Crayton debuts on PBA Tour with victory in Tour Qualifying Round
01/03/08
If his Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour debut is any indication, Kurry Crayton is on his way to a solid professional bowling career. Photo PBA.
In his first career event as a PBA member, Crayton led the field in Wednesday's Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round with a 1,658 seven-game pinfall to earn a spot in Thursday's Round of 64 in the 2008 ConstructionJobs.com Championship at the National Bowling Stadium.
Crayton (Birmingham, Ala.) became a member on Dec. 11 and has made the decision to bowl the remainder of the 2007-08 season. The confident 26-year-old just had a feeling it was time to join the PBA.
"I just knew in my mind that if I stayed focus today I couldn't be beat," Crayton said. "My game is conducive to playing inside which is how they played today. That's how I learned to bowl."
Crayton, who has worked at Super Bowl in Birmingham most of his life, started slowly on Wednesday with a 171 a 209 in the first two games. He got comfortable in game three with a 248, starting a string of four consecutive games of 248 or better. He followed with games of 258, 266 and 279 to take the lead and held on with a 227 to finish the day.
A record-tying 11 PBA members advanced to Thursday's Round of 64 due to five exempt bowlers being out for the season and Wes Malott and Pete Weber taking this week off.
Finishing second behind Crayton was Tom Daugherty (Tampa, Fla.) with 1,554 followed by Edward VanDaniker Jr. (Essex, Md.) in third with 1,541, the fourth time he has qualified this season. David Traber (Hebron, Ill.), a four-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist, finished fourth with 1,534.
Bob Udseth (Hanover Park, Ill.) finished fifth with 1,530 and earned a spot in the Round of 64 as the top amateur. He was followed by P.J. Haggerty (Clovis, Calif.) in sixth, Mason Sherman (Moorpark, Calif.) in seventh and Lee Vanderhoef (Greenville, S.C.) in eighth.
Earning the final spots in Thursday's Round of 64 were Roger Kossert (Brandon, Fla.), a PBA Senior Tour bowler who qualified for the third time this season, three-time titlist Dave Arnold (Dublin, Calif.), Steve Rogers (Bourbonnais, Ill.) and Jon Brandon (Santa Clarita, Calif.).
The 2007-08 PBA Tour shooting star, Rhino Page, who had qualified through the TQR in six of seven events this season, failed to qualify. Page has advanced to the 32-player match play five times and became the first non-exempt player to advance to two ESPN-televised championship rounds in the final two events before the holiday break, highlighted by earning the No. 1 seed in the Spartanburg (S.C.) Classic, where he fell to Parker Bohn III, in thrilling fashion, 267-257.
The Round of 64 features two seven-game qualifying blocks starting at 10 a.m. PST. The top 32 will advance to match play on Friday.
The top four after Friday's match play will advance to Sunday's championship round at the National Bowling Stadium at 10 a.m. PST.
Players with position, hometown and seven-game pinfall. Top 11 PBA members and top amateur advance. 13th place earns $1,000.
