But using the experience she gained as an exempt bowler and saddled with a new positive attitude, Kulick is one step away from making history again.

Kulick defeated Chad Kloss, four-games-to-two, Friday night in the Round of 16 at Sequoia Pro Bowl to advance to Saturday's Round of 8 in the Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic, where a berth in Sunday's championship round will be on the line.

In the summer of 2006, Kulick made history by finishing sixth out of 140 bowlers at the Denny's PBA Tour Trials to earn one of the 10 exemptions up for grabs that day. But the learning curve was a slow one for Kulick on the 2006-07 Tour, as it is for most rookies. The Union, N.J., native made match play just five times in 20 events and never advanced past the Round of 32.

Following a solid but disappointing performance on the four-event PBA Women's Series this fall - where she just missed making the finals in all four events - Kulick took some time away from the game and came back with a renewed attitude.

The time away paid off as Kulick advanced out of Tuesday's Tour Qualifying Round, the second time she's advanced through the qualifier this season. She then advanced to match play by finishing 29th in Thursday's Round of 64, where she defeated No. 4 Eugene McCune, 4-1, in the Round of 32 before taking down Kloss in six games.

On Saturday, Kulick will look to become the second woman ever to make the finals of a Denny's PBA Tour event, following Liz Johnson, who finished second in the 2005 Banquet Classic during the 2004-05 season. That season marked the first time women were allowed to bowl against the men after the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) folded in 2003.

Kulick will face No. 12 Wes Malott (Argyle, Texas), who overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat Brad Angelo, 4-3. Oddly enough, it was Malott who fell to Johnson in the semifinals of the 2005 Banquet Open, giving Johnson a spot in the title match where she fell to Tommy Jones.

Also advancing to the Round of 8 were Steve Harman (Indianapolis) and Ken Simard (Greenville, S.C.), who will face off Saturday morning with each bowler looking to make their first career championship round appearance.

The other side of the bracket features Ronnie Russell (Indianapolis) taking on eight-time titlist Mika Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.) and Chris Barnes (Double Oak, Texas) facing Todd Book (Cantonment, Fla.), with Barnes looking to make his Tour-high ninth championship round of the season.

Allen, one of the more colorful personalities on the Denny's PBA Tour, lead the Round of 64 in the 2008 Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic Thursday at Sequoia Pro Bowl with a 3,295 14-game pinfall.

The 29-year-old free spirit said he hadn't made match play since the Motel 6 Dick Weber Open, which was the last time he had a moustache. Sporting a barely-visible line of hair on his upper-lip, Allen earned the top seed for Friday's Round of 32, where he will face No. 32 Jason Wojnar, who earned the final spot in match play by two pins.

The two-time titlist Allen also made a major grip change recently, due to the returning strength in his right hand following a stress fracture which kept him out of the 2006-07 season.

"I basically made an entire grip overhaul," Allen (Columbia, S.C.) said. "I was having a lot of pain in my hand and the only reason I made the change was to relieve the pressure and by far this is the best my hand has felt in two years.

"I didn't have any strength in my hand when I came back and I was getting locked in the ball," Allen continued. "About a month ago I realized I was squeezing the (crap) out of it, so now I guess all my hand strength has come back and it feels 100 percent healthy. Now I'm locked in and still squeeze it and it doesn't bother me. And the moustache helps me strike more."

On Thursday, Allen averaged 221.14 in the first seven-game block and sat just 28th in the standings. He averaged 249.57 in the second seven-game block, with four games of 257 or better, including a 278 in the 11th game of the day.

Allen will look to make his second championship round appearance of the season and his first since the 2007 CLR Windy City Classic in November where he finished fifth. Since then he's dropped down to 31st in the PBA World Point Rankings and needs a strong finish to stay in the top 39 and maintain his exemption for 2008-09. His last victory came in the 2005-06 season.

Tour young gun Sean Rash (Wichita, Kan.) finished second with 3,255 and will face No. 31 Ronnie Russell (Indianapolis). Rash will look for his first championship round appearance since winning the season-opening United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters.

