Allen Rolls 300 in Final Game to Top Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open Finalists

Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla., fired the 31st and final 300 game of the tournament in the last match Friday night to jump from fifth place to the top qualifying position for the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress finals at Northrock Lanes.

Allen, who never led until the final game, rolled his record-setting 300 game against Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., the Professional Bowlers Association record-holder for career titles (46), to finish the event with a 48-game total of 12,308 pins, including match play bonus pins.

Also advancing to the championship round were Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour rookie Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 12,306; fifth-round leader Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 12,279; Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 12,257; Mike Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 12,253; and Williams, 12,138.

"I just hung around, won a few games in the 10th that I probably didn't deserve to win, and someone was going to be the odd man out," Allen, a 13-time PBA Tour titlist, said. "I was just hoping it wouldn't be me. Then guys around me started opening in the 10th frame and I realized if I shot 300, I could actually take the lead."

Garber, who earned his place on Tour this year through the PBA Regional Players Invitational last December, was stunned by his performance. "I'm 42. I can't believe this," he said. "I have no idea how I'll do on TV, but I've done pretty well at the start of each round, so I hope that continues on TV."

"Mentally and physically, I couldn't have bowled worse than I did tonight," Machuga said. "But at least I still have a shot at the title."

Friday's final round on the USBC Blue pattern produced three more 300 games to boost the record for most perfect games in a PBA Tour event to 31.

The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the USBC was conducted on three different lane conditioning patterns the USBC plans to introduce on an optional basis to American league bowlers in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America for the 2010-11 winter league season. Similar in concept to golf's tee system, the USBC Red condition is the most forgiving pattern, the White condition is a medium challenge and the Blue pattern is the most challenging.

The championship round will be conducted Sunday on the Blue pattern and taped to air on ESPN on Jan. 10. Also on Sunday's schedule is the live finals of the PBA World Championship, which will air on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern. The World Championship finalists are Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas; Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla.; Bill O’Neill, Southampton, Pa., and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich.

　

　【PBA】　Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open　【Round 3 Round Robin】

Machuga Stays Hot in Record-Setting Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open

Michael Machuga of Erie, Pa., won six of his eight matches Friday afternoon, establishing a Professional Bowlers Association 40-game scoring record as he maintained his lead in the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress at Northrock Lanes.

Machuga, a 33-year-old two-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titlist, improved his average to 252.03 for 40 games, posting an actual total of 10,081 pins to establish a PBA record for 40 games. Including his bonus pins after posting an 11-5 match play record, he had a total of 10,411 pins for a 136-pin lead over rookie Wayne Garber of Modesto, Calif.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., was third with 10,207 pins; Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, fourth with a 10,156 total; Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla., fifth at 10,153 and Mike Fagan of Patchogue, N.Y., held the sixth spot for the championship finals with 10,121 pins.

Friday morning's White round, Machuga's favorite, produced two more 300 games to boost the record for most perfect games in a PBA Tour event to 28.

"I saw some different things today, but the adjustments I had to make made sense," Machuga said. "I struggled on a couple of pairs, but I figured things out. Every adjustment I made worked, and that's been the key this week. You have to make quick decisions and not get confused, because you're going to need to throw a six- or seven-bagger every game."

"It's nice to have a 136-pin lead, but when you're averaging 250 and the people chasing you are averaging 245 or so, you don't have a comfort zone. Throw a couple 220s in a row and lose those matches, you'll give away 80 pins a game. Things can change very quickly."

"My strategy has been to try to pick up 100 pins a game. If you can come close to that, no one can catch you and I think that strategy is why I'm where I am right now."

The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the USBC is being conducted on three different lane conditioning patterns the USBC plans to introduce on an optional basis to American league bowlers in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America for the 2010-11 winter league season. Similar in concept to golf's tee system, the USBC Red condition is the most forgiving pattern, the White condition is a medium challenge and the Blue pattern is the most challenging.

After Friday's final eight-game round of round-robin match play on the Blue pattern, the top six will advance to the championship round which will be taped Sunday to air on ESPN on Jan. 10.

Machuga Sets Torrid Pace in Record-Setting Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open

Michael Machuga of Erie, Pa., threw a record-tying 300 game on his way to the Professional Bowlers Association 32-game scoring record and claimed the fourth-round lead in the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress Thursday night at Northrock Lanes.

