Osku Palermaa becomes third international player to win one of five "animal pattern" stages

    10/30/10

    2010-11 PBA Tour #5

    Two-handers dominate qualifying in GEICO Shark Championship

    2010EBT15OskuPalermaa4.jpg

    201011PBAOskuPalermaa.jpgFinland's two-handed star Osku Palermaa (pictured left) saved his best performance for last, overwhelming the Professional Bowlers Association's most difficult lane condition Friday to not only win the GEICO Shark Championship qualifying round, but almost steal the No. 1 position for January's stepladder finals in the PBA World Championship away from Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., as qualifying week in the PBA World Series of Bowling ended at South Point Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

    Palermaa became the third international player behind Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland (Viper) and Jason Belmonte, Australia (Scorpion) to win one of the five "animal pattern" stages. The two-handers dominated the Shark qualifying as three out of the top 4 players use both hands to deliver the ball.

    Palermaa, Europe's premier two-handed bowler, led the field of 236 players on the Shark pattern, averaging 234.50 for 12 games to finish with 2,814 pins, five pins ahead of Brian Valenta, a two-hander of Lockport, Ill.

    201011PBASeanRash.jpg201011PBABillONeill.jpgIn doing so, Palermaa came within 62 pins of overtaking O'Neill, (pictured left) who had led the World Championship race almost the entire week. O'Neill, who missed his first cut to top 16 this week in 23rd place, held on in the final round to finish the World Championship qualifying race with 13,606 pins, 63 ahead of Sean Rash (right) of Wichita, Kan.

    "(Thursday) evening wasn't good, but today the ball rolled perfect," Palermaa said. "I kept making good shots and threw strikes. I never would have seen that coming. I wouldn't have guessed I'd shoot my best on the Shark. It was tough for everyone."

    Palermaa, who has made two television finals in limited PBA Tour competition, bowled in the 2009 PBA World Series of Bowling in Allen Park, Mich., with a best finish of seventh in the Motor City Open and a dismal 59th place finish in last year's Shark Championship.

    This year he will advance to match play in the Chameleon and GEICO Shark Championships, and he's already locked for the TV finals in the PBA World Championship.

    201011PBAJasonBelmonte.jpg200910PBARyanShafer.jpg"Last year I got homesick right away at the World Series and I just wanted to get it over with and go home," Palermaa said. "This year I want a PBA title so I can go to the Tournament of Champions (in Las Vegas (in January). I don't bowl regionals in the U.S., so the only way I can go is to win one of the animal pattern titles or the PBA World Championship."

    Ryan Shafer (left) of Horseheads, N.Y. was the best one-handed player on Friday as the right-hander knocked down 2,782 pins to land in third place. Two-hander Jason Belmonte (right), Australia, made his third consecutive cut to top 16 in fourth place with 2,740.

    The only other player who accomplished the feat was Michael Haugen Jr. O'Neill was the sole player who has made four out of five match play rounds. 17 players made the cut twice and another 36 players reached one match play round.

    201011PBAWalterRayWilliams.jpg201011PBAKellyKulick.jpgAlso advancing to next Wednesday's nine-game GEICO Shark Championship match play round was reigning PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. (left) of Ocala, Fla. (5th, 2,734); Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J. (6th, 2,733), the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions winner and the only woman to qualify for a match play round, and 2009 PBA World Champion Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich. (7th, 2,732).

    Three international players besides Palermaa and Belmonte made the cut to the Shark match play round. Canadian Dan MacLelland, secured his second match play appearance with a tenth place (2,714) while Dane Jesper Agerbo (12th, 2,679) and Patrick Girard (16th, 2,662), Canada made their first. Girard beat out Pete Weber for the 16th and last spot by two pins.

    201011PBAChrisBarnes.jpg201011PBAMikaKoivuniemi.jpgThe top 16 qualifiers in the Cheetah, Viper, Chameleon and Scorpion qualifying rounds earlier in the week also will advance to match play competition when the PBA World Series resumes competition on Monday.

    Based on 60 games bowled on five different lane conditions this week, the 63 cashers and eight television finalists for the PBA World Championship have been determined. Joining O'Neill, Rash, Palermaa and Belmonte in the top eight for the live ESPN/ESPN2 stepladder finals Jan. 14, 15 and 16 at South Point will be Chris Barnes (left) of Double Oak, Texas; Mika Koivuniemi (right), a native Finn who lives in of Hartland, Mich.; Michael Haugen Jr. (below left), of Carefree, Ariz.; Wes Malott (below right) of Pflugerville, Texas.

    201011PBAMichaelHaugen.jpg201011PBAWesMalott.jpg"It was a 60-game event, a grueling test of versatility," O'Neill said. "You have to be smart. You have to know why you're picking up a certain ball, what you're doing with your hand. I made all the right decisions this week, and that's why I am where I am."

    O'Neill has been tagged by some experts as the next superstar in bowling, but it wasn't until last year – his fifth as a PBA Tour exempt player – that he broke through, winning his first two titles including the U.S. Open.

    "I had a lot of pressure, but most of it I put on myself," he said. "I didn't care what people say. So many people bad-mouth Chris Barnes about his TV record, but they have no idea how good that guy is. The hard part is the 40-50 games to get to TV in the first place. I figured if I kept giving my chances, I'd win.

    2010EBT16KimmoLehtonen.jpg201011PBAAmletoMonacelli.jpg"And now life is good," O'Neill continued. "I'm bowling really well. I married a great girl in May. I won some medals with Team USA in Germany. It's been a good year."

    The 60-game qualifying standings also determined the six United States and six international players who will bowl a special USA vs. The World team match on Friday, Nov. 6.

    U.S. qualifiers are O'Neill, Rash, Barnes, Haugen, Malott and Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind. International team members will be Palermaa, Koivuniemi, Belmonte, Venezuela's Amleto Monacelli (left), Finland's Kimmo Lehtonen (right) and Canada's Dan MacLelland.

     


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    Shark Championship - Round 2


    The top 16 after 12 games advance to round-robin match play Wednesday, Nov. 3.
    * indicates non-member bowler. INT = international. bowler.

     

     

    PBA World Championship - Final Qualifying Standings after 60 games


    The top 8 advance to the stepladder finals Jan. 14-16, 2011. The top 63 cash. * indicates non-member bowler. INT = international. bowler.

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