Joe Ciccone (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished third with 3,248 and will face No. 30 Bill O'Neill (Levittown, Pa.).

Kelly Kulick (Union, N.J.), who became the first woman to earn a Denny's PBA Tour exemption last season and earned a spot in this week's event through the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round, finished 29th. She will face No. 4 Eugene McCune (Munster, Ind.).

Last week's Denny's World Championship winner Norm Duke (Clermont, Fla.) finished 16th and will face No. 17 Steve Harman (Indianapolis).

　　【JPBA】　プロボウリングレディース新人戦　【決勝トーナメント】

For the second consecutive year, Norm Duke defeated Ryan Shafer to a win a title at Woodland Bowl, but this one meant so much more.

Duke, who came into the week on the verge of losing his Denny's PBA Tour exemption, defeated Shafer, 202-165, to win the Denny's World Championship for his third career Major and 27th title overall.

The win gives Duke a much-needed two-season Tour exemption. The veteran has struggled through various injuries this season and came into the week 51st in the PBA World Point Rankings with just five events remaining. The top 39 via the point rankings earn exemptions at season's end.

Suffering from the flu all week, Duke showed his usual flair for the dramatic, gutting it out to advance to the final round, which moved him up to 37th in the point rankings. His win, however, means he doesn't have to worry about points for the next two years.

"The number of times I thought about pulling out of this event and now to see myself sitting here with another Major title and $50,000 and all the things that come with a Major, I just can't believe it. I'm shocked," Duke (Clermont, Fla.) said. "This was the most painful flu I've ever had. Bowling this week was not fun. I really wanted to quit but every time I would go back and lay down I felt miserable so I thought, 'I'm going to be miserable either way. I may as well bowl.'"

In a final round where all four bowlers had a hard time finding their way on the lanes, Duke did just enough to overcome two great champions who struggled mightily on Sunday, in Shafer and PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. The all-time titles leader Williams, who was looking for his record-tying eighth career Major, had two opens in their semifinal match while Shafer had three late in the title match.

"If you had told me I was going to shoot (208-202), I would have said 'where'd the other 200 come from?' because you don't think Walter Ray is going to shoot below 200 in a Major," Duke said. "But Majors are sometimes about grinding it out and filling frames and doing those little things. I also had some luck on my side today."

It was another punch in the gut for Shafer, who has now made the finals in a Major 10 times and has been the runner-up four times, but has yet to come out victorious.

To add to his pain, Shafer dropped to 0-7 on TV in his career against Duke, including 0-5 in title matches. Duke beat Shafer for the title twice last season, including the finals of the 2007 Pepsi Championship at Woodland Bowl. That day, Shafer fired the 18th televised 300 game in PBA history before Duke cooled him off in the title match.
The win moves Duke into a tie with Mike Aulby for sixth on the all-time titles list. It was his first Major victory since the 2000 PBA National Championship.

Duke defeated Williams, 208-180, in the semifinal while Shafer had advanced to the title match with a 204-158 over Australian amateur Andrew Frawley. Duke was clinging to a slim lead in the title match until Shafer opened three consecutive times in the sixth, seventh and eighth frames. Duke's strike in the ninth frame sealed the deal.

Duke earned $50,000 in addition to his two-season Denny's PBA Tour exemption through the 2009-10 season. Shafer (Horseheads, N.Y.) earned $25,000 for second while Williams (Ocala, Fla.) and Frawley (Sydney, Australia) took home $11,500 each for third and fourth, respectively.

　　【JPBA】　DHC レディースオープンボウリングツアー 第３戦　【ＴＶ決勝】

But always one with a flair for the dramatic, Duke swept Chris Loschetter, four-games-to-none, Friday night to advance to the championship round of the 2008 Denny's World Championship at Woodland Bowl, the third of four Majors on the Denny’s PBA Tour.

The 26-time titlist and future PBA Hall of Famer has battled injuries all season and came into the week 51st in the PBA World Point Rankings with just five weeks remaining. The top 39 at season's end earn exemptions for 2008-09 and Duke needed a big performance this week as Majors are weighted more heavily in the point rankings. He came in sitting nearly 16,000 points below the cut line.

