onefrombills
11-23-2008, 04:41 PM
Michael Wolfe managed to outlast a first-of-its-kind weeklong shootout to be crowned the Ultimate Scoring Champion at Taylor Lanes, the fifth stop on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour which was taped on Nov. 16 and aired on ESPN on Nov. 23.
Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., struck in the fourth-seventh frames of the championship match to defeat Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, 246-206, to win his fourth career title. Wolfe defeated Bill O’Neill and Scroggins beat Robert Smith in the semifinals.
“I think all four of us guys had a pretty good shot (on this lane pattern),” Wolfe said. “Scroggins never got off to a good start (and) was never able to put any strikes together in the first half. I don’t think he threw a double until the sixth or seventh (frame) and at that point I had a 30-40 pin lead and I just needed to mark in the eighth, ninth and 10th.”
The Ultimate Scoring Championship, a new event introduced as part of the PBA’s 50th anniversary celebration, spotlights the incredible scoring potential of the world’s greatest bowlers on a on a lane oil pattern more likely to be found in league play than the PBA Tour’s more challenging conditions.
And the Ultimate Scoring Championship certainly yielded a high-scoring environment. Patrick Allen tied a PBA record with a 260.50 average over the 14 games of qualifying and there were 18 perfect games, compared to only one perfect game shot during last week’s Chameleon Championship at the same bowling center. Parker Bohn III shot three perfect games in two days of play during the Ultimate Scoring Championship and finalists Wolfe and O’Neill also tallied a couple 300 games apiece during the week’s play.
Wolfe, who averaged 246.80 during the tournament, defeated O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., 237-215, in the semifinals to advance. O’Neill averaged 242.33 during the tournament and was making his third consecutive TV finals appearance.
“I was actually lucky to get past O’Neill, he’s been bowling better than anyone else on the planet lately,” Wolfe said. “He needed all three strikes in the 10th to tie and lucky for me, he didn’t get it.”
Scroggins, who averaged 233.15 during the tournament, defeated Smith of Pataskala, Ohio, 238-205, to advance to the championship match. Smith averaged 240.97 throughout the tournament.
The Ultimate Scoring Championship is also the first event of the “Extreme Swing” which includes five “creative” format championships during the season. The four other events this season include the GEICO Plastic Ball Championship (Feb. 18-22), Etonic Marathon Championship (Feb. 23-March 1), Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator (March 2-8) and Go RVing Match Play Championship (March 18-22).
The PBA travels next to Vernon Hills, Ill. for the CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship with the live televised finals airing on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m. ET.
Ultimate Scoring Championship Format:
The field bowled two 7-game qualifying blocks for a total of 14 games in which the top 32 players advanced. Bowlers making the cut returned to compete in a single-elimination best 4-out-of-seven match play format in the Round of 32, Round of 16 and Round of 8. The final four advanced to Sunday’s finals.
Semifinals
#8 Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, def. #21 Robert Smith of Pastakala, Ohio, ($6,100), 238-205.
#3 Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., def. #26 Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., ($6,200), 237-215.
Finals
#3 Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., ($25,200) def. #8 Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, ($13,000), 246-206.
Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., struck in the fourth-seventh frames of the championship match to defeat Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, 246-206, to win his fourth career title. Wolfe defeated Bill O’Neill and Scroggins beat Robert Smith in the semifinals.
“I think all four of us guys had a pretty good shot (on this lane pattern),” Wolfe said. “Scroggins never got off to a good start (and) was never able to put any strikes together in the first half. I don’t think he threw a double until the sixth or seventh (frame) and at that point I had a 30-40 pin lead and I just needed to mark in the eighth, ninth and 10th.”
The Ultimate Scoring Championship, a new event introduced as part of the PBA’s 50th anniversary celebration, spotlights the incredible scoring potential of the world’s greatest bowlers on a on a lane oil pattern more likely to be found in league play than the PBA Tour’s more challenging conditions.
And the Ultimate Scoring Championship certainly yielded a high-scoring environment. Patrick Allen tied a PBA record with a 260.50 average over the 14 games of qualifying and there were 18 perfect games, compared to only one perfect game shot during last week’s Chameleon Championship at the same bowling center. Parker Bohn III shot three perfect games in two days of play during the Ultimate Scoring Championship and finalists Wolfe and O’Neill also tallied a couple 300 games apiece during the week’s play.
Wolfe, who averaged 246.80 during the tournament, defeated O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., 237-215, in the semifinals to advance. O’Neill averaged 242.33 during the tournament and was making his third consecutive TV finals appearance.
“I was actually lucky to get past O’Neill, he’s been bowling better than anyone else on the planet lately,” Wolfe said. “He needed all three strikes in the 10th to tie and lucky for me, he didn’t get it.”
Scroggins, who averaged 233.15 during the tournament, defeated Smith of Pataskala, Ohio, 238-205, to advance to the championship match. Smith averaged 240.97 throughout the tournament.
The Ultimate Scoring Championship is also the first event of the “Extreme Swing” which includes five “creative” format championships during the season. The four other events this season include the GEICO Plastic Ball Championship (Feb. 18-22), Etonic Marathon Championship (Feb. 23-March 1), Don Johnson Buckeye State Eliminator (March 2-8) and Go RVing Match Play Championship (March 18-22).
The PBA travels next to Vernon Hills, Ill. for the CLR Carmen Salvino Scorpion Championship with the live televised finals airing on ESPN on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 1 p.m. ET.
Ultimate Scoring Championship Format:
The field bowled two 7-game qualifying blocks for a total of 14 games in which the top 32 players advanced. Bowlers making the cut returned to compete in a single-elimination best 4-out-of-seven match play format in the Round of 32, Round of 16 and Round of 8. The final four advanced to Sunday’s finals.
Semifinals
#8 Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, def. #21 Robert Smith of Pastakala, Ohio, ($6,100), 238-205.
#3 Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., def. #26 Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., ($6,200), 237-215.
Finals
#3 Mike Wolfe of New Albany, Ind., ($25,200) def. #8 Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, ($13,000), 246-206.