Graham outlasts Bob Learns Jr., 186-156, in grueling title match for his first career PBA50 Tour title
Eddie Graham of Centerville, Ohio, joined the PBA50 Tour in June and immediately made an impact by qualifying for match play in eight consecutive tournaments. He parlayed that success into a win in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship Tuesday at Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In a title match where strikes were hard to come by and spares were good enough, Graham (center) defeated Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., 186-156, for his first career PBA50 Tour title.
2016 PBA50 Tour features 15 events including four "Majors"
The 2016 PBA50 Tour for players 50 years of age and older (formerly the PBA Senior Tour) features 15 tournaments in seven States, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Nevada, California, Minnesota and Indiana. The extended PBA50 schedule includes four "majors", PBA Senior U.S. Open (May 29-June 3), USBC Senior Masters (June 19-25), PBA50 World Championship (July 17-23) and the PBA50 National Championship which will conclude the 2016 season at Signature Lanes in Elkhart, Ind., USA (Aug. 14-17).
Defending champion corrects flaw in arm swing that he hopes will result in successful title defense
Defending champion Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, averaged 237 for 16 games to earn top qualifier honors Monday in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Scroggins, who was fifth after Sunday's first round with a 1,834 eight-game pinfall total, followed up with 1,968 Monday to finish qualifying with a 3,802 overall pinfall. The left-hander recently corrected a flaw in his swing that he discovered earlier in the season which he hopes will help in a successful title defense.
SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains information about the stepladder finals of PWBA events that will air on CBS Sports Network in August.
The Professional Women's Bowling Association conducted the stepladder finals for three events at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois, on Sunday, and the finals will air on CBS Sports Network this month. The PWBA Lexington Open, PWBA Rochester Open, and PWBA St. Petersburg-Clearwater Open finals are part of the CBS Sports Network television package with the United States Bowling Congress. CBS Sports Network is televising 23 bowling events, including 13 PWBA Tour events, this year.
SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains information about the stepladder finals of PWBA events that will air on CBS Sports Network in August.
The Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour, which was re-launched in 2015 after nearly a dozen years, has released the PWBA Tour schedule for 2016, featuring 10 regular-season events, four "majors" and stops from coast to coast. The 2016 PWBA schedule kicked off April 28 with the PWBA Las Vegas Open at Texas Station and will conclude with back-to-back "majors", the U.S. Women's Open and The Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship.
With three top-10 finishes on the PBA50 Tour this season, including a season's best sixth-place in last week's Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic, Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., feels that if he can eliminate making bad decisions he can capture his first win of the season. Learn (pictured), who has three career PBA50 Tour titles, took the first round lead in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite Sunday with a 1,894 eight-game pinfall total (236.7 average).
For the third consecutive time, and fifth overall, USBC Hall of Famer Liz Johnson will be taking home the U.S. Women's Open trophy, and she will savor every moment. Johnson (pictured), of Cheektowaga, New York, won four consecutive matches Sunday at Stardust Bowl, including a 208-143 victory over Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, in the title match, to capture her fifth U.S. Women's Open title. Her first one came 20 years ago, and she also won in 2007, 2013, and 2015.
Shannon Pluhowsky (l.) finished her 32nd and final qualifying game at the 2016 U.S. Women's Open with three strikes for a 172 total and then had to wait to see if she would be among the top 24 to advance to match play. She made it, and as the No. 24 qualifier, Pluhowsky, of Dayton, Ohio, then made a remarkable run at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois, to earn the top seed for Sunday's stepladder finals. CBS Sports Network will have live coverage of the finals starting at noon Eastern.
Shayna Ng (pictured) of Singapore maintained her lead at U.S. Women's Open after the first eight-game round of match play Friday at The Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. She leads the remaining 24 players with an 8,523 pinfall total through 40 games, including 210 bonus pins. Ng started the day with a 25-pin lead, was in fifth place and 173 pins back after the final eight games of qualifying and went 7-1 in match play to build an 85-pin lead over Colombia native Rocio Restrepo.
