After a heartbreaking loss in the 10th frame of the championship match of the season-opening PBA50 Pasco County Florida Open, PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., got some redemption by sealing the deal in the 10th frame of the PBA50 Race City Open presented by Columbia 300 Wednesday to notch his fourth career PBA50 Tour title.

From left, champion Norm Duke and George Pappas’ Victory Lanes general manager Paul Kreins.

Thanks to a clutch strike on the first ball of the 10th, Duke (pictured above) defeated top qualifier Kenny Parks (left) of Hammond, Ind., 221-213, in the title match at George Pappas’ Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C.

“I tell you, nothing’s a given,” Duke said. “You just can’t take anything for granted. It seems like the lanes are changing every frame and it’s all you can do to get to the pocket. It’ a lot of guesswork and fortunately I guessed right this time.”

Taking the lead into the 10th frame of the Pasco County Open two weeks ago, Duke left the 2-4-8-10 split which handed the win over to Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., for his second PBA50 Tour title.

“There’s one philosophy that says, put those situations behind you and move on, but for me, I stew over it,” said Duke, who ranks third on the all-time PBA Tour titles list with 38 wins. “That was a learning experience and I want to learn from it. I don’t want to get into a second-place cycle.”

Duke was able to overcome two splits in the Race City Open title match that he failed to convert but was able to come back with strikes at the end of the match when he needed them.

“I’ll be honest, this victory was probably more ball than it was me,” said Duke, who qualified third for the stepladder finals. “I needed every advantage I could get.”

Parks, the 2008 USBC Senior Masters winner, was trying for his second career PBA50 Tour title.

In the second stepladder match, Duke beat last week’s UnitedHealthcare Sun Bowl in The Villages winner Lennie Boresch Jr. (left) of Kenosha, Wis., 216-187, and then went on to beat Sammy Ventura (right) of Syracuse, N.Y., in the semi-final 210-202, to advance to the title match.

In the opening match, Boresch defeated five-time PBA Tour winner Michael Haugen Jr. (below left) of Phoenix, 223-216. Haugen’s fifth-place finish was his second top-five of the season after finishing third in the Pasco County Open.

Two-time PBA Tour winner Jeff Bellinger earned a check the hard way when he showed up late for his second round qualifying squad on Tuesday. Commuting from his home in Columbia, S.C., the 63-year-old Bellinger got caught in a traffic jam caused by road construction in the Charlotte area.

Giving the field what amounted to an eight-frame head start, he began competition in the ninth frame and bowled a 40 in his first game. He followed it up with games of 225, 248, 246, 257, 197, 211 and 225 which was good enough to finish 44th in qualifying advancing to Wednesday’s cashers round. Unfortunately he couldn’t get anything going in the cashers round finishing the tournament in 51st and winning $1,000.

The PBA50 Tour travels to Farmingdale Lanes in Farmingdale, N.Y., May 6-9 for the Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick. For Xtra Frame subscription and schedule information click here.

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2017 PBA50 Tour Schedule & Champions

PBA50 Race City Open – Stepladder Results

George Pappas Victory Lanes in Mooresville, N.C., USA (April 30-May 3, 2017)

Championship Round:
1, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 647 (3 games), $7,500
2, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 213 (1 game), $4,000
3, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 202 (1 game), $2,500
4, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 410 (2 games), $2,000
5, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 216 (1 game), $1,750

Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 4 Boresch def. No. 5 Haugen, 223-216
Second Match: No. 3 Duke def. Boresch, 216-187
Semifinal Match: Duke def. No. 2 Ventura, 210-202
Championship: Duke def. No. 1 Parks, 221-213

PBA50 Race City Open – Match Play Round 2

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 6-game total, including bonus. Top five advanced to stepladder finals. Places 6-16 show earnings. ss-PBA60 player; n-non-member.

1, ss-Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 5-1, 1,587
2, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 5-1, 1,553
3, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3-3, 1,521
4, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 4-2, 1,509
5, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 4-2, 1,487

Missed Cut:
6, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3-3, 1,477, $1,600
7, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 3-3, 1,462, $1,600
8, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 3-3, 1,461, $1,600
9, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2-4, 1,453, $1,400
10, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 3-3, 1,451, $1,400
11, ss-Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 3-3, 1,427, $1,400
12, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 3-3, 1,398, $1,400.
13, ss-Warren Nelson, Hemet, Calif., 1-5, 1,345, $1,400
14, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3-3, 1,337, $1,400
14, Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 1-5, 1,337, $1,400
16, ss-Greg McMahan, Dandridge, Tenn., 2-4, 1,278, $1,400

PBA50 Race City Open – Match Play Round 1

Places 17-32 with position, hometown, match play record, 5-game total, including bonus, and earnings. Top 16 advanced to the second. ss-PBA60 player; n-non-member.

17, James Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 3-2, 1,180, $1,250
18, (tie) ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1-4, 1,171, and
Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 3-2, 1,171, $1,250
20, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3-2, 1,167, $1,250
21, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 2-3, 1,166, $1,250
22, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2-3, 1,153, $1,250
23, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3-2, 1,121, $1,250
24, Don Breeden, Clive, Iowa, 2-3, 1,119, $1,250
25, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3-2, 1,114, $1,150
26, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 2-3, 1,088, $1,150
27, Ralph Brunt Jr., Jensen Beach, Fla., 2-3, 1,066, $1,150
28, ss-Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 1-4, 1,058, $1,150
29, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1-4, 1,047, $1,150
30, Dave Han, Birmingham, Ala., 2-3, 1,046, $1,150
31, Doug O’Bryant, Ball Ground, Ga., 2-3, 1,004, $1,150
32, Tommy Martin, Olive Branch, Miss., 1-4, 995, $1,150

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers’ round)
33, Curt Guinn, Greenwood, S.C., 1,084, $1,075
34, ss-Lee Brosius, Ashburn, Va., 1,078, $1,075
35, ss-Bobby Johnson, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,070, $1,075
36, ss-Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 1,056, $1,075
37, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 1,046, $1,075
38, Ernie Segura Jr., Taylor, Mich., 1,045, $1,075
39, ss-Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,044, $1,075
40, Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 1,024, $1,075
41 (tie), ss-Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., and
Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 1,022, $1,000
42, ss-Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., 1,020, $1,000
43, ss-Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 1,008, $1,000
44, ss-Dale Eagle, Twin Falls, Idaho, 1,004, $1,000
45, Gary Alstott, Washington, Ill., 999, $1,000
46, ss-Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., 990, $1,000
47, ss-Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 956, $1,000
48, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 956, $1,000
49, ss-Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio, 953, $1,000
50, Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 948, $1,000
51, ss-Jeff Bellinger, Columbia, S.C., 901, $1,000
52, ss-David Kneas, Annapolis, Md., 856, $1,000