1, Kurry Crayton, Birmingham, Ala., 1,658
2, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 1,554
3, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 1,541
4, David Traber, Hebron, Ill., 1,534
5, Bob Udseth, Hanover Park, Ill., 1,530
6, PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 1,524
7, Mason Sherman, Moorpark, Calif., 1,513
8, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,511
9, Roger Kossert, Brandon, Fla., 1,499
10, Dave Arnold, Dublin, Calif., 1,480
11, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 1,472
11, Jon Brandon, Santa Clarita, Calif., 1,472
13, Andrew Koff, Miami, 1,468, $1,000
14, Olivia Sandham, Wichita, Kan, 1,466
15, Jacob Peters, Decatur, Ill., 1,455
16, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1,451
17, Mark Lewen, Spring Valley, Calif., 1,448
18, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,438
19, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 1,434
20, Dennis Horan Jr., Temecula, Calif., 1,424
21, Roger LeClair, Clackamas, Ore., 1,416
22, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,404
23, Jason Hoppe, Sierra Madre, CA, 1,395
24, Allen Blansette, Willits, Calif., 1,387
25, Pierre-Luc Gohier, Canada, 1,384
26, Jason Ross, San Jose, Calif., 1,380
27, John Slavich IV, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,378
28, Gregory Thompson Jr., Dayton, Ohio, 1,362
29, Kenneth Lowe Jr., Oxon Hill, MD, 1,361
30, Wayne Richards, Fernley, Nev., 1,358
31, Corey Husted, Clackamas, Ore, 1,355
32, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 1,345
33, Chris Galler, San Antonio, Texas, 1,343
34, John Cosper, Reno, Nev., 1,340
35, Bill Machin, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,338
36, David O'Sullivan, Orlando, Fla., 1,335
37, Humberto Vazquez, San Pedro, Mexico, 1,332
38, Jason Landis, Chowchilla, Calif., 1,319
39, Cole Charles, Canada, 1,316
39, Don Allen III, Vancouver, Wash., 1,316
41, Dave Rivera, Dublin, Calif., 1,300
42, Sean Lepper, Glen Burnie, Md., 1,286
43, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,281
44, Aaron Pawloski, Volcano, Calif., 1,276
45, Christopher Gillette, Schenectady, N.Y., 1,267
46, Eric Altenburg, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,229
47, Chris Cundiff, Portage, Ind., 1,226
48, Doug Murphy, Tunbridge, Vt., 1,207
49, David Jarrett, Sparks, Nev., 1,191
50, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 1,160
51, Bobby Gotelli, San Mateo, Calif., 1,097
52, Lyndell Jinks, San Francisco, 1,094
53, Gregory Coronado, Colusa, Calif., 1,078
54, Raymond Gaunt, El Monte, Calif., 1,038
55, Stephane Bourgeois, St Jerome, Quebec, 983
300 games – None
2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour #10
National Bowling Stadium in Reno, NV (Jan. 2-6, 2008)
If his Denny's Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour debut is any indication, Kurry Crayton is on his way to a solid professional bowling career. Photo PBA.In his first career event as a PBA member, Crayton led the field in Wednesday's Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round with a 1,658 seven-game pinfall to earn a spot in Thursday's Round of 64 in the 2008 ConstructionJobs.com Championship at the National Bowling Stadium.
Crayton (Birmingham, Ala.) became a member on Dec. 11 and has made the decision to bowl the remainder of the 2007-08 season. The confident 26-year-old just had a feeling it was time to join the PBA.
"I just knew in my mind that if I stayed focus today I couldn't be beat," Crayton said. "My game is conducive to playing inside which is how they played today. That's how I learned to bowl."
Crayton, who has worked at Super Bowl in Birmingham most of his life, started slowly on Wednesday with a 171 a 209 in the first two games. He got comfortable in game three with a 248, starting a string of four consecutive games of 248 or better. He followed with games of 258, 266 and 279 to take the lead and held on with a 227 to finish the day.
A record-tying 11 PBA members advanced to Thursday's Round of 64 due to five exempt bowlers being out for the season and Wes Malott and Pete Weber taking this week off.
Finishing second behind Crayton was Tom Daugherty (Tampa, Fla.) with 1,554 followed by Edward VanDaniker Jr. (Essex, Md.) in third with 1,541, the fourth time he has qualified this season. David Traber (Hebron, Ill.), a four-time Denny's PBA Tour titlist, finished fourth with 1,534.
Bob Udseth (Hanover Park, Ill.) finished fifth with 1,530 and earned a spot in the Round of 64 as the top amateur. He was followed by P.J. Haggerty (Clovis, Calif.) in sixth, Mason Sherman (Moorpark, Calif.) in seventh and Lee Vanderhoef (Greenville, S.C.) in eighth.
Earning the final spots in Thursday's Round of 64 were Roger Kossert (Brandon, Fla.), a PBA Senior Tour bowler who qualified for the third time this season, three-time titlist Dave Arnold (Dublin, Calif.), Steve Rogers (Bourbonnais, Ill.) and Jon Brandon (Santa Clarita, Calif.).
