Click here to view this article as a PDFThis WeekThe Denny’s PBA Tour returns to El Paso, Texas for the first time since the 2004-05 season for the 2007 Sun City Classic, Jan. 31 – Feb. 4 at Oasis Lanes. This week’s event marks just the 12th Denny’s PBA Tour event ever held in the Sun City and the second in the last three seasons after the Tour had not been in El Paso since 1993.
PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III will look to successfully defend his 2005 El Paso Classic title which was his 30th and most recent championship. Bohn is also the only bowler to ever win twice in the West Texas town. Bohn captured the 1992 El Paso Open at Bowl El Paso. Harry Smith won the first-ever PBA Tour event in El Paso, capturing the 1961 El Paso Open at Freeway Lanes.
No Commissioner’s Exemption was awarded this week and three exempt players – Jason Hurd, Amleto Monacelli and Walter Ray Williams Jr. – have withdrawn, giving eight PBA members a spot in the event through Wednesday’s Denny’s PBA Tour Qualifying Round.
Last WeekOver the two-week holiday break, Jason Couch – then 27th in the PBA World Point Rankings – told his wife, Kim, he was going to change his attitude. Couch has quickly parlayed a new positive attitude into four top-six finishes, three TV appearances and two titles in the last four weeks, in addition to the No. 1 spot in the PBA World Point Rankings.
Last week Couch captured his 15th career Denny’s PBA Tour title and won back-to-back titles for the first time in his career, knocking off Billy Oatman, 236-228, in the finals of the 2007 Motel 6 Classic at Strike Zone at Sunset Station.
Couch ended the storybook run of Oatman, who was looking to join George Branham III as the only African-Americans to win Denny’s PBA Tour titles. Oatman was fired up but poised in advancing to the title match with a 207-181 win over Brad Angelo. The 41-year-old rookie then ran into the hottest bowler on Tour.
After sending Mike Scroggins to his sixth consecutive loss on TV, 238-230, Couch fell behind Oatman, but charged back with a strike in the 9th and two in the 10th forcing Oatman to double. The Chicago native struck with his first ball in the 10th, threw a great shot with his second, but the 10-pin wouldn’t fall and Couch was victorious for the second consecutive week.
This Week's ScheduleThis week’s 2007 Sun City Classic at Oasis Lanes features a single elimination match play format. Action begins Wednesday, Jan. 31 with the Denny’s PBA Tour Qualifying Round followed by the official PBA Practice Session. Thursday, Feb. 1 features the Round of 64 with two seven-game blocks starting at 11 a.m. MST.
Match play takes place Friday with the Rounds of 32, 16 and 8 starting at 9 a.m. The final four will advance to Sunday’s championship round live on ESPN. Saturday is a day for the fans with PBA Pro-Ams and Fan Day taking place at Oasis Lanes, Fiesta Lanes and Fort Bliss at 1 and 4 p.m.
The live ESPN televised finals take place Sunday, Feb. 4, at Noon MST. The winner will take home the $25,000 top prize and an exemption for the 2007-08 season.
Did You Know?Jason Couch is only the sixth bowler in Denny’s PBA Tour history to pull off an impressive trifecta of accomplishments. By winning back-to-back titles last week for the first time in his career, Couch became just the sixth bowler to win back-to-back titles, defend a title and win multiple Major titles in a career.
Couch is in pretty impressive company, joining Earl Anthony, Don Johnson, Mark Roth, Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr. in accomplishing the three feats.
Big Show for Billy OSix months ago, Billy Oatman had reached the low point of his bowling career. He missed a 10-pin conversion which allowed Del Ballard Jr. to pass him for the 10th and final exemption from the 2006 Denny’s PBA Tour Trials. Then, as Oatman likes to tell, he was walking to his car when a seagull relieved himself on Oatman’s shoulder.
Some say it’s a sign of good luck, and for Oatman it was. Three months after the heartbreak, Oatman’s dream came true when Ritchie Allen deferred his exemption due to an injury. By virtue of being the last out of the Tour Trials, Oatman was given a spot on Tour.
He’s made the most of that opportunity, advancing to his first career championship round last week and coming a stubborn 10-pin away from winning what would have been a seemingly improbable Denny’s PBA Tour title.
