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Duke looks to defend PBA title in West Babylon

Wed 19th, March 2008

Omaha, NE (Sports Network) - The final two weeks of the 2007-08 Dennys PBA Tour kick off this week with the 2008 GEICO Classic at AMF Babylon Lanes in West Babylon, N.Y. A lot will be determined over the next two weeks, including exemptions for the 2008-09 season as well as the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year award which could come down to the final Sunday of the season.

This weeks event will offer a record 14 spots to non-exempt PBA members through Wednesdays Dennys PBA Tour Qualifying Round in addition to the one spot available to amateurs. In addition to the regular slew of bowlers who are out for the season with injury exemptions, Michael Haugen Jr., Sean Swanson and Curtis Woods Jr. are all officially done for the season. Robert Smith and Chris Warren will also take this week off giving a record total of 15 qualifiers a spot in Thursdays Round of 64.

Norm Duke will look to successfully defend the title he won last season at AMF Babylon Lanes. Last season, Duke defeated four New Yorkers in the finals - the first time four bowlers from the same state had ever been in the finals - including Ryan Shafer in the title match to win the second of his three titles in 2006-07.

LAST TIME OUT

Rhino Page had already locked up the 2007-08 PBA Rookie of the Year award, an exemption for the 2008-09 Dennys PBA Tour season and the greatest season by a TQR bowler in the four years since the format changed. All he needed to wrap up arguably the greatest rookie season in PBA history was a title.

Page finally got that elusive victory Sunday, March 9, defeating Jack Jurek, 244-220, to win the 2008 Go RVing Classic at Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center in Norwich, Conn. The win came in his rookie-record fifth TV appearance, all of which came after he had qualified through the Wednesday Tour Qualifying Round. He became the third bowler in as many seasons to win a title after qualifying through the TQR, joining Sean Rash and Mike Mineman, who accomplished the feat in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Page first defeated Mike Scroggins, who was looking for his third title of the season, then faced Jurek, who was looking for his first title since 1995, which came in nearby Windsor Locks, Conn. Jurek was just thankful to get to the final round as he came into the week 42nd in the PBA World Point Rankings. Jurek had defeated Mike Edwards in the semifinals, who was in a similar position to Jurek, looking for his first title since 1994 and needing his finals appearance to avoid losing his exemption. Jurek hung in with Page until four consecutive nine-spares late in the match, and Page used strikes in the seventh, ninth and 10th frames to wrap up career win No. 1.

THIS WEEK

The 2008 GEICO Classic at AMF Babylon Lanes in West Babylon, N.Y., features a round robin match play format with five bowlers battling it out for the title Sunday, March 23 at 1 p.m. EST live on ESPN.

Competition gets underway Wednesday with the Dennys PBA Tour Qualifying Round, where 14 PBA members and one amateur will advance to Thursdays Round of 64. The TQR is followed by the official PBA practice session at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Thursdays Round of 64 features two seven-game qualifying blocks, after which the field will be cut to the top 32 for match play Friday. Two nine-game blocks of round robin take place Friday with the top five advancing to Sundays finals.

Saturday is a day for the fans with official PBA Fan Day and Pro-Ams taking place at 12:30, 4 and 7 p.m. at AMF Babylon Lanes. The live ESPN-televised finals take place Sunday from 1-2:30 p.m. ET, with the winner taking home $25,000 and an exemption for the 2008-09 season.

DID YOU KNOW?

Rhino Pages win as a qualifier in the 2008 Go RVing Classic came one year and 13 days after Mike Mineman won the 2007 Bayer Classic as a qualifier. Whats odd about that fact is that Minemans win came exactly one year and 13 days after Sean Rash became the first qualifier to win a Dennys PBA Tour title when he won the 2006 West Virginia Championship.

Mineman and Rash both won their titles as qualifiers at Emerson Lanes in Parkersburg, W.Va. The West Virginia center did not host an event this season and Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center - where Page won his title - took its place in the schedule.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR RACE COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE

With just two events remaining, one of those being a Major, the new PBA Player of the Year points system has created quite a lot of drama heading down the home stretch of the season.

Chris Barnes currently leads Walter Ray Williams Jr. by four points in the race, with Barnes looking to capture his first PBA Player of the Year while Williams will look for his record-breaking seventh honor. With a maximum of 36 points remaining - assuming a bowler won the final two events of the season - just seven players still have a shot at the award.