"I doubted myself every day the last two or three weeks because of these ongoing injuries," Duke (Clermont, Fla.) said. "No matter what, something just seems to keep coming up and this week it was no different. You talk about doubt... it's not that I don't think I'm good enough, it's just a tough battle to go through. It's been tough on me to think my career could be in jeopardy because of injuries."

Battling a sickness this week on top of a nagging neck injury, Duke finished the first round of qualifying 58th, needing to move into the top 57 on day two to advance. He did in a big way, averaging 222.33 on Wednesday to move up to 16th.

Seeded 14th heading into match play Thursday night, Duke defeated defending champion Doug Kent, 4-1, then knocked off Australian Jason Belmonte, 4-2, Friday morning to set up a battle with the No. 3 seed Mika Koivuniemi. Duke defeated the Finland native, 4-2, in an odd Round of Super 16 in which all eight of the top seeds from qualifying who earned byes into the round lost.

Duke then swept Loschetter to advance to his first championship round of the season, keeping up his streak of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one TV appearance. He’ll look for his third career Major title Sunday and his first since the 2000 PBA National Championship.

"At this point in my career, the only tournaments out there for me that really mean a lot are the Majors," the 43-year-old Duke said. "All the others events just pale in comparison. I start thinking about the Majors at the beginning of the season."

Most importantly for Duke, the minimum fourth-place finish moves him up to 37th in the PBA World Point Rankings heading into Sunday.

"When I made the top 16, I factored in that I would probably get at least 10th-place points so I said, 'at least I got that done,'" Duke said. "It was a relief and it showed in my performance tonight that (the Round of 8) wasn't a lot of pressure in comparison."

Duke will have to face all-time Denny's PBA Tour titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr., who will be looking for his record-tying eighth career Major title Sunday. Williams would also open up a huge lead in the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year race with a victory. Duke and Williams will face off in the second semifinal Sunday.

"If you're going to win a Major, you know you're going to have to beat Pete (Weber) or Walter Ray or Chris Barnes or Tommy Jones to do it. Those are the usual suspects," Duke said. "At the end of the week those are the guys on TV. I'm just glad I didn't have to bowl any of them this week up until now."

Williams advanced to his seventh championship round of the season with a 4-0 sweep of Brad Angelo. The PBA Hall of Famer, who came into the week with a four-point lead in the Player of the Year race, will look for his third victory of the season.

The first semifinal features Ryan Shafer taking on a surprise finalist in Australian amateur Andrew Frawley. Frawley came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Wes Malott, 4-3. This season marks the first time amateurs have been allowed to compete in the PBA World Championship and the Aussie has taken full advantage. Should he win the event, he would earn a berth in the 2008-09 PBA Tournament of Champions but would not take home the two-season exemption awarded to the winner.

Shafer swept non-exempt bowler Tom Daugherty, 4-0, and will make his second appearance in a Major final this season. Shafer finished third in the H&R Block Tournament of Champions a month ago and will be looking for his first Major title despite appearing in his 10th career Major championship round.

　【JPBA】　DHC レディースオープンボウリングツアー 第３戦　【選抜大会】

Chris Barnes led qualifying with a 6,097 27-game pinfall to earn one of the eight byes into the Round of Super 16 in the 2008 Denny's World Championship at Woodland Bowl, the third of four Majors on the Denny’s PBA Tour.

Barnes (Double Oak, Texas), who trails PBA Hall of Famer and all-time titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the Player of the Year race by just four points, bypassed the Rounds of 32 and 16 by averaging 226.22 in his nine games Thursday to maintain his lead from Wednesday.

Williams (Ocala, Fla.), meanwhile, finished 10th in qualifying to just miss out on a bye, but he knocked off Mark Scroggins, four-games-to-one, in the best-of-seven-games Round of 32 Thursday night to advance to Friday's Round of 16. He will face Michael Fagan, who swept rookie sensation Rhino Page, 4-0.

