When Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Norm Duke looks for motivation, he finds it in the milestone PBA50 Tour season that longtime rival and fellow hall member Pete Weber is having this year.

Duke had extra motivation in the title match of the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino World Championship presented by Storm Saturday beating Weber (right), 234-215, in the title match at Island Xtreme Bowl for his second PBA50 Tour major and third title of his career on the tour for players 50 years of age and older.

“Any of us are capable of getting on a serious roll but the one Pete is on is something else,” said Duke of Weber’s season that includes a record five PBA50 Tour wins with a record run of four in a row. “I had to look at it as not only stopping the roll he’s on but starting my own.”

In the title match, Duke, who was the top seed for the finals and Weber, who qualified third, were tied in the eighth frame but Weber failed to strike in the ninth frame leaving the 3-6-10 spare which he converted. It was then that Duke saw his opportunity and struck in the ninth and the first ball in the 10th to seal the win.

“I was kind of shocked that he left that (spare) at that point but I saw it as an opportunity,” said Duke, who ranks third on the all-time PBA Tour titles list with 38 wins including seven majors. “I thought to myself let’s get this done.”

Duke ended Weber’s consecutive major titles string this season at two after Weber, the defending PBA50 Player of the Year, won the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by 900 Global and the USBC Senior Masters in June.

The win was Duke’s first since winning his first major, the PBA Senior U.S. Open, in his rookie season in 2014.

“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Duke added. “I want to catch up to Pete, Walter (Ray Williams Jr.) and the other guys but I’m still a work in progress and have a long way to go.”

In the opening stepladder match, Harry Sullins (left) of Chesterfield Twp., Mich., the winner of the 2009 PBA Senior World Championship, beat PBA50 Tour rookie Brian Kretzer (right) of Dayton, Ohio, 201-193, to advance to the second match where he lost to Weber 234-186.

Weber then beat PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III (below right) in the semifinal match 264-214 to advance to the championship match against Duke. Bohn, who was trying for his fourth PBA50 Tour title, won the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino Open last season which was conducted as a standard PBA50 Tour tournament.

Weber, who ranks fourth on the PBA Tour list with 37 wins including a record-tying 10 majors, was trying for his fifth PBA50 major and 10th title overall. In the eight PBA50 Tour tournaments he has competed in this season, he has two seconds and a fourth-place finish along with his five wins.

The PBA50 Tour travels to Olympia Lanes in Hammond, Ind., for the PBA50 South Shore Open presented by DV8 July 25-28.

The PBA50 Tour is covered in its entirety on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. Click here for subscription and schedule information.

Related Articles

Pete Weber eyes 100 title mark in PBA competition
Nelson, Bohn top qualifying PBA50 World Championship
Norm Duke retains PBA50 World Championship lead after second round
Norm Duke leads PBA50 World Championship after first round
Pete Weber looks to continue record-breaking season
2016 PBA50 Tour Schedule & Champions

PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino World Championship finals

Island Xtreme Bowl in Welch, Minn., USA (July 17-23, 2016)

Championship Round:
1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 234 (1 game), $15,000
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 713 (3 games), $8,500
3, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 214 (1 game), $5,500
4, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 387 (2 games), $4,000
5, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 193 (1 game), $3,500

Playoff Results:
First Match One: No. 4 Sullins def. No. 5 Kretzer, 201-193
Second Match Two: No. 3 Weber def. Sullins, 234-186
Semifinal Match: Weber def. No. 2 Bohn, 264-214
Championship Match: No. 1 Duke def. Weber, 234-215.

PBA50 World Championship – Fifth Round Standings

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 26-game total pinfall including bonus pins; places 5-24 show earnings; n-denotes non-member

1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 8-4, 6,537
2, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 8-4, 6,436
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 6-6, 6,370
4, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 9-3, 6,340
5, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 5-7, 6,278

Missed Cut:
6, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 7-5, 6,220, $3,000
7, n-Ron Nelson Jr, Bridgeview, Ill., 5-6-1, 6,173, $2,500
8, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 6-6, 6,168, $2,400
9, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 7-5, 6,164, $2,100
10, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 4-8, 6,160, $2,000
11, Sam Maccarone, Blackwood, N.J., 5-7, 6,157, $2,050
12, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 8-4, 6,127, $1,900
13, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 6-6, 6,113, $1,850
14, Tommy Martin, Olive Branch, Miss., 6-5-1, 6,096, $1,800
15, (tie) Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 5-7, 6,084, and Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 6-4-2, 6,084, $1,725
17, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 7-5, 6,068, $1,675
18, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 5-7, 6,055, $1,650
19, Andrew Frawley, Australia, 5-7, 6,016, $1,625
20, Ricky Schissler, Brighton, Colo., 6-6, 5,977, $1,600
21, Robert Brown, Cody, Wyo., 5-7, 5,903, $1,575
22, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 6-6, 5,898, $1,550
23, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 3-9, 5,855, $1,525
24, Randy Scharf, Gillette, Wyo., 4-8, 5,840, $1,500

PBA50 World Championship – Fourth Round Standings

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 21-game total pinfall including bonus pins; n-denotes non-member

1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 4-2, 5,049
2, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 4-2, 5,018
3, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 3-3, 5,010
4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3-3, 4,941
5, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3-3, 4,919
6, n-Ron Nelson Jr, Bridgeview, Ill., 1-4-1, 4,852
7, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 4-2, 4,836
8, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 4-2, 4,817
9, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 4-1-1, 4,797
10, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-3, 4,796
11, (tie) Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., and Andrew Frawley, Australia, 3-3, 4,778
13, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3-3, 4,777
14, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 4-2, 4,758
15, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 3-3, 4,747, $200
16, Sam Maccarone, Blackwood, N.J., 2-4, 4,732
17, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3-3, 4,720
18, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 2-4, 4,692
19, Randy Scharf, Gillette, Wyo., 3-3, 4,656
20, Tommy Martin, Olive Branch, Miss., 2-4, 4,638
21, Ricky Schissler, Brighton, Colo., 2-4, 4,618
22, Robert Brown, Cody, Wyo., 2-4, 4,586
23, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 3-3, 4,568
24, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 1-5, 4,562