Shayna Ng (SIN), Tannya Roumimper (INA), Rocio Restrepo (COL) and New Hui Fen (SIN) sit atop the leaderboard as field is cut to top 47 players
Second round leader Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia held a slim lead in the third round of qualifying at the U.S. Women's Open over Singapore's Shayna Ng most of the day but saw it slip away after a 164 effort in the final game. Ng (pictured) finished qualifying atop the leaderboard with a 5,013 pinfall total, an average of 208.87 for the 24 games, as the 142-player field was cut to the top 37 players. Ng was followed by Roumimper at 4,988, Colombia native Rocio Restrepo at 4,977 and Singapore's New Hui Fen at 4,972.
Next up on Xtra Frame: U.S. Women's Open prelims, Pro Bowl West doubleheader; Graham Fach wins Greater Marion Central Open
Chris Warren of Grants Pass, Ore., posted a 6-2 match play record and a 3,510 pinfall total Sunday to win the PBA Boise Northwest/West Open at 20th Century Lanes in Boise, Idaho, moving to within one title of catching PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber for the all-time PBA Regional titles lead. Warren, who now owns 47 standard PBA Regional titles, earned $2,000 when he defeated David Haynes of Las Vegas by 39 pins for the title. Warren, 52, also has won six PBA Tour titles and one PBA50 Regional title for 54 overall PBA titles.
Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper and Singapore's Shayna Ng lead a field of 142 players at the U.S. Women's Open after the second round of qualifying Wednesday at The Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. Roumimper (left) has a two-day pinfall total of 3,422, an average of 213,87 for 16 games, and Ng (right) is 60 pins behind in second place with 3,362. The U.S. Women's Open continues Thursday with the third and final eight-game qualifying block.
Voss defeats Lennie Boresch Jr. 222-206, for first career PBA50 Tour title; hands Boresch his second runner-up finish in a row
PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss of Centennial, Colo., a 25-time winner on the PBA Tour, won the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip Wednesday for his first win on the tour for players 50 and older. Voss (center) defeated USBC Hall of Famer and top seed Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., 222-206, in the championship match to hand Boresch his second runner-up finish in a row after losing in last week's PBA50 South Shore Open title match to Pete Weber.
Bowling on the second of the two squads on Tuesday, Amanda Greene of Romney, West Virginia, averaged 227 for a 1,818 pinfall total and holds a 32-pin lead over Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, after the opening round of the U.S. Women's Open at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. Seven of the top eight bowlers came from the second squad, which bowled on the burn as the lanes were not oiled between squads. The U.S. Women's Open continues Wednesday with eight more qualifying games.
Two-time PBA Tour titlist Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, N.Y., looks back on a 30-year career as a professional bowler as a little bit of a mixed bag, but has found his four seasons as a PBA50 Tour player especially rewarding. The 53-year-old Jurek (pictured), who is trying for his third win on the tour for players 50 years of age and older, emerged as the qualifying leader of the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip Tuesday in Anderson, Ind., with a 3,728 16-game pinfall total (232.87 average).
Iowa State Bowling Association Hall of Famer Don Breeden of Clive, Iowa, often doesn't take advantage of practice sessions right before the tournaments he bowls in. He likes to have a fresh look at the lanes when competition starts. That routine paid off for the 52-year-old Breeden Monday when he bowled a 1,860 eight-game pinfall (232.5 average) to take the first round lead in the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip. He had games of 236, 265, 266, 233, 198, 223, 228 and 211.
Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, and Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pennsyalvania, withstood a challenge from Jason Belmonte of Australia and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, in the position round match to successfully defend their Storm PBA/PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles title Sunday at Bowl on Bellaire. O'Keefe, a 12-time Team USA member, earned her fourth PWBA Tour title while O'Neill earned his eighth PBA Tour title and first of the season.
The 2016 Professional Bowlers Association Tour features 25 tournaments, including five 'majors' (Tournament of Champions, Masters, Players Championship, U.S. Open and World Championship) and the PBA Team Challenge. According to an agreement between PBA and World Bowling, Tenpin Bowling's world governing body, the international tournaments of the 2016 World Bowling Tour will also award a PBA title if he/she is a PBA member and bowls without accepting handicap pins.
