Five-time PBA Tour and three-time PBA50 Tour winner Harry Sullins, who also goes by the moniker “The Legend,” isn’t letting the grass grow under his feet.
On Sunday, Sullins defeated Tim Kauble of Marion, Ohio, 218-188, to win the PBA50 Victory Lanes Midwest/Central Open in Kankakee, Ill., for his sixth PBA50 Regional title of the year and a $1,600 payday.
When not competing full time on the PBA50 Tour, the Chesterfield Twp., Mich., resident is a weekend warrior who fills his schedule with regular and PBA50 Regional tournaments. During his years as a PBA Tour regular, Sullins competed in 403 national tour stops, but since becoming eligible for PBA50 competition in 2007, he has experienced a resurgence in his professional career, especially at the regional level where is his trying to build another “legendary” resumé.
Since Sullins drives to all of his tournaments he estimates that he has driven nearly 35,000 miles this year alone while bowling in a total of 27 PBA events, including the full PBA50 Tour schedule, PBA and PBA50 Regionals plus the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VI in Las Vegas.
“With all the equipment I have, it’s just easier to put it all in the car than have to deal with the airlines,” he said.
At the regional level, he has bowled in 14 PBA50 events this year (plus two standard regionals against “the kids”).
“I still want to win every tournament I bowl in,” said the 57-year-old Sullins, who won the PBA50 World Championship during the first PBA World Series of Bowling in 2009. “My goal is to get to 20 PBA50 regional titles before anyone else and see how far I can take it after that."
Sullins, who plans to bowl one more PBA50 Regional in December, now has 17 PBA50 Regional titles including his win in Kankakee, Ill., on Sunday, Nov. 9. He also has won 12 regular PBA Regional titles.
BARNES, GUERRERO WIN BOWLING WORLD CUP TITLES
PBA champions Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Clara Guerrero, a Colombia native now living in Pflugerville, Texas, won the men’s and women’s titles in the 50th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup Saturday at Sky Bowling Center in Wroclaw, Poland.
Entering the finals as the No. 3 qualifier, Barnes won his best-of-three-game semifinal match against Ukraine's Mykhaylo Kalika, 215-204, 300-219 and then swept top qualifier Tobias Bording of Germany, 269-248, 231-216 for the title.
In the women’s title match, Guerrero defeated Malaysia's Li Jane Sing, 2-1. Guerrero won the first game, 239-234, lost the second, 257-243, and won the deciding game, 265-211. Team USA’s Brittni Hamilton finished third.
Barnes, who bowled in the World Cup as a member of Team USA, joined wife Lynda Barnes as the first husband-wife duo to win World Cup titles. Lynda won in 2005.
PBA REGIONAL SUMMARY: LeCLAIR AND SON WIN PBA EAST DOUBLES TITLE
● The father and son team of Brian and Connor LeClair of Albany, N.Y., defeated fellow New Yorkers Joe Ciccone of Buffalo and Sammy Ventura of Syracuse, 2-0, in the best-of-three-game title match to win the PBA Doug Kent’s Central New York Doubles Classic at Doug Kent’s Rose Bowl Lanes in Newark, N.Y. on Sunday, Nov. 9.
The LeClairs won a first-game roll-off 8-6 after tying at 389 and completed the sweep with a 397-368 win in game two to claim the $3,000 first prize.
The event teamed one bowler under the age of 50 with a PBA50 player for the “over/under” doubles format. The win marked the 18th career regional title for Brian LeClair, who turned 50 on Oct. 20. Connor, the oldest of his two sons, is a student at Fordham University and was competing in his third PBA regional event. Connor, a non-member, does not earn a PBA title because he isn’t a PBA member.
The LeClairs defeated host and PBA Hall of Famer Doug Kent and his partner, Mike Tryniski of nearby Fulton, 2-1, while Ciccone and Ventura eliminated Matt O’Grady of Matawan, N.J., and Ray Edwards, Middle Island, N.Y., 2-0, in the semifinal round.
● Tyler Jensen of Fort Worth, Texas, defeated Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, 221-198, to win the inaugural PBA Harmony Colorado Springs Southwest Open, presented by Budweiser, at Harmony Lanes in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Jensen earned $2,500 and his 15th PBA Regional title.
Jensen advanced to the final match by defeating Brett Cooper of Denver, 2-1; Jeff Hatt of Oklahoma City, 2-1, Dave Wodka, 10-9 in a one-ball roll-off after they tied at 224-224 in the semi-final contest.
Scroggins, who slipped into the finals by converting the 6-7 split in the final frame of qualifying, won his way to the title match by defeating Ben Laughlin from Chandler, Ariz., 2-1, in the Round of 12; Mike Keily from Golden, Colo., 2-0 in the Round of 8, and 2013 USBC Queen’s champion Diana Zavjalova from Latvia, 246-192, in the semifinal round.
● Rich Horsley of Morrisville, N.C., defeated top qualifier Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., 223-219, to win his first PBA Regional title in the PBA Gloucester (Va.) Southern Open at Village Lanes Sunday. Along with his $2,300 prize, Horsley became eligible to enter the 50th anniversary Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions in February in Indianapolis.
In winning the title, Horsley defeated Chris Blackmore of Fairfax, Va., 221-203; and three-time PBA Tour titlist Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., 217-181, to advance to the title match.
● In the final PBA Japan Regional event of the year, 17-year-old non-member Miku Urano and Yuni Shibata won the PBA Japan Scorpion Women’s and Scorpion Open titles, respectively, in Tokyo.
● The Nov. 14-16 schedule includes the PBA50 Liberty Lanes South Open in Gastonia, N.C.; the Go Bowl Northwest Doubles (a reduced entry fee tournament) in Pasco, Wash., and the Pro Bowl West Central/Midwest Cheetah Classic (a one-day reduced entry fee event) in Ft. Wayne, Ind.
On the Nov. 21-23 schedule are the PBA50 Bryan’s Bowling Center Eastern Open presented by The Insurance Market in Laurel, Del.; the PBA50 Dick’s Pro Shop Northwest/West Open at Linn Lanes in Lebanon, Ore.; the Dallas Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Southwest Open at Brunswick Zone in Watauga, Texas, and the PBA50 Shore Lanes Merritt Island Open presented by Storm and Sill’s Pro Shop at Shore Lanes in Merritt Island, Fla.
Thanksgiving weekend includes the Beaumont Southwest Open at Crossroads Bowling Center in Beaumont, Texas, and the La-Z-Boy/Monroe Sport Center Central Challenge for non-titlists in Monroe, Mich.
For complete PBA Regional schedules, rules and entry information, visit pba.com, open the “schedules” tab and click on Regional Tours to find the event(s) in your area.
QUICK NOTES
● Reminder: nominations for the 2014 Tony Reyes Community Service award are due by Wednesday, Nov. 26. Nominees must be current PBA members in good standing. The winner will be selected by a PBA committee and announced along with the 2014 PBA Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award winners early in 2015. Nominations may be submitted by anyone. To obtain a nomination form, visit: (http://www.pba.com/Content/images/forms/TonyReyes_App_2014.pdf).