Quebec City native Francois Lavoie forced a re-write of the PBA record book with his victory in the U.S. Open Wednesday night at South Point Bowling Plaza in Las Vegas.

The 23-year-old, 120-pound French Canadian (pictured above), who is living in Wichita, Kan., where he previously earned all-American honors as a member of the Wichita State University bowling team, became the first player to bowl a perfect game in the U.S. Open stepladder finals, the first Canadian to win the 74th edition of an event that began as the BPAA All Star in 1942, and only the second international player (joining 2001 winner Mika Koivuniemi of Finland) to win a U.S. Open title.

Some other tidbits arising from Lavoie’s march toward his 228-194 victory over top qualifier Marshall Kent in the title match:

Lavoie became the second Canadian in the PBA’s 57-year history to win a PBA Tour title, and both have not only occurred in 2016, but both happened in majors. Graham Fach of Guelph, Ontario, was the first Canadian champion, winning the Barbasol PBA Players Championship in Columbus, Ohio, in February. Coincidentally, both are rookies and leading contenders for 2016 PBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Lavoie’s 300 was the sixth bowled in a nationally-televised major. The others were by Jack Biondolillo in the 1967 PBA Tournament of Champions, Johnny Petraglia in the 1995 PBA National Championship, Jason Queen in the 1997 USBC Masters, Parker Bohn III in the 1998 USBC Masters, and Sean Rash in the 2015 Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions.

Lavoie’s 300 was the 26th bowled on national television and the first since Rash’s in the 2015 TOC.

Lavoie joined a short list of players who won their first PBA Title in the U.S. Open (BPAA All Star), joining All Star winners Billy Welu (1959), Harry Smith (1960), Bill Tucker (1961), Bobby Cooper (1970), and U.S. Open winners Paul Moser (1971), Joe Berardi (1979), Del Ballard Jr. (1987) and Robert Smith (2000).

Jakob Butturff has one more chance to break PBA Regional record

Second-year PBA member Jakob Butturff of Chandler, Ariz., has one more opportunity – Nov. 18-19 in Rocklin, Calif. – to become the first player in PBA history to win nine QubicaAMF PBA Regional titles in a single year.

Butturff, a 22-year-old left-hander with an unorthodox delivery, has dominated the PBA West and Northwest Regions in 2016, winning eight titles in Reno; Las Vegas; Hawaii; Gilbert, Ariz.; Rohnert Park, Calif.; Reno a second time; Tacoma, Wash., and Twin Falls, Idaho. According to PBA records, the only other player to win eight PBA Regional titles in a single year was Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, in 1999.

Butturff, who also has won his first two PBA Tour titles in 2016 (the Xtra Frame PBA Lubbock Sports Open and Xtra Frame PBA South Point Las Vegas Open), must win the PBA West/Northwest 3rd Capital City Open presented by DV8, Genesis and Mongoose in order to break the existing record because it’s the final event of the year for the PBA West and Northwest Regions.

Special WSOB VIII room rate at Silver Legacy expires on Nov. 14

Bowlers planning to compete in the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VIII, presented by Silver Legacy Resort and Casino, are reminded that a confirmed reservation at Silver Legacy is required at the time of entry, and that special discounted room rates at Silver Legacy expire on Nov. 14. Just as important, due to other events scheduled for Reno, rooms may be extremely hard to find, so getting reservations in ASAP is strongly recommended.

Entries are open to PBA members only on a first-come basis by contacting PBA Membership Services Manager Mary von Krueger (email: [email protected]; phone: 206-332-9688; fax: 850-564-1717).

Reservations at the Silver Legacy, the tournament’s official sponsor, can be made by clicking here

Room rates are also available to family members, support staff, industry representatives, news media representatives and fans in general. The special PBA rates are $49.99 Sunday-Thursday and $59.99 for Saturday-Sunday. Each room reservation (single or double) that includes a weekend stay also includes two buffet coupons.

Next up on Xtra Frame: Randy Pedersen goes “One on One” with PBA Stars

Xtra Frame subscribers are in for a special treat as the PBA’s online video-streaming service introduces a new up-close-and-personal look at the PBA Tour’s top stars through a new feature called One on One with Randy Pedersen. The new series will be available beginning Monday, Nov. 14.

The exclusive Xtra Frame series will begin with PBA Hall of Famer and ESPN/CBS Sports color analyst Randy Pedersen sitting down with three-time reigning PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte discussing his daily routine, his crush on Jennifer Lawrence, family cuisine, shark cages and much more.