38 doubles teams advance to Sunday's cashers' round at Storm PBA/PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles
Three-time defending PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, combined to average 221.6 to lead 152 doubles teams after qualifying Saturday in the Storm PBA/PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles at Bowl on Bellaire in Houston, Texas. The duo had a 3,547 16-game pinfall total to top 38 teams that advanced to Sunday morning's cashers' round that will determine the top eight teams for the final match play round Sunday afternoon.
The Pete Weber Show rolled through Hammond, Ind., Thursday night, adding another record performance to an unprecedented season in the PBA50 South Shore Open. Weber, with a 241-203 victory over top qualifier Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., won a record sixth PBA50 Tour title in a single season and improved his all-time PBA titles total to 99, tying Walter Ray Williams Jr. in their race to become the first bowler in PBA history to win a combined total of 100 titles.
Eddie Graham of Centerville, Ohio, joined the PBA50 Tour in June and immediately made an impact by qualifying for match play in eight consecutive tournaments. He parlayed that success into a win in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship Tuesday at Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In a title match where strikes were hard to come by and spares were good enough, Graham (center) defeated Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., 186-156, for his first career PBA50 Tour title.
The 2016 PBA50 Tour for players 50 years of age and older (formerly the PBA Senior Tour) features 15 tournaments in seven States, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Nevada, California, Minnesota and Indiana. The extended PBA50 schedule includes four "majors", PBA Senior U.S. Open (May 29-June 3), USBC Senior Masters (June 19-25), PBA50 World Championship (July 17-23) and the PBA50 National Championship which will conclude the 2016 season at Signature Lanes in Elkhart, Ind., USA (Aug. 14-17).
Defending champion Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, averaged 237 for 16 games to earn top qualifier honors Monday in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Scroggins, who was fifth after Sunday's first round with a 1,834 eight-game pinfall total, followed up with 1,968 Monday to finish qualifying with a 3,802 overall pinfall. The left-hander recently corrected a flaw in his swing that he discovered earlier in the season which he hopes will help in a successful title defense.
The Professional Women's Bowling Association conducted the stepladder finals for three events at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois, on Sunday, and the finals will air on CBS Sports Network this month. The PWBA Lexington Open, PWBA Rochester Open, and PWBA St. Petersburg-Clearwater Open finals are part of the CBS Sports Network television package with the United States Bowling Congress. CBS Sports Network is televising 23 bowling events, including 13 PWBA Tour events, this year.
With three top-10 finishes on the PBA50 Tour this season, including a season's best sixth-place in last week's Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic, Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., feels that if he can eliminate making bad decisions he can capture his first win of the season. Learn (pictured), who has three career PBA50 Tour titles, took the first round lead in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite Sunday with a 1,894 eight-game pinfall total (236.7 average).
For the third consecutive time, and fifth overall, USBC Hall of Famer Liz Johnson will be taking home the U.S. Women's Open trophy, and she will savor every moment. Johnson (pictured), of Cheektowaga, New York, won four consecutive matches Sunday at Stardust Bowl, including a 208-143 victory over Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio, in the title match, to capture her fifth U.S. Women's Open title. Her first one came 20 years ago, and she also won in 2007, 2013, and 2015.
Shannon Pluhowsky (l.) finished her 32nd and final qualifying game at the 2016 U.S. Women's Open with three strikes for a 172 total and then had to wait to see if she would be among the top 24 to advance to match play. She made it, and as the No. 24 qualifier, Pluhowsky, of Dayton, Ohio, then made a remarkable run at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois, to earn the top seed for Sunday's stepladder finals. CBS Sports Network will have live coverage of the finals starting at noon Eastern.
Shayna Ng (pictured) of Singapore maintained her lead at U.S. Women's Open after the first eight-game round of match play Friday at The Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. She leads the remaining 24 players with an 8,523 pinfall total through 40 games, including 210 bonus pins. Ng started the day with a 25-pin lead, was in fifth place and 173 pins back after the final eight games of qualifying and went 7-1 in match play to build an 85-pin lead over Colombia native Rocio Restrepo.
