Archer Shoots His Way Into the Round of 64

D.J. Archer, McKinney, Texas, led the second of two squads Thursday evening at AMF Babylon Lanes in the PBA Geico Open, despite rolling a 198 in his first game.

Archer, whose best finish of the year was 15th in the PBA Greater Kansas City Classic, averaged 238.62 over the last eight games to finish 3rd overall after the first round. Tommy Delutz Jr., Flushing, N.Y., leads after tossing a 2,226 nine-game pinfall earlier in the day.

"I went on the Atkins diet earlier this week and I actually felt a lot better heading into my set," said Archer, who rolled 2,112 over nine games. "I threw the ball great all day, and I just made the adjustments I needed to."

Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., who has missed two weeks this year with an upper arm injury, withdrew for the second time this season after completing five games. Robert Smith, Thousand Oaks, Calif., withdrew from the earlier squad with a sore right hip.

Last week's winner at the PBA Empire State Open, Ryan Shafer, Elmira, N.Y., qualified 33rd with 1,970. Chris Barnes, Dallas, who was the runner-up to Shafer, also qualified after shooting 2,076 and finishing 6th.

Leading rookies Chris Johnson, Garland, Texas, 1,914, and Tim Mack, Garfield, N.J., 2,004, made the cut, as did another of last week's finalists, Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, Ill., 1,957.

Rick Lawrence, Dallas, 1,934, and Chris Sand, Chesterfield, Mich., 1,913, were the only left-handers that managed to figure out the lanes and qualify for tomorrow's round of 64.

PBA Hall of Famers Walter Ray Williams Jr, Ocala, Fla., and Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., both missed the cut after finishing tied for 86th and tied for 131st, respectively.

　　【PBA】　PBA Geico Open　【Round 1 - A Squad】

Shafer Simply Spectacular

Ryan Shafer, Elmira, N.Y., came up clutch after knocking down the 7-pin and striking in the 10th frame to beat Chris Barnes, 217-215, in the final match of the PBA Empire State Open Sunday at Bowlers Club.

Shafer, who won $40,000 and earned a Tour exemption next season, converted a 2-6-7-10 split in 9th frame to give him a two-pin lead heading into the final frame. Barnes, Dallas, was working on a strike, and ended his day with a spare and a strike in the final frame.

"I wasn't thinking about the exemption," said Shafer. "But it was in the back of my mind...in the finals, I had a good idea of what the lanes were like from bowling two games already."

Shafer advanced to the final match with a 238-233 win over Hall of Famer, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo. Down by five pins heading into the 7th frame, Shafer struck in his next five shots to secure the tight win.

Barnes beat Michael Fagan, Greenlawn, N.Y., in the first semi-final, 247-195, using great pin reaction to strike early. Fagan, making his first career televised finals appearance, struck in the 1st frame, then alternated between open frames and spares until the 7th frame.

In the wildcard match, Shafer beat Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, Ill., 257-226. Shafer began the game with an open frame after leaving the "big 4" split, then struck in 10 of his next 11 shots. Jaros fell behind early, sparing in five of his first seven frames.

Barnes earned $20,000 while Weber and Fagan both earned $10,000 for their 3rd place finish. Jaros received $9,000 for 5th place.

Fagan Mounts Big Comeback

Down three-games-to-none in the round of 8 against Patrick Healey Jr., Mexico City, second-year pro Michael Fagan, Greenlawn, N.Y., rebounded for a 4-3 win Saturday night in the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Empire State Open at Bowlers Club.

"The last game was just grinded out, and it happened to go my way," said Fagan, who will be appearing in his first career televised finals. "It's only one game (tomorrow), and I'm not going to be able to make mistakes."

Fagan, 23, began his comeback with a 248-230 win in game four, and stayed alive in the 6th, winning a sudden-death roll-off to force a 7th game. Fagan won the deciding game 196-192 after he struck in his final ball while Healey opened in the 10th frame.