The 48-year-old has won twice this season and will look to win his record-tying eighth Major this week. He tied Earl Anthony's all-time titles record two years ago at Woodland Bowl when he defeated Pete Weber in the 2006 Denny's World Championship for his seventh and most recent Major.
Barnes and Williams would not meet until Sunday's title match.

Also earning byes into Friday's 2 p.m. ET Round of Super 16 were Danny Wiseman (Baltimore), Mika Koivuniemi (Hartland, Mich.), Steve Harman (Indianapolis), Dino Castillo (Carrollton, Texas), Todd Book (Cantonment, Fla.), Sean Rash (Wichita, Kan.) and Zulmazran Zulkifli, an amateur who bowls for Team Malaysia. This week marks the first time amateurs have been allowed to bowl in the PBA World Championship.

Norm Duke, a 26-time titlist who came into this week 51st in the PBA World Point Rankings and in danger of losing his exemption, defeated defending champion Doug Kent, 4-1. The top 40 in points at season’s end earn exemptions and this week's event offers more points than standard events, giving bowlers a chance to make a big move in the standings going into the final four events.

Two Australian bowlers - two-handed bowler Jason Belmonte and Andrew Frawley - won their Rd. of 32 matches meaning four foreign-born players remain in the final 24.

The Round of 32 saw an interesting finish between Chris Warren and Mitch Beasley. In the deciding game seven, Beasley picked up the 7-10 split in the fourth frame to stay in the match then had a chance to win in the 10th frame with a mark and eight pins. After leaving a 10-pin with his first shot in the 10th, Beasley missed the spare to give Warren the win.

Barnes averaged 223.11 over his nine games Wednesday to take the lead heading into the final day of qualifying in the 2008 Denny's World Championship at Woodland Bowl, the third of four Majors on the Tour.

Two weeks ago, Barnes ended Williams' 13-week run atop the PBA Player of the Year rankings, winning his first title of the season in his eighth championship round appearance. Last week, Williams took the lead right back with a second-place finish in the Pepsi Championship in Omaha, Neb.
Barnes, who has yet to win the coveted award in his 10-year career, just missed out on his record-tying fifth consecutive championship round last week when he finished seventh.

"Missing the show was disappointing last week," Barnes (Double Oak, Texas) said. "Walter Ray not winning kept me in the middle of the race though so that's definitely motivation this week, plus a win gives me the Triple Crown. But I'm not thinking about that when I'm bowling."

Barnes was referring to becoming just the fifth bowler in history to win each of the PBA's Triple Crown events - the U.S. Open, Tournament of Champions and World Championship. He won the U.S. Open in 2005 and the Tournament of Champions in 2006.

On Wednesday, Barnes was inconsistent the first five games, sandwiching a 197 and 166 around three games in the 200s. He then turned things on over the final four games, averaging 237 the rest of the way.

"It's been up and down for me all week. I've been struggling my first couple games each round," Barnes said. "Yesterday I think I was 2-under (an average of 200 per game) the first two games and then shot 250-over the rest of the way. Today I was 55-over the first five and then shot 200 over the final four. Fortunately when I strike, I'm striking a lot."

Despite a roller coaster season in which he's bowled as well as anyone on Tour but has come up empty in seven of his eight championship rounds, Barnes' confidence hasn't wavered at all.

"Winning does change the focus a little bit, but during the week it's still about trying to beat everybody out here," Barnes said. "The focus will probably change on Sundays. I'll just let it be about bowling instead of all the other drama."

Barnes, who finished second to Doug Kent in last year's Denny's World Championship, will look to stay in the top eight during the final nine games of qualifying Thursday morning to earn one of the eight byes through the first two rounds of match play.

Danny Wiseman, who finished third in last year's Denny's World Championship after falling to Kent in the semifinals, had a big day Wednesday to move up to second. Wiseman averaged 229.22 over his nine games including a 289 in the third game of the day.

Finishing third Wednesday was Barnes' Tour roommate, Mika Koivuniemi. Koivuniemi, who resides in Hartland, Mich., but is originally from Finland, is the only foreign-born player to win the U.S. Open and the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters and will now look to become the first foreign-born player to win the PBA World Championship.

