200
18, Darron Peters, Temecula, Calif., 2-3, 1,220, $1,200
19, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3-2, 1,209, $1,200
20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3-2, 1,208, $1,200
21, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 2-3, 1,204, $1,200
22, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-3, 1,196, $1,200
23, a-Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 2-3, 1,166, $1,200
24, Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., 4-1, 1,139, $1,200
25, Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 2-3, 1,135, $1,100
26, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 2-3, 1,127, $1,100
27, Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 2-3, 1,106, $1,100
28, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1-3-1, 1,101, $1,100
29, Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 2-3, 1,082, $1,100
30, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1-4, 1,074, $1,100
31, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1-3-1, 1,026, $1,100
32, Tony Majcher, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 0-5, 930, $1,100

Cashers' Round
(after five games)
33, (tie) Warren Nelson, Middleburg, Fla., 1,090, and
a-Terry Leong, Las Vegas, 1,090, $1,000
35, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 1,060, $1,000
36, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,038, $1,000
37, Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,019, $1,000
38, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,006, $1,000
39, Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 968, $1,000
40, Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 957, $1,000
41, a-John Dorsett, Concord, Calif., 919, $1,000