Despite falling short, the second-place finish was a big help for Oatman in his quest to secure an exemption via the PBA World Point Rankings. He’s made match play in three of the last four events, including back-to-back top-10 finishes, to move up from 45th in points to 30th.
Last Time in El PasoTwo seasons ago, the PBA made its debut at the brand new Oasis Lanes in El Paso, Texas, and the Denny’s PBA Tour players hardly took it easy on the new lanes.
The 2005 El Paso Classic was one of the highest scoring events in Tour history, as the Cheetah pattern produced 20 perfect games during the week, four shy of the all-time record set in Peoria, Ill., in 1995 (this week’s event features the Scorpion pattern). The tournament nearly saw a 300-300 match (Dennis Horan Jr. defeated Danny Wiseman, 300-288, in the Round of 16) while the championship round nearly saw two 300 games.
Parker Bohn III was unstoppable that week, taking down Chris Barnes, 279-258, in the semifinals before knocking off Robert Smith, 288-235, in the title match after striking with his first 10 shots.
Bad to the BohnSpeaking of Parker Bohn III, the PBA Hall of Famer will look to call on the good karma he’s had in El Paso, winning two of the last three events held there, as he will try to break a personal 45-game losing streak. Bohn’s last title in El Paso actually broke a 51-event winless streak for the 30-time titlist.
It’s not as if the 21-year veteran is slowing down. Bohn’s four TV appearances this season rank second on Tour and he’s currently fourth in the PBA World Point Rankings. All that’s keeping Bohn from being in the Player of the Year race is some breaks on TV. Bohn’s opponents in his four losses on TV this season are averaging 268.50, while he has averaged 227.75 in those four matches.
Non-Exempt Race UpdateWith his ninth-place finish in last week’s 2007 Motel 6 Classic, Dino Castillo gave himself some breathing room in the non-exempt points race. Castillo has now made the Round of 64 in three of the last four standard events, making match play all three times. He’s advanced from the Tour Qualifying Round five times, tied with Troy Wollenbecker for most among non-exempt bowlers. Should Castillo finish in the top 40 in points (there are currently 12 exempt bowlers between him and the next non-exempt bowler) an exemption would also go to the next non-exempt bowler on the list.
Below is a look at the leaders.
| No. | | Name | | Points |
| 43. | | Dino Castillo | | 49,556 |
| 56. | | Steve Rogers | | 37,424.5 |
| 58. | | Troy Wollenbecker | | 36,908 |
| 59. | | Liz Johnson | | 36,277 |
| 60. | | Chad Kloss | | 33,889.2 |
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Strikes and Bikes a SuccessThough he didn’t pick up the 7-10 split for $1 million, last week’s Motel 6 Strikes and Bikes contest winner did come away with a nice handful of cash and a set of keys last Saturday at Strike Zone at Sunset Station.
Nathan Diehl from Wichita, Kan., walked away with $30,000 and an Orange County Choppers Custom Chopper with a Motel 6 design. Diehl, who earned the $30,000 by knocking down a total of 30 pins ($1,000 per pin) over five frames (one ball each) also had a chance to earn $1 million by picking up the very difficult 7-10 split. He also had the option to have one of the Motel 6 team members (Norm Duke, Danny Wiseman or Mike Wolfe) attempt the split with the money being split between the bowler and the contestant had the shot been converted. Diehl chose Mike Wolfe to attempt the shot, but Wolfe just missed knocking the 7-pin out with the 10. It was still a good day for Diehl, who can thank Motel 6 for sponsoring the sweepstakes.
PBA Experience Leagues Up and RunningThe ultimate bowling experience has finally become a reality. On January 1 bowling centers across the country began organizing PBA Experience Leagues that are being contested on the same oil patterns used during the previous week’s Denny’s PBA Tour event.
All lane patterns for the PBA experience – which is part of the USBC Sport Bowling program – comply with USBC Sport Bowling rules under newly-modified specifications governing the application of oil to the lane, which allow a maximum of three times as much oil on the inside boards versus the outside boards closer to the channel.
To make this an experience like no other, bowlers receive tips on how to play the patterns from professional bowlers – such as USBC Sport Bowling spokesperson Chris Barnes – in the forms of a video and handouts. USBC also created a new “PBA Experience” section of bowl.com.
Several existing USBC Sport Bowling leagues changed to a PBA Experience league on Jan. 1. New PBA Experience leagues can be formed at any time now.