Second round leader Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia held a slim lead in the third round of qualifying at the U.S. Women's Open over Singapore's Shayna Ng most of the day but saw it slip away after a 164 effort in the final game. Ng (pictured) finished qualifying atop the leaderboard with a 5,013 pinfall total, an average of 208.87 for the 24 games, as the 142-player field was cut to the top 37 players. Ng was followed by Roumimper at 4,988, Colombia native Rocio Restrepo at 4,977 and Singapore's New Hui Fen at 4,972.
Chris Warren of Grants Pass, Ore., posted a 6-2 match play record and a 3,510 pinfall total Sunday to win the PBA Boise Northwest/West Open at 20th Century Lanes in Boise, Idaho, moving to within one title of catching PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber for the all-time PBA Regional titles lead. Warren, who now owns 47 standard PBA Regional titles, earned $2,000 when he defeated David Haynes of Las Vegas by 39 pins for the title. Warren, 52, also has won six PBA Tour titles and one PBA50 Regional title for 54 overall PBA titles.
PBA Hall of Famer Brian Voss of Centennial, Colo., a 25-time winner on the PBA Tour, won the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip Wednesday for his first win on the tour for players 50 and older. Voss (center) defeated USBC Hall of Famer and top seed Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., 222-206, in the championship match to hand Boresch his second runner-up finish in a row after losing in last week's PBA50 South Shore Open title match to Pete Weber.
Bowling on the second of the two squads on Tuesday, Amanda Greene of Romney, West Virginia, averaged 227 for a 1,818 pinfall total and holds a 32-pin lead over Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, after the opening round of the U.S. Women's Open at Stardust Bowl in Addison, Illinois. Seven of the top eight bowlers came from the second squad, which bowled on the burn as the lanes were not oiled between squads. The U.S. Women's Open continues Wednesday with eight more qualifying games. 
Two-time PBA Tour titlist Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, N.Y., looks back on a 30-year career as a professional bowler as a little bit of a mixed bag, but has found his four seasons as a PBA50 Tour player especially rewarding. The 53-year-old Jurek (pictured), who is trying for his third win on the tour for players 50 years of age and older, emerged as the qualifying leader of the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip Tuesday in Anderson, Ind., with a 3,728 16-game pinfall total (232.87 average).
Iowa State Bowling Association Hall of Famer Don Breeden of Clive, Iowa, often doesn't take advantage of practice sessions right before the tournaments he bowls in. He likes to have a fresh look at the lanes when competition starts. That routine paid off for the 52-year-old Breeden Monday when he bowled a 1,860 eight-game pinfall (232.5 average) to take the first round lead in the PBA50 Dave Small's Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip. He had games of 236, 265, 266, 233, 198, 223, 228 and 211.
Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, and Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pennsyalvania, withstood a challenge from Jason Belmonte of Australia and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, in the position round match to successfully defend their Storm PBA/PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles title Sunday at Bowl on Bellaire. O'Keefe, a 12-time Team USA member, earned her fourth PWBA Tour title while O'Neill earned his eighth PBA Tour title and first of the season.
The 2016 Professional Bowlers Association Tour features 25 tournaments, including five 'majors' (Tournament of Champions, Masters, Players Championship, U.S. Open and World Championship) and the PBA Team Challenge. According to an agreement between PBA and World Bowling, Tenpin Bowling's world governing body, the international tournaments of the 2016 World Bowling Tour will also award a PBA title if he/she is a PBA member and bowls without accepting handicap pins.
Three-time defending PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago, combined to average 221.6 to lead 152 doubles teams after qualifying Saturday in the Storm PBA/PWBA Xtra Frame Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles at Bowl on Bellaire in Houston, Texas. The duo had a 3,547 16-game pinfall total to top 38 teams that advanced to Sunday morning's cashers' round that will determine the top eight teams for the final match play round Sunday afternoon.
The Pete Weber Show rolled through Hammond, Ind., Thursday night, adding another record performance to an unprecedented season in the PBA50 South Shore Open. Weber, with a 241-203 victory over top qualifier Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., won a record sixth PBA50 Tour title in a single season and improved his all-time PBA titles total to 99, tying Walter Ray Williams Jr. in their race to become the first bowler in PBA history to win a combined total of 100 titles.