Assuming Barnes and Williams do not make the finals in either of the final two events, eighth-place Mika Koivuniemi would have to win the season-ending 65th Dennys U.S. Open and finish at least second this week. Rookie Rhino Page, who is seventh, still has a shot at becoming the first bowler to ever win both the PBA Player and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season, but he would have to win one of the final two events and finish at least second in the other. Patrick Allen and Wes Malott, tied for fifth, face the same scenario as Page.

Fourth-place Michael Haugen Jr. will not bowl the remainder of the season due to a finger injury and is therefore eliminated from the race, leaving Mike Scroggins as the final bowler with a shot at the award. Should Barnes and Williams remain at 64 and 60 points, respectively, Scroggins could win the award with a U.S. Open victory, which would push him one point ahead of Barnes. Should he win this week, Scroggins would still need to make the finals in North Brunswick next week.

Assuming Barnes and Williams wont make one of the next two finals, however, would be a stretch. Theyve made a combined 16 championship round appearances this season. In fact, last weeks Go RVing Classic final round was the first time in eight weeks neither bowler made the finals and just the fifth time all season neither Barnes nor Williams was on the TV show.

BUBBLE WATCH

Two bowlers made big moves last week, one securing a spot with his championship round appearance, the other going from out-of-the-cut to fairly comfortable with two events remaining. A pair of champions, meanwhile, are in trouble.

Jack Jurek, who went into the Go RVing Classic 42nd, moved up to 34th with his second-place finish, all but safe for next season. Mike Edwards, meanwhile, is locked after his third-place finish pushed him from 36th to 22nd.

Among those not helping their case last week were four-time champion Brian Himmler, who was unable to gain any ground with his 45th-place finish while Dave DEntremont did finish 11th but was only able to move up to 43rd, still almost 10,000 points shy of the number.

The cut line still sits at 38th with Doug Kent and Tom Baker both below 40th. If the season ended today, 2006-07 PBA Rookie of the Year Billy Oatman would be the last bowler to earn an exemption via points.

U.S. OPEN NEARLY AT CAPACITY

Bowlers looking to compete in one of the most prestigious events in the world must act fast. The 65th Dennys U.S. Open gets underway next week at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J., and the field is filling up fast.

The 492-bowler field is nearly full as 480 bowlers are currently entered. Last year, the event filled up quickly and 38 bowlers were left out. Dont miss your chance to compete for the $385,000 prize fund which includes a top prize of $100,000, a three-year exemption and a berth in the season-ending Motel 6 Roll to Riches.

WHERE PAGE RANKS

Its hard to argue against Rhino Page as having put together the greatest rookie season in PBA history.

Page, a lock to win the PBA Rookie of the Year award, will join seven other PBA Rookies of the Year in winning a title their first season (C.K. Moore - 1996; John Gant - 1984; Toby Contreras - 1983; Mike Aulby - 1979; Mike Berlin - 1967; Mike Durbin - 1967; Jerry McCoy - 1964). Of those seven, only two made more than two TV appearances, McCoy in 1964 (4) and Durbin in 1967 (3).

Aulby is the only past PBA Rookie of the Year who could put up an argument for having had the best freshman campaign. Aulby made just two championship rounds to Pages five, but one of those came in the 1979 PBA National Championship which he won, making him the only PBA Rookie of the Year to win a Major in their rookie season. At the age of 19, Aulby also posted a second-place finish that season and his $29,013 established a rookie record at the time.

Consistency-wise, however, none can compare to Pages numbers this season. He ranks seventh in points, having finished in the top eight on six occasions, and his $81,776 in season earnings smashes Moores previous record for rookie earnings ($71,565). He also ranks third in average, trailing only Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Chris Barnes.

ANOTHER MILIONAIRE

Tommy Jones joins the ranks of PBA millionaires this week as he comes into the GEICO Classic just $912 shy of the $1 million mark. Jones will just have to get through most of the Round of 64 to pass the milestone.

Jones will become the PBAs 39th millionaire and the fourth to pass the milestone this season, joining Patrick Allen, Mika Koivuniemi and Mike Scroggins. Most impressive is the fact that the 29-year-old Jones will tie Mike Aulby as the second-youngest player to reach the milestone, trailing only Pete Weber, who was just 26 when he became a millionaire. It took Jones just eight seasons, however, to reach the mark while it took Weber and Aulby 10 and 11 seasons, respectively, to go over $1 million.

The milestone will come in Jones 226th career event, just six events shy of Chris Barnes record of 220 events.

Where the players come to play and STAY.