Bowling Video of the Day--Roh Mohr Shoots 300 on PBA Xtra Frame

For those of you who have never seen the leading player on the PBA Senior Tour, Ron Mohr, bowl, or even for those of you who have but can't get enough of watching this great senior in action, especially when he shoots a 300 game in the PBA Senior U.S. Open, this one's for you.

Ron Mohr Triumphs at 2011 PBA Senior U.S. Open

"Walter’s the best out here and everyone kind of expects him to be the guy. It’s nice to become the top senior player in the world by winning the toughest tournament we bowl but right now I’m just going to enjoy the moment."

--Ron Mohr

Ron Mohr didn't get off to the best of starts in this year's PBA Senior U.S. Open in Las Vegas. He was in 67th place after the first round of qualifying, and only 56 players in the field of over 200 would make the first cut. "I was concerned at that point but not overly worried. At that point there was a lot of bowling left...so I just made the adjustments and took it a day at a time, which you have to do in a marathon tournament like this," said Mohr.

He made those adjustments, made the cut, and sat in 7th place entering match play at the end of 27 games of qualifying. 24 games of round-robin match play later, he had edged out Bo Goergen to secure the fourth and final spot in Friday's stepladder finals.

His first opponent was the reigning Senior Player of the Year Wayne Webb. Webb bowled tremendously well this week after coming back from knee surgery a few months ago and limited practice since then to nail down the third seed, and when he started the first stepladder match with his first six strikes, it looked as though he might give Ron Mohr more than he could handle. But Mohr began with a five-bagger of his own before leaving a 4-10 split that looked, given Wayne's hot start, like it might spell his doom. He then masterfully converted the split, Wayne left a light pocket 7 pin on his next ball, and before you knew it, Mohr had emerged victorious with a 265 game to Webb's 258.

In Mohr's next match with Harry Sullins, the scores weren't as high, but the competition was no less thrilling, ending with Mohr's narrow 220 to 211 victory over Sullins in a back-and-forth affair.

This left only one person standing in Mohr's way to his first senior major title. But that person happened to be Walter Ray Williams Jr., who dominated the later rounds of qualifying and much of match play before struggling a little in the final round. Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Ron Mohr. The two best players on the senior tour this season by far. One could not have asked for a better match up in the final game of arguably the biggest and most challenging senior tournament of the entire season.

But, as things turned out, it wasn't much of a match. Walter Ray never really got lined up, and Mohr cruised to an impressive 246-189 victory. "She was my guardian angel and she was with me today," Mohr said afterward, referring to his wife, Linda, who passed away in January after complications following surgery months earlier. Mohr, who was the 2009 Senior Player of the Year, had taken off much of the 2010 season to care for his ailing wife and, after she died, had been despondent and reluctant to return to the senior tour. Yet, he decided to give it a try and see how he did in the first few tournaments. His second, third, and fourth place finishes in addition to two titles this season have certainly vindicated his decision and placed him solidly in the lead for Senior Player of the Year as the senior tour heads into the second half of its season.

"Both the support back home and out here on tour has been unbelievable, and that has been very important to my success this year," said Mohr.

The senior tour now moves to Brentwood, CA for the Senior Northern California Classic at Harvest Park Bowl, June 19-22.

You can read Jerry Schneider's entire wrap up of the Senior U.S. Open for pba.com here and catch all the round-robin match play rounds and the stepladder finals on PBA Xtra Frame.

Walter Ray Widening His PBA Senior U.S. Open Lead Going Into Final Day of Competition

"I’m still throwing the ball well. I had to migrate left a little tonight as the lane condition broke down, but it wasn’t much – which was fine with me. There are no guarantees heading into tomorrow, but I like what’s going on. I’d be very happy to have to bowl only one game in the stepladder finals for the title."

--Walter Ray Williams Jr.

After 35 games of match play and qualifying, Walter Ray Williams Jr. entered today's final day of competition in the PBA Senior U.S. Open with a 203 pin lead over second place Wayne Webb, last year's Senior Player of the Year.

PBA Xtra Frame is covering all of today's action, albeit with some unfortunate technical glitches thus far this morning. The bowlers will bowl two eight-game round-robin match play rounds this morning and afternoon, and the top four will advance to the stepladder finals beginning at approximately 3:30 pm Pacific.

Extended Bottlegate 2 Clip Promised

And bear in mind that Xtra Frame is supposed to be featuring an extended clip of "Bottlegate 2" this afternoon between the final round of match play and the stepladder finals. Xtra Frame announcer Jeff Mark and commentator Jason Thomas have said that this could well be the "most intense confrontation in the history of the PBA."

If you don't subscribe to Xtra Frame, I'll be blogging about what I saw in the clip as soon as I can after viewing it.

Click here to read the story on Thursday's action and see the standings going into today's concluding action.

PBA Senior U.S. Open Enters Match Play on PBA Xtra Frame

"You always want to be as far up in the standings as you can get. I’d like to have a 200-300 pin lead, but I don’t have that. We still have a long way to go, but I’m just hoping I can keep throwing the ball well and win some matches. I’m looking forward to match play. I haven’t bowled round-robin match play for quite a while."

--Walter Ray Williams Jr.

The PBA Senior U.S. Open finished its qualifying rounds earlier today in Las Vegas, and after 18 games of qualifying, Walter Ray Williams Jr. sat solidly in first place, followed by Kevin Croucher, Bo Goergen, Wayne Webb, Harry Sullins, Brian Voss, Ron Mohr, and Eric Forkel. PBA Xtra Frame has begun its coverage of the first round of top 24, round-robin match play and will cover the rest of the tournament right through the final matches Friday night.

If you haven't subscribed yet, sign up and enjoy these great senior bowlers in the biggest senior event of the season. And if you're already subscribed, you know what to do tomorrow night. But if you can't watch it then, you can always catch it later in the archives.

Click here to read Bill Vint's summary of the qualifying rounds and see the top 24 and their pinfall.

Wayne Webb Prepares for His Senior Tour Comeback

There's a new article up on pba.com about Wayne Webb. After earning PBA Senior Player of the Year honors last season, he underwent his second knee surgery of the last seven months and is slowly working himself back into bowling shape so he can compete during the remainder of this senior season.

First up for him will be the PBA Senior U.S. Open to be held June 12-17 at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas. Webb, who's 53 and operates a bowling center in Columbus, Ohio, is a 20 time champion and former TOC winner and Player of the Year on the regular tour. He also won back-to-back Senior U.S. Opens in 2008 and 2009 and will be inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in Grapevine, Texas on July 1.

Webb says, "I'm practicing on a limited basis and still undergoing some therapy, so I'm hopeful I will see more improvement by the time the tournament starts. It's just going to take a little more time to get where it needs to be."

Wayne Webb has always been one of my favorite bowlers, and I'd like nothing better than to see him return to action. But I don't want him to try to come back before his knee has healed. Last season, he came back too soon after his first knee surgery and, even though finishing ninth, aggravated his knee so much during the 2010 Senior U.S. Open that he had to have a second knee operation later. I hope the same thing doesn't happen to him again this season.

You can read the entire story on pba.com here, watch the match play rounds of the upcoming Senior U.S. Open on PBA Xtra Frame June 16-17, and see a video below about his Senior Masters title last season where he beat Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the championship match.