Walter Ray Leads First Round of PBA Senior Northern California Classic

"I can’t complain because I’ve been bowling great overall. My mindset is always to move on to the next tournament and try to win that one."

--Walter Ray Williams Jr, speaking of his opening performance in the PBA Senior Northern California Classic after losing the title match last week to Ron Mohr in the Senior U.S. Open.

As the TV sitcom character Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise...surprise...surprise," Walter Ray Williams Jr. is leading after the first 8-game round of the PBA Senior Northern California Classic in Brentwood, CA. His very first game was a 300, and he followed it with games of 205, 249, 258, 225, 215, 259, and 277 for a 248 average.

Not far behind him is Sacramento's Noel Vazquez in second, Harry "The Legend" Sullins in eighth, Hugh Miller in ninth, the venerable 71-year-old Dave Soutar in thirteenth, Mark Williams in fifteenth, and last week's Senior U.S. Open winner and leader in the Senior Player of the Year race Ron Mohr in sixteenth place. You just know he's going to be in the thick of it at the end.

The players will bowl another 8-game round today, and the field of 100 will then be winnowed down to 32 for match play on Wednesday, with the Round of 8 followed by the championship match beginning around 5 PM Pacific. PBA Xtra Frame will be covering the action today and tomorrow, so be sure to tune in.

Click here for the full story and standings.

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.

Ron Mohr Leads Qualifying of Mark Roth Senior Allentown Open

Ron Mohr is at it again. I blogged recently about how well he was doing on the PBA Senior Tour before taking time off in the middle of last season to care for his wife Linda who eventually died of cancer early this year, and how he rebounded from the devastating loss to take fourth, second, and first place respectively in the first three senior tournaments of this season.

Well, Mohr led all qualifiers going in to today's match play and championship rounds in the Mark Roth Senior Allentown Open in Allentown, PA and, as seemingly always these days, is a serious threat to win another title. Of course, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Harry Sullins, and Tom Baker who qualified second, third, and fifth respectively, along with a host of other outstanding players still left in the field, may have something to say about that. But the way Mohr is bowling now, he's going to be hard to beat.

If you get PBA Xtra Frame or think it might be high time to sign up, there's no better time than the present. Two rounds of match play have already been completed this morning, but you can watch those in the archives and catch the concluding match play and championship rounds live. "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark is calling the action and in the booth with him commentating are Johnny Petraglia Jr. and none other than the great Mark Roth.

You can click here for the qualifying results and here for the Round of 32 and Round of 24 match play results, and below is a short video of Mohr throwing one ball.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. Faces Stiff Competition on the PBA Senior Tour

When Walter Ray Williams Jr. went out on the Senior Tour last season after leading the regular Tour in all the major statistical categories and earning his record-setting seventh PBA Tour Player of the Year award at age 50, a lot of people were predicting that he'd tear up the Senior Tour. "If guys like Tom Baker, who haven't been a presence on the regular Tour for over a decade, are doing very well on the Senior Tour and Walter Ray is still more than holding his own with the youngsters, what chance do the other seniors have against his awesome game?" was what a lot of people, including Xtra Frame's Jeff Mark, were thinking.

Well, it turns out that one thing that's stopped Walter Ray from dominating his fellow seniors as totally as people predicted is the quality of his competition on the Senior Tour. There are a lot of guys out there who can flat out bowl. And yesterday, Harry "The Legend" Sullins was one of them, defeating Walter Ray in the title match of the PBA Senior Sun Bowl in The Villages, Florida 248-239 after Walter Ray destroyed 2008-2009 Senior Bowler of the Year Ron Mohr in the semifinal match 270-199. This was the second time Sullins defeated Walter Ray in a PBA title match. The first time was 25 years ago in 1986 when Sullins beat Walter Ray for a regular Tour title. Walter Ray went on to win his first Player of the Year award that year.

None of this is to say that Walter Ray hasn't prospered on the Senior Tour. He won the very first tournament he entered, was last season's Rookie of the Year, made the semifinals of the first Senior Tour tournament of this season last week before losing the final match yesterday, is leading in average after two tournaments this season by a whopping margin, and seems to be a virtual cinch to make match play and cash high in every tournament he enters. And, if the truth be told, he probably outbowled Sullins in the title match yesterday but just couldn't carry as well as his opponent.