In other matches, Chris Barnes, Dallas, advanced against Patrick Allen, Tarrytown, N.Y. Barnes won, 4-2, despite losing the opening game 279-217. The five-time Tour title winner evened the match with a 268-247 win before Allen rebounded with a 290-277 victory in game three. With the match tied 2-2, Barnes struck twice in the 10th frame to win 234-228, then went on to win the 6th game 277-235.

Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., advanced to the finals with a 4-1 win over Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, Ill. Jaros won the first game by seven pins before Weber took the next game, 257-225. Up 3-1, Weber struck in his first nine frames to start the 5th game en route to a 279-211 win.

Despite the loss, Jaros advanced to the finals as the wildcard. Weber was the top qualifier, followed by Jaros. Since Weber won, Jaros became the highest qualifier to lose in the round of 8, giving him the pass to Sunday's finals.

Ryan Shafer, Elmira, N.Y., beat Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-3 to advance to his first finals appearance of the season. Down 3-2, Shafer rolled games of 249 and 269 to move on.

　　【PBA】　PBA Empire State Open　【Round 4】

Duke Marches On

After missing two of the last three PBA Tour events, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., returned in a big way, advancing to the round of 16 in the PBA Empire State Open Friday evening at Bowlers Club.

Duke, who took time off to rest an injured left arm, defeated rookie Brandon Hilgendorf, Clinton Township, Mich., four-games-to-one in the round of 32. He will move on to face defending champion, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y.

"I'm fine...(my arm) doesn't hurt that bad, and it hasn't affected my bowling," said Duke. "I do feel like I'm re-starting this segment, even though I've already won this season."

In other matches, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., needed seven games to beat Tim Penner, Wichita, Kan. Penner, up 3-2 and leading by 11 pins in the 10th frame of the 6th game, inadvertently took a third re-rack, giving him a zero for the frame. That gave Williams, who went on to win the final game, a 239-208 victory. PBA rules state a player is allowed only two re-racks per game.

Mike Machuga, Erie, Pa., beat Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 4-3. Couch rolled a 300-game in their 5th game while Machuga responded with a perfect game in the following game.

Last week's champion, Patrick Allen, Tarrytown, N.Y., defeated Jeff Fehr, Cincinnati, 4-1. Also advancing was Chris Barnes, Dallas, with a 4-1 victory over rookie Chris Johnson, Garland, Texas.

Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., converted a 7-10 split in his 4th game against Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, Kan., but fell to the two-time PBA Tour title winner, 4-0.

　　【PBA】　PBA Empire State Open　【Round 2】

Healey Torches the Lanes

Patrick Healey Jr., Mexico City, shot a 2,127 nine-game pinfall Thursday evening to lead the second of two qualifying squads in the PBA Empire State Open at Bowlers Club.

Healey, who led qualifying two weeks ago in the PBA Toledo Open and made the finals as the wild card, made some adjustments early on to take advantage of the changing lane conditions

"I saw the lanes changing early and made some adjustments," said Healey, who lost to Riga Kalfas in the round of 16 last week. "It's all about who makes the right changes, and when they make those changes."

Despite Healey's score, Mike Machuga, Erie, Pa., maintained the overall lead with 2,131, one pin better than Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo. Healey is 3rd heading into tomorrow, four pins behind Machuga.

Current PBA World Point Rankings leader, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y, slid into the round of 64, qualifying 62nd. Also making the cut were Chris Barnes, Dallas, in 6th place and last week's winner, Patrick Allen, Tarrytown, N.Y., who is tied for 55th.

David Traber, Woodstock, Ill., and Matt McFayden, Derby, Kan., each rolled 300 games, marking the first time since the PBA Miller High Life Open that two or more bowlers rolled perfect games in the same tournament. For Traber, it was his 43rd career PBA Tour perfect game and it was McFayden's first.

　　【PBA】　PBA Empire State Open　【Round 1 - A Squad】