Up Front
Four titles were awarded during the Summer Swing — three in events named after PBA Tour lane patterns (Wolf, Bear and Badger), one in an event featuring players who advanced from those three tournaments based on cumulative qualifying scores (the Oklahoma Open), and a non-title special event featuring the Summer Series champions and a “wild card” entrant (the “King of the Swing”). Lyle Zikes chronicled the entire
Series in the Pro Bowling section of the July issue of Bowlers Journal International. Here are summaries of the various events...
Perfection: Sean Rash kicked off the first Summer Series telecast, featuring the stepladder finals of the Wolf Open, with a 300 game, which netted him a $9,100 bonus — $10,000 minus $900 in shot clock violations. He went on to run ladder, finally defeating Chris Barnes in the championship match.
Redemption: Ronnie Russell won
three matches in the Bear Open finals to claim his first PBA title on U.S. soil (his lone previous win came in the 2013 Brunswick Euro Challenge in Munich, Germany). He said he was particularly happy about the victory because it came shortly after he had signed a new ball company deal. “I feel like I’m wanted now,” he said.
Exhilaration: It had been a while
since Bill O’Neill had won a PBA title (2012 in the Cheetah Championship, to be precise), so when he captured the Badger Open with a victory over “two-hander” Brian Valenta, it was sweet. And made even sweeter when he went on to pick up another $10,000 for winning the made- for-TV “King of the Swing” special event. Money-wise, O’Neill was the big winner in Oklahoma, pocketing $29,100.
Frustration: As the top seed for
the Oklahoma Open finals, E.J. Tackett got to select the lane pattern for the telecast. He chose the tour’s flattest pattern, the Bear, which is similar to that used in bowling’s ultimate test of endurance and versatility, the U.S. Open. Not one 200 game was registered on the show, and Tackett’s score in the championship match was 145 — which meant that his opponent, “wild card” entrant Jason Belmonte, basically just needed to show up. Belmo shot 193 and claimed the Summer Swing’s most lucrative prize check: $18,000.
Hope: While the PBA struggles to find sponsors in a saturated sports marketplace, a bit of good news emerged before the players left Shawnee. The Summer Series will return to Oklahoma in 2015.
EVERYTHING BOWLING, ALL THE TIME
Steady Climb: Jason Belmonte climbed the ladder in the stepladder finals to win the PBA Oklahoma Open without shooting a single 200 game.
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