Still, he's won, by my count, only one of the several senior tournaments he's entered over two seasons, and he's likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Ron Mohr, Tom Baker, last year's Player of the Year Wayne Webb (when he recovers from knee surgery), Johnny Petraglia, Mark Williams, Harry Sullins, and Steve Ferraro in every tournament he enters.

The PBA Senior Tour may be for "old" guys, but those "old" guys can still bowl. And for those of you who miss the action of the regular Tour while it's on hiatus, you can subscribe to PBA Xtra Frame and watch the Senior Tour action live along with listening to expert commentary from the likes of "Bowling Doctor" Jeff Mark and a panoply of bowling greats.

You can read more about yesterday's action in the PBA Senior Sun Bowl here. Below is video of a 1991 regular Tour match between Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Harry Sullins.

Bowling Bytes--6/15/10

~ Kelly Kulick threepeats as BPAA Bowler of the Month -- "Kelly Kulick (pictured) of Union, New Jersey, has been unanimously named the May 2010 Kegel Bowler of the Month by the Bowling Writers Association of America. Her 2010 U.S. Women's Open victory was Kulick's fourth major title in the last nine months and the second in a fifteen day span. She added the Open title to the USBC Queens, PBA Women's World Championship, and her historic PBA Tournament of Champions victory...Kulick becomes the first bowler to win the BWAA Bowler of the Month award three times in a single calendar year since Tommy Jones in 2005..."

~ Mark Williams Plays Two Different Shots to Win 2010 PBA U.S, Senior Open -- "Playing two entirely different shots in the championship match, PBA Hall of Famer Mark Williams won the 2010 PBA Senior U.S. Open at the Suncoast Bowling Center Friday for his first major Senior Tour title. Using the same ball and playing the right lane from an extreme outside angle and the left lane much farther inside, Williams defeated reigning Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr of Eagle, River, Alaska, 198-181, to also win his third career Senior Tour title..."

~ Handley leads at Senior Masters after Round 1 -- " Bob Handley of Winter Park, Fla., averaged 234.2 Monday to take the opening round qualifying lead at the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters. Handley totaled 1,171 for five games, an average of 234.2, at the South Point Hotel and Casino Bowling Center. He had games of 223, 238, 227, 245 and 238 and leads a field of 298 of the top senior bowlers in the country..."

~ Harry Sullins Takes Early Second Round Lead in USBC Senior Masters -- "Harry Sullins of Chesterfield Township, Mich., took the early second round lead in the USBC Senior Masters Tuesday at South Point Bowling Center, averaging 211.3 for a 10-game total of 2,113 pins.First round leader Bob Handley was scheduled to bowl his second five-game qualifying round on the third and final squad of the day..."

~ Sport bowling helps California bowler find success at USBC Open Championships -- "Paul Appling of Camarillo, Calif., enjoys the challenge of USBC Sport Bowling lane conditions because they help prepare him for events like the USBC Open Championships. The 61-year-old right-hander has bowled in Sport and PBA Experience leagues for the last four years with the hope of improving his game, and he got the ultimate payoff for his hard work when he rolled the 26th perfect game of the 2010 Open Championships at the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday..."

~ International star Nepocumeno holds coaching clinic in Jakarta -- "USBC’s busiest coach, bowling ambassador Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines, cut short his participation in the ongoing Philippine International Open to conduct a four-day Level One and Bronze certification seminar in Jakarta, Indonesia...Paeng recently visited the International training and Research Center at the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas, and was updated with the latest coaching techniques and the research being conducted at the ITRC. Paeng said he was amazed with all the new developments by USBC..."

~ PBA East Region Leaders through June 13, 2010

~ PBA Northwest Region Leaders through June 13, 2010

~ Nina Flack, Helen Johnsson defend Doubles title in Women's European Championships -- "Nina Flack and Helen Johnsson (r-l) claimed the first gold medal at the 3rd Women's European Championships 2010, when the Swedes successfully defended the Doubles title Monday at Zelta Boulinga Center in Riga, Latvia. In the championship match, the 2008 WEC Doubles champions defeated Finland'sPiritta Kantola and Krista Pöllänen, 454-429. Flack had 233 and Johnsson added 221 while Kantola had 248 and Pöllänen 181..."