Speaking of foreign players, this year's event marks the first time in PBA World Championship history the field has been open to amateurs and the change in format has brought in bowlers from five different continents. Finishing fourth Wednesday was Australian Andrew Frawley (Sydney, Australia), who fired a 300 game for the second consecutive day, while Malaysian Zulmazran Zulkifli finished the day fifth.

The field was cut to the top 57 bowlers Wednesday evening with those 57 returning for an additional nine games Thursday, after which the field will be cut to the top 40 for match play. Earning the final spot in tomorrow's round was Mike Edwards (Tulsa, Okla.), who edged out Liz Johnson (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) by just four pins. Defending champion Kent just made the cut as well, finishing 52nd.

Bowling on the same pair throughout the day, Daugherty led day one of qualifying in the 2008 Denny's World Championship at Woodland Bowl, finishing with a 2,058 nine-game pinfall for a 228.67 average while Fagan finished fourth with 2,049. The Denny's World Championship is the third of four Majors on the Denny's PBA Tour.

Daugherty, a former exempt bowler looking to make his way back on Tour, bowled alongside Fagan, who earlier this season teamed up with Danny Wiseman to win the PBA Exempt Doubles Classic for his first career Denny's PBA Tour title.

"It was nice bowling with Fagan. Having someone on your pair who is also bowling well, you feed off each other's momentum," Daugherty (Tampa, Fla.) said. "I got lucky to bowl with him, I think."

Daugherty had a steady day, never falling below 200 in any of his games. He had a high game of 268 in game eight which propelled him to the lead.

The 32-year-old has bowled well this season through the weekly Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Rounds which take place in standard events, qualifying in four of the last five events. With this week being a Major and open field, Daugherty did not have to qualify, but he needs a strong performance to move up in the non-exempt points race. The top non-exempt bowler in the PBA World Point Rankings at season's end earns a one-season exemption, and Daugherty is currently fourth in that race.

"I still have a long way to go to catch VanDaniker," Daugherty said of non-exempt leader Edward VanDaniker Jr. "I have to have a big week. This is my first Major of the season so if I can have a big week and get myself back in the race with a couple tournaments to go, that would be nice."

Daugherty has always bowled well in the Denny's World Championship, finishing 35th two years ago, when the event was also held at Woodland Bowl, and 29th in 2005. He will look to earn one of the important byes through the first two rounds of match play given to the top eight bowlers after qualifying.

Chris Barnes (Double Oak, Texas), who is second in the PBA Player of the Year race behind PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., fired a 290 in the final game of the night to move into second with 2,053. Behind Barnes in third is Sean Rash with 2,050. Rash (Wichita, Kan.) won the season's first major, the 2007 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters.

Brian LeClair (Athens, N.Y.) finished fifth with 2,048 followed by Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia with 2,046. The Denny's World Championship features bowlers from five different continents.

That was certainly the case as Scroggins got all the breaks Sunday, coupled with some smart decisions, to defeat Williams, 214-194, in the 2008 Pepsi Championship at Thunder-Alley, winning his fifth career Denny's PBA Tour title and his second of the season.

The Tour veteran has finally figured out how to win on TV. Prior to his win in January in the 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open, Scroggins was just 9-22 in televised matches and was riding an eight-game losing streak. He broke the streak in a big way, winning four matches as the No. 5 seed to win his fourth title.

Scroggins' path to victory was much shorter this Sunday as he earned the No. 1 seed for the stepladder finals, giving him an automatic berth in the title match. He had the tall task of facing the Tour's all-time titles leader, who was looking for his third title of the season and 45th of his career.

Instead, Williams missed a 10-pin in the first frame and had trouble carrying the rest of the way, leaving three 10-pins, two 7-pins and a stone 8-pin in the match.

Scroggins, using a different ball on each lane, struck in four of the first five frames and overcame an open in the seventh by striking in the eighth and ninth to all but seal the deal.

