Bowling World Newspaper

34 www.bowlingworld.com - June 2019 Texas Bowler Reaches 60 Years Of Participation At 2019 USBC Open Championships Save Share By Matt Cannizzaro a nd Makinzey Marracco LAS VEGAS - Jamie Brooks of McKin- ney, Texas, was recognized this week for reaching a special milestone at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, and he'll likely take center stage again next year when he joins another of the tournament's elite clubs. With his march to the lanes at the South Point Bowling Plaza on Wednesday, Brooks became the second bowler this year, and 27th in tournament history, to reach 60 years of participation on the championship lanes. His nine-game performance now has him on the verge of adding his name to the short list of bowlers who have toppled 100,000 pins at the USBC Open Championships. The 84-year-old right-hander received a chevron, plaque and engraved money clip to commemo- rate his entrance into the 60-Year Club, and he's now 381 pins away from claiming the cov- eted crystal pin awarded to members of the 100,000-Pin Club. Brooks entered the 2019 event needing 1,860 pins to reach the plateau and rolled consistent sets of 498 in doubles, 493 in singles and 488 in team for a 1,479 all-events total. His career pinfall stands at 99,619. Only 23 bowlers in 116 years of Open Championships competition have surpassed the 100,000-pin mark. Eight-time Open Championships titlist and USBC Hall of Famer Bill Lillard Sr. of Houston tops the all-time pinfall list with 124,087. "The record of participation is 71 years, and I'd like to make it as long as I can and keep bowling for as long as I can," Brooks said. "My wife came with me and will come along for the rest that I come to, but it's neat to still be alive and still be able to come and bowl. This year was very special, and I'm looking forward to next year in Reno.‖ Brooks made his tournament debut at the 1957 event in Fort Worth, Texas, also the debut of automatic pinsetters on the biggest stage in bowling. During that time, he and his "bowling family" were stopping at tournaments all over the state of Texas, and they then began venturing out of the state. Brooks first made his way into the Open Championships spotlight in Syracuse, New York, in 1973, when he and Jim Paine claimed the Regular Doubles title with a 1,337 total. There also were a few other times he came close to additional victories at the Open Championships. "In Madison, Wisconsin, in 1969, we got really close to winning the team event, but I left a split in the 10th frame, and then my teammate after me did the same thing," said Brooks, who has maintained an average of 185.5 for his 60 years at the Open Championships. "We ended up in eighth place. There also was a time in Knoxville (1970) we finished ninth. So, after some close calls, getting the one win was pretty nice." While Brooks has become well-known in bowling, it wasn't always his sport of choice. In high school, he was a golfer, but during some inclement weather one day, a friend asked him to make up for the lost time and join the bowling league he ran. At the time, Brooks didn't know bowling would become a huge part of his life. He went on to a summer league, and when fall came around, he was off to college at the University of Colorado. Building on his new-found skillset, he also joined a winter league and continued bowling once he returned home to Texas. After a few years, he started getting good at it. At age 20, he relinquished the college dream and decided to peruse bowling full time. Then, in 1955, Brooks and his father built their first bowling center. Becoming a proprietor allowed Brooks to find success on and off the lanes, and his endless dedication to the sport has earned him countless accolades and awards. When he hasn't been bowling, he has been busy running bowling centers. Since he was 21 years old, he has owned a total of 44 bowling centers and still operates three of them, includ- ing the well-known Plano Super Bowl in Plano, Texas, which has been a regular stop of the Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour in recent years. Brooks was recognized in 2010 by USBC as Proprietor of the Year for his longtime support of various programs, such as hosting charity events for Bowl for the Cure and developing the Senior All-Star Bowling Association. "I'm basically a league bowler, who bowls tournaments, and I'm just proud to be involved in the sport every way I can," said Brooks, whose best all-events performance at the Open Championships was a 1,847 total at the 1992 tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas. "We had the same team that would go around and bowl different things, and we were just winning stuff all over where we were going, so it was real neat. Now, I'm the only one still alive from that original team. I still love competing." James Bigelbach of St. Paul, Minnesota, was the first bowler this year to celebrate 60 years of Open Championships participation, and USBC Hall of Famer Bud Stoudt of Lebanon, Penn- sylvania, will add his name to the list before the 2019 tournament concludes on July 8. Mike Schmid of Arden Hills, Minnesota, made his 58th tournament appearance and became the newest member of the 100,000-Pin Club. Joel Carlson Beats Ron Mohr in Roll-Off to Win PBA50 Hamilton Lanes Open for First PBA50 Tour Title by Jerry Schneider TRENTON, N.J. – After a 279-279 title match tie, PBA50 Tour veteran Joel Carlson of Omaha, Nebraska, defeated PBA Hall of Famer Ron Mohr of Las Vegas, in a one-ball roll-off 10-8 to win the PBA50 Hamilton Lanes & Entertainment Center Open presented by Columbia 300 Sunday for his first title on PBA’s tour for players 50 and over. Carlson and Mohr went strike for strike through the first seven frames of the title match until Carlson left a 7 pin in the eighth. After making the spare he finished the match with four strikes to force the roll-off. Finishing the match first, Mohr, the stepladder finals top qualifier, threw the first nine strikes before leaving a 10 pin on his first ball in the 10th, made the spare and struck on his final ball of the 10th frame. Mohr, trying for his 11th PBA50 Tour title, started the roll-off with an eight -count when his ball went high leaving the 4-7. Carlson took advantage of the opportunity by throwing a strike for the win. ―I didn’t watch,‖ said Carlson, when Mohr threw his ball in the roll-off. ―When it was my turn, I just concentrated on keeping the ball on line and throw the best shot I possibly could. I could never have imagined winning my first title this way.‖ Carlson’s previous high PBA50 Tour finishes were third in the 2016 Sun Bowl In The Villages and fourth in 2018 PBA50 Lucas Magazine Classic. ―I always felt that I could win out here but winning like this was beyond expectations,‖ the 57-year-old Carlson added. ―It’s awesome to win with the ball in your hand and then coming through with a strike to do it. It’s how you dream of winning, but right now I’m having a hard time believing my good fortune.‖ Carlson, who entered the position round match in sixth, beat non- member Chris Viale 288-245 to make the finals and earn the No. 3 quali- fying position for the finals. Ironically, earlier in the week, Carlson seemed to have a spot in the finals locked for the PBA50 Mooresville Open, but dropped from second to sixth when he lost in the position round to even- tual winner Walter Ray Williams Jr. with a 185 game. To get to the title match, Carlson beat PBA Hall of Famer and four-time PBA50 Tour winner Parker Bohn III, who qualified fifth for the finals, 227- 182 in the second stepladder match, and then beat No. 2 qualifier reigning PBA50 Player of the Year Michael Haugen Jr., 268-248, in the semifinal to advance to the title match against Mohr. In the opening stepladder match, Bohn defeated Viale, who qualified fourth for the finals, 268-173. Williams’ bid for a record-tying fourth consecutive PBA50 Tour title to also become the sole all-time PBA50 Tour titles leader with 15 wins, ended with an eight-place finish. Tied with John Handegard at 14. PBA50 HAMILTON LANES & ENTERTAINMENT CENTER OPEN Presented by Columbia 300 Hamilton Lanes & Entertainment Center, Trenton, N.J., Sunday Final standings: 1, Joel Carlson, Omaha, Neb., $7,500. 2, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, $4,000. 3, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, $2,500 4, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., $2,000.