So far, of the Sport Bowling League that began in the fall of 2006 (115) roughly 45 have been converted to new specifications which match up with the PBA oil patterns. Additionally, 100 new leagues have been registered since January 1. Some centers are running more than one league (youth and adult) bringing the total number of centers featuring PBA Experience leagues to 130.
For more information about the PBA Experience and the lane patterns, visit the Sport Bowling section of bowl.com.
PBA Announces Pro-Am ShowdownThe PBA announced recently the launch of a new program called the “PBA Pro-Am Showdown,” which will coincide with the PBA Tournament of Champions, March 28–April 1, in Windsor Locks and Uncasville, Conn.
The PBA Pro-Am Showdown will consist of winners of PBA Pro-Ams from throughout the 2006-07 season, excluding the 2006 USBC Masters and 2007 Motel 6 Classic, teaming with a randomly drawn Tournament of Champions participant to bowl five games of 9-pin, no tap at Bradley Bowl in Windsor Locks, Conn., on Thursday, March 29.
Scores from both competitors will be added together to determine the two finalists, who will bowl in the PBA Pro-Am Showdown finals on March 31 prior to the Round of 8 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The two amateur finalists will bowl each other in a best-of-five match play series.
PBA Sponsor Competition By finishing 20th in last week’s Motel 6 Classic, Wes Malott (Ace Hardware) maintained his lead in the 2006-07 PBA Sponsor Competition. Pepsi, with team members Chris Barnes, Parker Bohn III and Sean Rash, leads the team standings. Team standings are based on average point rankings for their respective team members since Denny’s carries six players and all other teams carry three.
Complete Sponsor Competition Standings| No. | | Name/Team | | Points |
| 1. | | Wes Malott/Ace Hardware | | 134,946 |
| 2. | | Tommy Jones/Denny's | | 126,279.5 |
| 3. | | Parker Bohn III/Pepsi | | 125,723 |
| 4. | | Mike Scroggins/Denny's | | 122,251.33 |
| 5. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr./Denny's | | 121,743 |
| 6. | | Pete Weber/Etonic | | 114,595 |
| 7. | | Chris Barnes/Pepsi | | 113,275 |
| 8. | | Ryan Shafer/GEICO | | 111,613 |
| 9. | | Patrick Allen/Discover® Card | | 107,348 |
| 10. | | Jack Jurek/Discover® Card | | 102,380 |
| 11. | | Norm Duke/Motel 6 | | 101,322 |
| 12. | | Tommy Delutz Jr./USBC | | 97,825 |
| 13. | | Joe Ciccone/USBC | | 95,842.5 |
| 14. | | Sean Rash/Pepsi | | 91,522 |
| 15. | | Bill O'Neill/Ace Hardware | | 90,836 |
| 16. | | Steve Jaros/GEICO | | 88,838.5 |
| 17. | | Mika Koivuniemi/GEICO | | 86,787 |
| 18. | | Brad Angelo/USBC | | 86,680.83 |
| 19. | | Chris Loschetter/Ace Hardware | | 85,804.5 |
| 20. | | Mike Wolfe/Motel 6 | | 82,279 |
| 21. | | Tony Reyes/Denny's | | 79,550.83 |
| 22. | | Michael Fagan/Bayer | | 78,692 |
| 23. | | Mike DeVaney/Bayer | | 76,188 |
| 24. | | Danny Wiseman/Motel 6 | | 72,792.5 |
| 25. | | Brian Himmler/Etonic | | 72,567 |
| 26. | | Patrick Healey Jr./H-R Block | | 65,869 |
| 27. | | Tim Criss/Bayer | | 54,522.5 |
| 28. | | Chris Collins/H-R Block | | 49,460.5 |
| 29. | | Mike Machuga/Etonic | | 47,317 |
| 30. | | Brian Voss/H-R Block | | 45,862 |
| 31. | | Chris Johnson/Discover® Card | | 45,753 |
| 32. | | Jason Hurd/Denny's | | 41,380.5 |
| 33. | | Amleto Monacelli/Denny's | | 27,452 |
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Sponsor Competition by Team| Rk. Team | | Avg. Points Per Player |
| 1. Pepsi | | 110,173.33 |
| (Barnes, Bohn, Rash) |
| 2. Ace Hardware | | 103,862.17 |
| (Loschetter, Malott, O’Neill) |
| 3. GEICO | | 95,746.17 |
| (Jaros, Koivuniemi, Shafer) |
| 4. USBC | | 93,449.44 |
| (Angelo, Ciccone, Delutz) |
| 5. Denny’s | | 86,442.86* |
| (Jones, Hurd, Monacelli, Reyes, Scroggins, Williams) |
| 6. Motel 6 | | 85,464.50 |
| (Duke, Wiseman, M. Wolfe) |
| 7. Discover® Card | | 85,160.33 |
| (Allen, Johnson, Jurek) |
| 8. Etonic | | 78,159.67 |
| (Himmler, Machuga, Weber) |
| 9. Bayer | | 69,800.83 |
| (Criss, DeVaney, Fagan) |
| 10. H-R Block | | 53,730.50 |
| (Collins, Healey, Voss) |
*Denny’s carries six players while other teams carry three
2007 PBA Tournament of Champions RosterWith Jason Couch winning the 2007 Motel 6 Classic, Lonnie Waliczek remains on the bubble for the 2007 PBA Tournament of Champions for the 11th consecutive week.