The 2007-08 PBA Tour shooting star, Rhino Page, who had qualified through the TQR in six of seven events this season, failed to qualify. Page has advanced to the 32-player match play five times and became the first non-exempt player to advance to two ESPN-televised championship rounds in the final two events before the holiday break, highlighted by earning the No. 1 seed in the Spartanburg (S.C.) Classic, where he fell to Parker Bohn III, in thrilling fashion, 267-257. The Round of 64 features two seven-game qualifying blocks starting at 10 a.m. PST. The top 32 will advance to match play on Friday.
The top four after Friday's match play will advance to Sunday's championship round at the National Bowling Stadium at 10 a.m. PST.
Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round
Players with position, hometown and seven-game pinfall. Top 11 PBA members and top amateur advance. 13th place earns $1,000.
1, Kurry Crayton, Birmingham, Ala., 1,658
2, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 1,554
3, Edward VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 1,541
4, David Traber, Hebron, Ill., 1,534
5, Bob Udseth, Hanover Park, Ill., 1,530
6, PJ Haggerty, Clovis, Calif., 1,524
7, Mason Sherman, Moorpark, Calif., 1,513
8, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 1,511
9, Roger Kossert, Brandon, Fla., 1,499
10, Dave Arnold, Dublin, Calif., 1,480
11, Steve Rogers, Bourbonnais, Ill., 1,472
11, Jon Brandon, Santa Clarita, Calif., 1,472
13, Andrew Koff, Miami, 1,468, $1,000
14, Olivia Sandham, Wichita, Kan, 1,466
15, Jacob Peters, Decatur, Ill., 1,455
16, Andrew Cain, Scottsdale, Ariz., 1,451
17, Mark Lewen, Spring Valley, Calif., 1,448
18, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,438
19, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 1,434
20, Dennis Horan Jr., Temecula, Calif., 1,424
21, Roger LeClair, Clackamas, Ore., 1,416
22, Walter Schaub II, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,404
23, Jason Hoppe, Sierra Madre, CA, 1,395
24, Allen Blansette, Willits, Calif., 1,387
25, Pierre-Luc Gohier, Canada, 1,384
26, Jason Ross, San Jose, Calif., 1,380
27, John Slavich IV, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,378
28, Gregory Thompson Jr., Dayton, Ohio, 1,362
29, Kenneth Lowe Jr., Oxon Hill, MD, 1,361
30, Wayne Richards, Fernley, Nev., 1,358
31, Corey Husted, Clackamas, Ore, 1,355
32, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 1,345
33, Chris Galler, San Antonio, Texas, 1,343
34, John Cosper, Reno, Nev., 1,340
35, Bill Machin, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,338
36, David O'Sullivan, Orlando, Fla., 1,335
37, Humberto Vazquez, San Pedro, Mexico, 1,332
38, Jason Landis, Chowchilla, Calif., 1,319
39, Cole Charles, Canada, 1,316
39, Don Allen III, Vancouver, Wash., 1,316
41, Dave Rivera, Dublin, Calif., 1,300
42, Sean Lepper, Glen Burnie, Md., 1,286
43, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,281
44, Aaron Pawloski, Volcano, Calif., 1,276
45, Christopher Gillette, Schenectady, N.Y., 1,267
46, Eric Altenburg, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,229
47, Chris Cundiff, Portage, Ind., 1,226
48, Doug Murphy, Tunbridge, Vt., 1,207
49, David Jarrett, Sparks, Nev., 1,191
50, Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 1,160
51, Bobby Gotelli, San Mateo, Calif., 1,097
52, Lyndell Jinks, San Francisco, 1,094
53, Gregory Coronado, Colusa, Calif., 1,078
54, Raymond Gaunt, El Monte, Calif., 1,038
55, Stephane Bourgeois, St Jerome, Quebec, 983
300 games – None