Machuga, a 33-year-old two-time Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titlist, averaged 250.50 for 32 games, posting an actual total of 8,016 pins to break the PBA record of 7,940 set by Parker Bohn III in Japan in 1999, and with his bonus pins after posting a 5-3 won-lost record in match play, had a total of 8,166 pins for a 67-pin lead over Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Machuga, who admitted he had to sell his Jeep in order to raise money to cover his travel expenses to bowl in Wichita, also threw the 24th perfect game of the tournament, tying the Tour's record for most 300s in one event. David Ruder of Edmond, Okla., then broke the record with 300 No. 25 and Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., capped first match play round on the USBC Red lane conditioning pattern with the 26th 300 in the event. The previous record for 300s in one PBA event was set in Peoria, Ill., in 1996.

"I got off to a rocky start," Machuga said, "but all of a sudden, the lanes made sense, the carry is especially easy for me to read, and I've used the same ball for 28 of the 32 games. It reads the lane perfectly, not matter what the pattern or how the lanes are breaking down."

His 2,097 pinfall total for eight games in the opening round of match play Thursday night exceed his career best 2,043 which he posted Wednesday on the White oiling pattern. The final two match play rounds Thursday will be conducted on the White and Blue patterns, respectively.

"Tomorrow was the pattern I shot my second-best round ever on, so I'm just going to hope my leg and my hand feel good, and I'll come back and do it the same way," Machuga said. "And if I can go on and win this thing, I'll buy myself a new Jeep."

Trailing Patrick Allen in third place was Ritchie Allen (no relation) of Columbia, S.C., with 8,063 pins; Williams with an 8,060 total; Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, with 8,004 and Wayne Garber of Modesto, Calif., with a 7,997 total.

Malott, who came into the round in 23rd place, had a 2,115 total for the round, falling 50 pins short of the oldest PBA scoring record on the books - a 2,165 eight-game round by Billy Hardwick in Japan in 1968.

The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the USBC is being conducted on three different lane conditioning patterns the USBC plans to introduce on an optional basis to American league bowlers in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America for the 2010-11 winter league season. Similar in concept to golf's tee system, the USBC Red condition is the most forgiving pattern, the White condition is a medium challenge and the Blue pattern is the most challenging.

After Friday's final two eight-game rounds of round-robin match play on the White and Blue patterns, the top six will advance to the championship round which will be taped Sunday to air on ESPN on Jan. 10.

　

　【PBA】　Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open　【Casher's Round】

Schaub Leads Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open Field into Match Play

Rookie Cassidy Schaub of Polk, Ohio, slowed his record scoring pace, but retained his lead as the top 24 qualifiers in the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress headed into match play Thursday night at Northrock Lanes.

Schaub finished the qualifying portion of the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour event with a 24-game total of 5,991 pins - shy of the PBA 24-game record of 6,109 by Pete Weber in Las Vegas in 1996 - but held onto a 25-pin lead over Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla., after eight games Thursday morning on the USBC's Blue lane conditioning pattern.

Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, who momentarily took the lead after rolling one of the event's 19 perfect games, sat in third place with 5,957 pins. Billy Oatman of Chicago was fourth with a 5,952 total and Brad Angelo of Lockport, N.Y., was fifth at 5,926 pins.

The happiest player in the building, however, was 23-year-old Jack Ness of Gastonia, N.C., who finished 25th, missing the cut to match play by six pins in his very first PBA Tour event.

Disappointed, yes, but the fact that Ness was even bowling in Wichita is something of a miracle.

On June 26, two days before he was scheduled to bowl in a PBA South Regional tournament, Ness woke up and was virtually blind in his left eye.

"I was diagnosed with a tumor on the pituitary gland on my brain," he said. "I started losing my vision; the tumor had gotten so big it was pinching my optic nerve. They put me on some medication to shrink it because it was too big to take out surgically. The medicine didn't work, so now I'm on a different medicine. I'll be on it three months and do another MRI and then we'll consider possible surgery."

Ness said he went to his eye doctor after waking up with his vision gone. His eye doctor referred him to a retina specialist, who ordered an MRI "and that's when they found the tumor."

The tumor is non-malignant, Ness said, and if it can be controlled by medication, maybe he can avoid surgery. If not? He has had the experience of a lifetime.

"It's disappointing to look at the leader board and see my name in 25th place, but I'm going to hang around as alternate (in case anyone gets ill or injured)," he said. "There was a lot of pressure, but I had a lot of fun. For my first national tournament, the experience I got here was amazing."

Ness works at a bowling center back home. He has bowled since his father introduced him to the game at age 4. "I've been gung-ho ever since," he said. "I joined the PBA about a year ago and I've bowled some regionals, but I decided to come to Wichita kind of on a whim. I just decided to come out and have some fun, and see if I could compete."

If it's any consolation to Ness, he got knocked out of the match play field by reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, who slipped past the North Carolina rookie in the final game.