Waliczek, still on the roster due to his win in the 2003 Odor-Eaters Open, has been living a charmed life so far as just one of the 13 winners this season was not previously on the roster. Waliczek is even more fortunate to be on the roster considering Tom Baker won both PBA Senior Tour Major events this summer, giving an extra spot to Denny’s PBA Tour titlists.
Denny’s PBA Tour Entrants| No. | | Name | | Tournament |
| 1. | | Jason Couch | | Motel 6 Classic (1/28/07) |
| 2. | | Sean Rash | | Earl Anthony Medford Classic (1/14/07) |
| 3. | | Patrick Allen | | H-R Block Classic (1/7/07) |
| 4. | | Norm Duke | | Columbia 300 Classic (12/17/06) |
| 5. | | Tommy Jones | | Ace Hardware Championship (12/3/06) |
| 6. | | Wes Malott | | Discover® Card Windy City Classic (11/26/06) |
| 7. | | Pete Weber | | Etonic Championship (11/12/06) |
| 8. | | Tony Reyes | | Motor City Classic (11/5/06) |
| 9. | | Doug Kent | | USBC Masters (10/29/06) |
| 10. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | Dydo Japan Cup 2006 (9/24/2006) |
| 11. | | Chris Barnes | | Dexter Tournament of Champions (4/9/2006) |
| 12. | | Chris Collins | | Pepsi Championship (3/5/2006) |
| 13. | | Brian Voss | | Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Classic (1/29/2006) |
| 14. | | Ritchie Allen | | Motel 6 Phoenix Classic (1/22/2006) |
| 15. | | Brian Himmler | | Earl Anthony Medford Classic (1/8/2006) |
| 16. | | Mike Wolfe | | Empire State Classic (12/18/05) |
| 17. | | Mike Scroggins | | USBC Masters (11/20/05) |
| 18. | | Mike Machuga | | Greater Omaha Classic (11/13/05) |
| 19. | | Steve Jaros | | Dexter Tournament of Champions (4/10/05) |
| 20. | | Mika Koivuniemi | | Baby Ruth Real Deal Classic (3/6/05) |
| 21. | | Amleto Monacelli | | Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Open (2/13/05) |
| 22. | | Parker Bohn III | | El Paso Classic (1/16/05) |
| 23. | | Jason Hurd | | Pepsi Open (11/28/04) |
| 24. | | Rick Lawrence | | BowlersParadise.com Open (11/21/04) |
| 25. | | Danny Wiseman | | Miller High Life Masters (10/31/04) |
| 26. | | Robert Smith | | Odor-Eaters Open (2/15/04) |
| 27. | | Patrick Healey Jr. | | Dexter Tournament of Champions (12/14/03) |
| 28. | | Ryan Shafer | | Empire State Open (11/23/03) |
| 29. | | Lonnie Waliczek | | Odor-Eaters Open (3/2/03) |
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PBA Senior Tour Entrants| No. | | Name | | Tournament |
| 30. | | Tom Baker | | Senior U.S. Open and USBC Senior Masters |
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PBA Regional Tour Entrants| No. | | Name | | Tournament |
| 31. | | D.J. Archer | | PBA Regional Players Championship |
| 32. | | Mitch Beasley | | PBA Regional Players Invitational |
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2006-07 Denny’s PBA Tour Statistical Leaders
Point Leaders| Rank | | Name | | Hometown | | Points |
| 1. | | Jason Couch | | Clermont, Fla. | | 136,166 |
| 2. | | Wes Malott | | Argyle, Texas | | 134,946 |
| 3. | | Tommy Jones | | Simpsonville, S.C. | | 126,279.5 |
| 4. | | Parker Bohn III | | Jackson, N.J. | | 125,723 |