With the two other left-handed bowlers in the finals - Billy Oatman and Rhino Page - going by the wayside, Scroggins new he had to make some changes in the title match.

"Seeing the lefties struggle in the first couple matches, I was definitely thinking hard about things," Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas) said. "Billy started with three opens and Rhino threw it good in the second match but then he was totally lost in the next match. Both lanes were completely different. I had to use two different balls, stand in two different places and look at two different targets.

"Luckily, Walter Ray struggled to carry the 10-pin and I was able carry it."

Scroggins, who also beat Williams for his second career title in 2004, is enjoying the finest season of his 17-year career, winning two titles in a season for the first time. With the win, he moved up to fourth in the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year points race, 13 points behind Williams, who took the lead back from Chris Barnes with his runner-up finish. Just five events remain, including two Majors, where Player of the Year points increase.

"He's the greatest bowler alive so it is extra special," Scroggins said of Williams. "I was definitely nervous, mostly because I was unsure of how I was going to play the lanes, but it's nice. This is definitely a career-year for me."

Williams had advanced to the title match with a 236-224 win over the No. 3 Page, a rookie making his fourth championship round of the season. After nine-spares in the third and fourth frames, Williams struck in five of the next six frames while Page suffered an open in the seventh, coming up empty in his fourth attempt at his first career title.

Page defeated No. 4 Pete Weber, 236-231, who had advanced from the first match with a 211-203 win over the 2006-07 PBA Player of the Year Oatman.

Scroggins took home $25,000 for the win while Williams (Ocala, Fla.) earned $13,000 for second. Page (Topeka, Kan.) took home $6,500 for third, Weber (St. Ann, Mo.) earned $5,500 for fourth while Oatman (Chicago) earned $5,000 for fifth.

Scroggins, who broke an eight-game TV losing streak by winning four matches as the No. 5 seed to win the 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open in January, went 13-5 in match play Friday to earn the top seed for Sunday's final round of the 2008 Pepsi Championship at Thunder-Alley.

The left-hander has struggled throughout his career on television, going just 13-22. He had lost eight matches in row and 10 of 11 since winning the 2005 USBC Masters. Scroggins then earned the No. 5 seed for the 2008 Motel 6 Dick Weber Open and went on to defeat Pete Weber, Tommy Delutz Jr., Jack Jurek and Chris Barnes to win his fourth career title.

"I was just telling someone it's always harder to win from the No. 1 spot because the other guys have been bowling on the lanes for an hour and that makes it tough," Scroggins (Amarillo, Texas) said. "But I'd definitely rather have one game to win a title than four."

Scroggins was consistent on Friday, going 6-3 in the first nine-game block and 7-2 in the second block.

"I knew going into today, since there were only three lefties bowling, that our shot wasn't going to change a whole lot," Scroggins said. "I knew if I started off strong it was going to be good all day. I only had one game under 200 today and that was a 195. I felt like I bowled really consistent."

All-time Denny's PBA Tour titles leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. earned the No. 2 seed for Sunday's finals, compiling an 8-10 record to drop from the No. 1 seed after Thursday's Round of 64. Bowlers earned 30 bonus pins for each win and 15 for each tie in addition to their total pinfall.

Williams will look to take back the lead in the PBA Player of the Year race after Chris Barnes took the lead last week with a win in the 2008 Bayer Classic. Barnes just missed making his fifth consecutive championship round appearances Friday as 2006-07 PBA Rookie of the Year Billy Oatman went from No. 7 to No. 5 in the position round by defeating Mike Machuga, 247-237, while Barnes fell to Eugene McCune, 216-198.

Rhino Page added to what is already one of the most prolific rookie seasons in Denny's PBA Tour history, tying a rookie record with his fourth championship round of the season. Page, who has to qualify through the Denny's PBA Tour Qualifying Round each week, is the first qualifier to advance to multiple championship rounds in a season. Page was 32nd going into the day and went 12-6 to jump up to the No. 3 seed.

PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber earned the No. 4 seed and will face Oatman in the first match. Weber went 11-6-1 on the day while Oatman went 14-4, the best record of the 16 finalists.