~ Boris Karloff (1932)

Bowling Bytes--5/5/10

Tammy Boomershine, a new leader at the USBC Open, Walter Ray Williams in his first PBA Senior event, Tony Lakawicz, the world's largest bowling center, cheating in bowling, bowling shoes, and successful team play are among the subjects of today's Bowling Bytes.

~ Boomershine looks to repeat as U.S. Women's Open Champion -- Tammy Boomershine has dealt with injuries and adversity her entire bowling career, but for a short time last August she was able to put all of that out of her mind and bask in her victory at the U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event. Boomershine of North Ogden, Utah, will look to regain that feeling again when she takes on a field of the top women bowlers from around the world at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, which begins Friday, May 7 at Cityview Lanes in Fort Worth, Texas..."

~ Nebraska bowler takes Classified All-Events lead at USBC Open Championships -- "Harry Arnold of Falls City, Neb., knew he bowled well at the 2010 USBC Open Championships, but once he left the lanes at the National Bowling Stadium, he was focused on getting his family packed up and back on the road..."

~ Texas bowler rolls fourth 800 of 2010 U.S. Open Championships -- "Eric Traylor of Cypress, Texas, celebrated his birthday a day early by rolling the fourth 800 series of the 2010 USBC Open Championships on Monday. With his 26th birthday just hours away, Traylor put together games of 279, 288 and 244 for an 811 series and moved into second place in Regular Singles. Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., leads with 833..."

~ Harry Sullins leads after second round in Miller PBA Senior Miller High Life Classic -- "With a 240.6 16-game overall average, 2009 Professional Bowlers Association Senior World Championship winner Harry Sullins (pictured left) moved into the lead after the second round Tuesday in the PBA Senior Miller High Life Classic at George Pappas Victory Lanes...Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. (left), who earned his record seventh PBA Player of the Year honor at the conclusion of the 2009-10 PBA Tour season in April, remained in 11th with a 3,703 pinfall..."

~ Long Time PBA East Region Leader Lakawicz Dies -- "Tony Lakawicz of Elmwood Park, N.J., who spent nearly 35 years as tournament director and organizational leader in the PBA East Region, died on April 28 at the age of 92. Lakawicz was a shop manager for Servo Tek in Hawthorne, N.J., for more than 40 years before retiring and spending another 10 years working the control counter at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park. The long-time Elmwood Park Elks Lodge member and Elmwood Park fire department chaplain was an avid bowler as well, once being a member of a five-man team that held the team game and series world records..."

~ Inazawa Grand Bowl installs QuBicaAMF automatic scoring -- "QubicaAMF Worldwide, a leading manufacturer of bowling and amusement products, has announced that its Bowler Entertainment System (BES) has been installed in the largest bowling center in the world, according to Guinness World Records..."

~ Bowling and Cheating -- "Recently, I read a blurb in a recent issue of Golf Magazine talking about how often and why golfers cheat. The statistic, which I don't have in front of me right now, is something like 95% of amateur golfers cheat...This got me thinking about cheating and bowling. It's a lot harder to cheat in bowling, since you're throwing a ball at 10 pins. You either knock them down or the ball goes in the gutter. There's no denying what happened. Furthermore, with almost every house now using automated scoring, the number of pins you knock down is the number of pins that goes up on the board. However, there are a couple common instances I notice in which bowlers can cheat: fouls and illegal pinfall..."

~ Coaching Tip of the Week: Bowling shoes for all Levels of Bowlers -- "You can get away with wearing one pair of shoes to jog, play basketball or wear with a nice pair of jeans, but you have to wear special shoes just to go bowling? The answer is yes, you do, and there are some very good reasons why. In this week's tips, USBC Coaching Specialist Kim Terrell-Kearney will explain why bowling shoes are important and what types of shoes bowlers of different skill levels should be wearing..."

~ Teams that play together well win: The seven principles of team and doubles play (Dean Hinitz: The Mind Game: Bowling This Month, May 2010, pgs. 55-58) -- "They say there is no 'I' in team. And it is common sports lore that talent alone does not win championships, or at least not repeatedly...Whether you are bowling USBC Nationals, tournament doubles, or league, playing as a team can take you to the top..."