On Thursday, Nov. 17 will be a chat with five-time PBA Tour titlist and 2015 PBA Rookie of the Year Jesper Svensson where they will delve into such subjects as Svensson’s expansive hat collection, cuddleball, golf and his unique “scam step.”

Other stars to be featured in the coming weeks will be Anthony Simonsen, Chris Barnes, Dom Barrett, Ryan Ciminelli, Tom Daugherty, Gary Faulkner and Sean Rash.

For a preview click here

The “One on One” series will be available as the PBA gears up for wall-to-wall coverage of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VIII. Xtra Frame subscribers will get a comprehensive look at the multi-event, two-week showcase of international bowling, beginning on Sunday, Nov. 27, with the qualifying rounds of the PBA Regional, PBA-PWBA Women’s Regional and PBA50 Challenge events, followed by the two-player championship matches.

Tuesday through Friday, Nov. 29-Dec. 2, will feature exclusive coverage of qualifying rounds in the Cheetah, Chameleon, Scorpion and Shark Championships, leading into the PBA World Championship cashers round and match play Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 4-5. World Series coverage will continue Dec. 6-8. For the daily schedule, including air times, click here.

QubicaAMF PBA Regional Update: T.J. Schmidt wins Central/Midwest title

T.J. Schmidt of Mishawaka, Ind. defeated Nathan Michalowski of Burlington, Wis., 224-191, to win the PBA Pro Bowl West Central/Midwest Classic at Pro Bowl West in Ft. Wayne, Ind., Sunday for his second QubicaAMF PBA Regional title and a $2,000 first prize.

Schmidt (pictured above with Caveman Bowl GM Brian Cave) downed Josh Conner of Columbus, Ohio, 2-1 (181-225, 201-159, 184-134), and Michalowski topped Joe Bailey of Doylestown, Ohio, 2-0 (217-182, 198-162), in the best-of-three-game semifinal round to set up the championship match.

Chris Warren (right) of Grants Pass, Ore., defeated Hugh Miller of Mercer Island, Wash., 258-225, to win the PBA50 Dick’s Pro Shop Northwest/West Open at Linn Lanes in Lebanon, Ore., Sunday. Along with his third PBA50 regional title, Warren earned the $2,500 top prize.

Warren defeated Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., 237-221, and Miller defeated non-member Eric Parker of Lebanon, Ore., 258-246, in the semifinal round to set up the championship match.

The QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour schedule for the Nov. 11-13 weekend includes the PBA50 Victory Lanes Midwest/Central Open in Kankakee, Ill.; the Lubbock Sports Southwest Challenge presented by Ebonite, an event for non-champions, at South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, and the East Region’s PBA50 Chuck Pezzano Memorial presented by The Insurance Market at Bryan’s Bowling Center in Laurel, Del.

The QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour schedule for the Nov. 18-20 weekend includes the PBA50 Gastonia South Open presented by Brunswick at George Pappas Liberty Lanes in Gastonia, N.C.; the PBA and PBA50 3rd Capital City West/Northwest Open doubleheader, presented by DV8, Genesis and Mongoose, at Strikes Unlimited in Rocklin, Calif., and the La-Z-Boy Central Challenge for non-champions at Monroe Sports Center in Monroe, Mich.

The QubicaAMF PBA Regional Tour’s Thanksgiving weekend schedule begins with the Japan Region’s Phoenix Rays Wolf Open at PBA Fuji Bowl in Iruma, Japan. The only tournament in the U.S. will be the Beaumont Southwest Open at Crossroads Bowling Center in Beaumont, Texas, Nov. 25-27.

Heading into the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VIII in Reno, the QubicaAMF PBA East Region will host the MJK Pro Shop/Knob Hill Eastern Challenge presented by DV8 for non-champions at Knob Hill Country Lanes in Manalapan, N.J., over the Dec. 2-3 weekend.

For complete QubicaAMF PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, click here to find the event(s) in your area.

Quick Notes

The 12th annual Chris and Lynda Barnes Thanksgiving Classic Scholarship tournament will take place Nov. 25-27 at Super Bowl in Plano, Texas. The tournament, which will include $7,000 in added scholarship money, features scratch, handicap and 12-under divisions. For more information, look for the Barnes Thanksgiving Classic page on Facebook.

Reminder: Dec. 19 is the deadline to submit nominations for the 2016 Tony Reyes Community Service award, recognizing a current PBA member who performs extraordinary community service over the course of a PBA Tour season. For a nomination form and additional information click here.

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