Longmarch Bowling founder Frank Zhao has confirmed five more Chinese players have qualified for PBA membership during the fourth edition of his Longmarch Pioneers League. The three-day “league” program at Longmarch Bowling Center in Shanghai over New Year’s weekend included 36 bowlers from Philippine, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and several areas in the mainland China.
All players bowled two six-game sessions each day for three days in an attempt to establish a minimum 200 average. The five who were successful will bring China’s PBA membership rolls up to 27 members after applications are filed and approved. A select few from that group plan to participate in PBA World Series of Bowling VII at South Point in Las Vegas in 2015.
Zhao said six women bowled in the most recent “pioneer league,” bringing the total of women qualifiers to 10 over the past two years. None have achieved the 200 milestone yet, he said, but two averaged over 190.
ROLLTECH STATS SAY PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALISTS OUT-STRUCK THE FIELD
According to Rolltech’s frame-by-frame, ball-by-ball statistics for the combined 28 PBA World Championship qualifying games for all four animal pattern championships, the ultimate measure of success for finalists Wes Malott, Mike Fagan, Ronnie Russell, Todd Book and Stuart Williams was their significant advantage on strikes thrown across the gamut of lane conditions.
The PBA World Championship aired live on ESPN Sunday. Stats recorded from the qualifying rounds held during the GEICO PBA WSOB VI at South Point Bowling Center in October showed the following:
● While the 240-player World Series field struck on only 51.20% of its strike attempts (37,846 strikes on 73,916 attempts), all five World Championship finalists out-performed the field by a significant margin. The strike leader was Williams, who struck on 205 of 319 attempts (64.26%), followed by Russell (62.85%, 198 of 315), Malott (62.26%, 198 of 318), Book (61.20%, 194 of 317) and Fagan (59.94%, 190 of 317).
During the individual animal pattern qualifying rounds, the field struck at a 57.92% rate on the 35-foot Cheetah pattern, 49.93% on the 37-foot Viper pattern, 49.25% on the 41-foot Scorpion pattern and 49.01% on the 39-foot Chameleon pattern.
● Spare percentage: Malott was the best overall in spare conversion, making 105 of 119 attempts (88.24%), followed by Russell (84.96%, 96 of 113), Fagan (83.33%, 100 of 120), Book (78.07%, 89 of 114) and Williams (71.43%, 75 of 105). The field converted on 73.04% of its attempts (24,826 of 33,991).
During qualifying, the field converted 74.99% of its spare attempts on the Scorpion, 73.48% on the Chameleon, 73.16% on the Cheetah and 71.84% on the Viper.
● Single pin spare conversions: Malott made 98.80% of his single-pin spare attempts (82 of 83), followed closely by Fagan (98.44%, 63 of 64). Book made 96.67% (58 of 60), Russell 94.44% (68 of 72) and Williams 93.65% (59 of 63). The field’s success rate was 92.67% (15,818 of 17,070 attempts).
The field fared the best with a 94.12% single-pin conversion rate on the Chameleon followed by 93.22% on the Viper, 93.02% on the Scorpion and 91.67% on the Cheetah.
● Multi-pin spare conversions: Russell led in multi-pin spares (92.59%, 25 of 27) followed by Malott (86.96%, 20 of 23), Fagan (84.62%, 33 of 39), Book (76.32%, 29 of 38), and Williams (69.57%, 16 of 23). The field made 74.08%, converting on 8,105 of 10,941 attempts.
The field was most successful in multi-pin spare conversions on the Scorpion pattern (76.14%) followed by 75.33% on the Cheetah, 73.68% on the Chameleon and 73.23% on the Viper.
● Splits took their toll on the field, as expected. Overall, the field left 6,566 splits and converted only 993 times (a 15.12% success rate). The conversion rate was best in the Chameleon qualifying (16.34%) followed by 14.49% in the Viper round, 15.30% in the Scorpion round and 13.06% in the Cheetah round.
PBA STARS AGAIN DOMINATE TEAM USA FOR 2015
Veteran PBA Tour stars will again dominate Team USA in 2015, following the Team USA trials and National Selection Committee announcements in early January. During the trials, 16-year-old amateur Kamron Doyle of Brentwood, Tenn., won the national championship, defeating PBA Rookie of the Year contender Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., in the title match, 234-206. Wichita State collegiate bowler AJ Chapman of Oswego, Ill., finished third in the stepladder finals. The top three finishers automatically earn Team USA berths.
The men's selections based on resumes and Trials performance were PBA Tour competitors Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pa., Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill.; John Szczerbinski of Tonawanda, N.Y.; Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C. along with amateurs John Janawicz and Devin Bidwell.
PBA Women’s Series titlist Shannon Pluhowsky of Kettering, Ohio, won the women’s title with a 246-222 win over amateur Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y. PBA record-setting Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., finished third. Women's team selections included PBA champions Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, Calif.; Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., and Stefanie Johnson of Grand Prairie, Texas, along with amateurs Brittni Hamilton, Josie Earnest, Bryanna Caldwell and Erin McCarthy.
50TH ANNIVERSARY PBA TOC HISTORY/MEDIA KIT BY JOSH HYDE NOW AVAILABLE
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions, bowling writer Josh Hyde has assembled a comprehensive Tournament of Champions history and media guide which is now available on his website, www.joshhydebowling.com. The kit includes a wealth of historical information, facts and records. A printed version will be available on site for media.
The Tournament of Champions returns to Indianapolis Feb. 10-15 at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.
PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: TOURNAMENT ACTIVITY BACK IN FULL SWING IN FEBRUARY
PBA Regional activity returns to full swing in February, following the end-of-month Don Vay Memorial Regular/PBA50 Doubles Central Classic presented by Ebonite at Legend Lanes in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Jan. 23-25.
● The Feb. 6-8 weekend includes the Break Point Alley South Challenge presented by DV8, a tournament for non-title winners, in Tavares, Fla., and the PBA50 Tony Grigat Allstate Midwest/Central Open at River Rand Lanes in Des Plaines, Ill.
● The Feb. 20-22 weekend includes the PBA50 Dave Edwards Toyota South Open presented by Ebonite in Spartanburg, S.C.; the Lakewood Colorado Southwest Open at Holiday Bowling and Billiards; the Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort West Championship at Gold Country Lanes in Sutter Creek, Calif., and the Lynwood Midwest Challenge presented by Roto Grip, a non-titlists event, at Lynwood Bowl in Lynwood, Ill.
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:Live Xtra Frame coverage returns Jan. 15-17 with the historic live coverage of the DHC PBA Japan Invitational from Tokyo, Japan – the first-ever international tournament covered live by the PBA’s online bowling channel. For a complete schedule of upcoming events on Xtra Frame, click here: http://www.pba.com/Live/. To subscribe to Xtra Frame, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link. Full year Xtra Frame Season Ticket subscriptions are available for $64.99; one-month subscriptions are only $7.99. Xtra Frame is a major component of the PBA’s multi-media PBA Network.
● Reminder: if you missed the ESPN telecast on Sunday, all GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VI telecasts will be archived on Xtra Frame three days after they air on ESPN. Click on the “2014 WSOB archives” tab on the left side of the Xtra Frame home page for a complete listing of archived shows.
● Reminder: HotelPlanner.com, the official travel partner of the PBA, has renewed its sweepstakes program for 2015 and will award a $200 lodging gift certificate to a lucky winner each month all year. To enter, book a hotel room through HotelPlanner.com using one of the links below before the last day of the month, and you will be automatically entered. The monthly drawing will take place on the last day of the month. The $200 gift certificate will be valid for hotel room and tax only.