The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the USBC is being conducted on three different lane conditioning patterns the USBC plans to introduce on an optional basis to American league bowlers in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America for the 2010-11 winter league season. Similar in concept to golf's tee system, the USBC Red condition is the most forgiving pattern, the White condition is a medium challenge and the Blue pattern is the most challenging.

The top 24 will bowl three eight-game rounds of round-robin match play on the Red, White and Blue patterns, respectively, Thursday night and Friday. The top six will then advance to the championship round which will be taped Sunday to air on ESPN on Sunday, Jan. 10.

It took a 236.38 average on the three lane conditioning patterns to advance to match play. With six more 300 games on the Blue pattern Thursday morning, the tournament total is now 19. The PBA record for most 300s in a single tournament is 24, set in Peoria, Ill., in 1995.

Two-hander Schaub Retains PBA Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open Lead

Rookie Cassidy Schaub of Ashland, Ohio, set a Professional Bowlers Association 16-game scoring record Wednesday, averaging 257.25 to retain the second round lead in the Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the United States Bowling Congress at Northrock Lanes.

Schaub, a two-handed bowler who throws the ball from the left side of his body, posted a 16-game total of 4,116 pins to erase the PBA record of 4,095 set by John Mazza in Las Vegas in 1996. Despite his torrid scoring pace, he maintained only a modest 70-pin lead over Michael Machuga of Erie, Pa., who recorded a 2,103 round on the USBC White lane condition Wednesday for a 4,046 total.

Billy Oatman of Chicago was third with 3,994 pins followed by Wayne Garber of Modesto, Calif., with a 3,988 total and Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, with 3,984 pins.

"To throw that many strikes in one day is a pretty good feeling," Schaub beamed. "I honestly thought I'd never top yesterday - and score-wise I didn't - but throwing my first PBA 300 and backing it up with another is a feeling I can't describe."

Schaub, who is seeking his first Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour title, is on top of the world after a miserable debut in the five-week, seven-tournament PBA World Series of Bowling in late summer where his highest finish was 35th place.

"After Detroit, I questioned whether I should even be out here," he said. "In Detroit, if I had bowled a 190, I would have backed it up with a 170 because I would have been mad. Today, shot I 192 (his only sub-200 game of the tournament) and backed it up with a 300, and then another 300, so just taking things one shot at a time is something I've learned and I'm still learning."

"I've never had back-to-back 300s in practice or anything," he laughed. "I've never, ever thrown that many strikes in a row."

Schaub said the USBC White lane condition "played a little tighter at the start, but once a spot developed, the lanes played pretty much like they did yesterday. The right side developed a cliff again, because there are so many more right-handers in the tournament. There were little differences, but nothing drastic."

"I chased (Schaub) all day, but I just couldn't reel him in," said Machuga, a two-time PBA Tour winner who bowled on a pair of lanes next to Schaub all day. "I've only had one other block of games in my life where I threw the ball as well as I did today."

The Pepsi Red, White and Blue Open presented by the USBC is being conducted on three different lane conditioning patterns the USBC plans to introduce on an optional basis to American league bowlers in cooperation with the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America for the 2010-11 winter league season. Similar in concept to golf's tee system, the USBC Red condition is the most forgiving pattern, the White condition is a medium challenge and the Blue pattern is the most challenging.

The top 39 after Wednesday's second round advance to a third eight-game qualifying round on the Blue pattern Thursday morning. The top 24 players after 24 games will advance to three eight-game, round-robin match play rounds on the Red, White and Blue patterns, respectively, Thursday and Friday. The top six will then advance to the championship round which will be taped Sunday to air on ESPN on Sunday, Jan. 10.

It took a 235 average to make the cut to Wednesday's third qualifying round. Among those who advanced were Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., with a 3,799 total good for a tie for 29th, and two of the four PBA World Championship finalists who will bowl for that title Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, live on ESPN. Rhino Page of Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, qualified 34th and 39th respectively, both by rolling 279 in their final games. Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., and Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., failed to advance.

Johnson also had one of the 13 perfect games bowled thus far. The PBA record for most 300 games in a single tournament is 24, set in Peoria, Ill., in 1995.

Among those who didn't advance was three-time Professional Golfers Association titlist Woody Austin of nearby Derby, Kan., who finished 118th in the field of 119 with a 188 average.

"My nine-year-old son (Peyton) told me before the round, 'Dad, you're dead last.' I didn't want to disappoint him. I bowled better today," Austin said. "At least I had four games over 200. But I just can't get enough revolutions on the ball to compete with these guys. I was leaving 10 pins all day long."