| 5. | | Mike Scroggins | | Amarillo, Texas | | 122,251.33 |
| 6. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | Ocala, Fla. | | 121,743 |
| 7. | | Pete Weber | | St. Ann, Mo. | | 114,595 |
| 8. | | Chris Barnes | | Double Oak, Texas | | 113,275 |
| 9. | | Doug Kent | | Newark, N.Y. | | 112,886.34 |
| 10. | | Ryan Shafer | | Horseheads, N.Y. | | 111,613 |
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Earnings Leaders| Rank | | Name | | Hometown | | Earnings |
| 1. | | Doug Kent | | Newark, N.Y. | | $134,430 |
| 2. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | Ocala, Fla. | | $99,800 |
| 3. | | Jason Couch | | Clermont, Fla. | | $82,100 |
| 4. | | Pete Weber | | St. Ann, Mo. | | $81,450 |
| 5. | | Jack Jurek | | Lackawanna, N.Y. | | $77,900 |
| 6. | | Wes Malott | | Argyle, Texas | | $77,000 |
| 7. | | Norm Duke | | Clermont, Fla. | | $72,450 |
| 8. | | Sean Rash | | Wichita, Kan | | $69,350 |
| 9. | | Tommy Jones | | Simpsonville, S.C. | | $66,262 |
| 10. | | Patrick Allen | | Wesley Chapel, Fla. | | $63,160 |
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Average Leaders| Rank | | Name | | Hometown | | Average |
| 1. | | Norm Duke | | Clermont, Fla. | | 229.79 |
| 2. | | Jason Couch | | Clermont, Fla. | | 228.55 |
| 3. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | Ocala, Fla. | | 228.50 |
| 4. | | Wes Malott | | Argyle, Texas | | 228.23 |
| 5. | | Parker Bohn III | | Jackson, N.J. | | 227.33 |
| 6. | | Mike Scroggins | | Amarillo, Texas | | 227.27 |
| 7. | | Tommy Delutz Jr. | | Flushing, N.Y. | | 225.69 |
| 8. | | Doug Kent | | Newark, N.Y. | | 224.96 |
| 9. | | Chris Barnes | | Double Oak, Texas | | 224.82 |
| 10. | | Patrick Allen | | Wesley Chapel, Fla. | | 224.14 |
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Match Play Statistics (Single Elimination Only, Min. Four Apps.)
Strike Percentage| No. | | Name | | Strikes | | Frames | | Pct. |
| 1. | | Patrick Allen | | 423 | | 595 | | 71.09 |
| 2. | | Parker Bohn III | | 373 | | 534 | | 69.85 |
| 3. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | 418 | | 615 | | 67.97 |
| 4. | | Wes Malott | | 517 | | 780 | | 66.28 |
| 5. | | Jason Couch | | 535 | | 808 | | 66.21 |
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Spare Percentage| No. | | Name | | Conv. | | Attempts | | Pct. |
| 1. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | 166 | | 190 | | 87.37 |
| 2. | | Doug Kent | | 172 | | 199 | | 86.43 |
| 3. | | Chris Barnes | | 240 | | 279 | | 86.02 |
| 4. | | Chris Hayden | | 101 | | 119 | | 84.87 |
| 5. | | Tommy Delutz Jr. | | 179 | | 212 | | 84.43 |
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Match Game Win Percentage| No. | | Name | | Wins | | Losses | | Percentage |
| 1. | | Patrick Allen | | 36 | | 14 | | .720 |
| 2. | | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | | 33 | | 18 | | .647 |
| 3. | | Jason Couch | | 44 | | 26 | | .629 |
| 4. | | Pete Weber | | 46 | | 31 | | .597 |
| 5. | | Parker Bohn III | | 25 | | 17 | | .595 |
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