abigfish
01-23-2011, 10:41 PM
Finn strikes it big in PBA finals
By Jeff Wolf
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Jan. 23, 2011 | 12:00 a.m.
Mika Koivuniemi and Tom Daugherty each set records and shared another Saturday during the stepladder finals of the $1 million PBA Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes.
Koivuniemi defeated tournament leader Tom Smallwood for his ninth PBA Tour title to win a record $250,000.
But the most drama and emotion -- as well as three PBA records -- came in the semifinal match between Koivuniemi and Tom Daugherty.
For Koivuniemi, a stubborn 10-pin cost him a 300 game on the nationally televised show. But Daugherty drew the second-largest reaction from the crowd when he recorded a total of eight pins in the 10th frame of the match to finish with a 100 game.
Yes, 100.
It's the lowest score rolled in a televised match in the 52-year history of the PBA -- 29 pins less than the previous low by Steve Jaros in 1992.
"I destroyed Jaros' record," said Daugherty, of Wesley Chapel, Fla. "I'd be more upset if I'd shot 260 and lost."
Another record set was the largest margin of victory -- 199 pins.
Daugherty, who averaged 225 through the first 72 games of the tournament, missed a spare and left seven wide splits, including the "big four" -- 4-6-7-10 -- in the last frame.
Daugherty started the crowd chanting for him to get two pins on his spare attempt so he could reach the century mark. After he picked off two, he shared high-fives with the crowd and showed more emotion than Koivuniemi, a native of Finland who lives in Hartland, Mich., did after beating Smallwood 269-207 in the title match.
"My (TV) average will only go up," Daugherty, a part-time pro, said of his first national TV appearance.
"It's not a bad memory. You can't go out there and try to leave seven splits in a game.
"It's one game. It doesn't take away from anything I did this week."
The seven splits by a bowler in a televised game is believed by PBA officials to be another record.
Smallwood, like Daugherty, took advantage of lane conditions all week that favored players with high-revolution attacks that produce sweeping curves.
"He just out-bowled us," Smallwood said of Koivuniemi, who won his third major title. "He made all the shots."
Koivuniemi plays a straighter, more direct line to the pocket, and what he found Saturday suited his style and the 15-pound Ebonite ball he used.
"Early in the week I didn't think I would have much of a chance," he said. "I just kept going and believed I had a chance if I could get to (24 games of) match play."
Koivuniemi received the only break he needed in the opening game against Colombia's Andres Gomez. Koivuniemi finished first with a 224. Gomez needed to start his 10th frame with two strikes, but after getting the first he left a 10-pin on his second ball to lose with a 220.
From there, it was Koivuniemi's show.
In the second match, a wobbly 10-pin kept him from becoming the first bowler to roll two perfect games in a career on a PBA Tour telecast. He rolled one in 2003.
In the championship game, Smallwood opened in the first frame and fell behind quickly after Koivuniemi started with a spare and followed with six consecutive strikes.
Koivuniemi struck on 21 of his last 24 rolls and averaged 264 for the three games.
"When someone beats you like that, they just beat you," Smallwood said.
Smallwood, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship to earn $50,000, was paid $100,000 for finishing second.
Daugherty, however, thinks he should own another record.
"Hey, I got $50,000, and that's $500 a pin."
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit lvrj.com/bowling for more on the Tournament of Champions.
By Jeff Wolf
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Jan. 23, 2011 | 12:00 a.m.
Mika Koivuniemi and Tom Daugherty each set records and shared another Saturday during the stepladder finals of the $1 million PBA Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes.
Koivuniemi defeated tournament leader Tom Smallwood for his ninth PBA Tour title to win a record $250,000.
But the most drama and emotion -- as well as three PBA records -- came in the semifinal match between Koivuniemi and Tom Daugherty.
For Koivuniemi, a stubborn 10-pin cost him a 300 game on the nationally televised show. But Daugherty drew the second-largest reaction from the crowd when he recorded a total of eight pins in the 10th frame of the match to finish with a 100 game.
Yes, 100.
It's the lowest score rolled in a televised match in the 52-year history of the PBA -- 29 pins less than the previous low by Steve Jaros in 1992.
"I destroyed Jaros' record," said Daugherty, of Wesley Chapel, Fla. "I'd be more upset if I'd shot 260 and lost."
Another record set was the largest margin of victory -- 199 pins.
Daugherty, who averaged 225 through the first 72 games of the tournament, missed a spare and left seven wide splits, including the "big four" -- 4-6-7-10 -- in the last frame.
Daugherty started the crowd chanting for him to get two pins on his spare attempt so he could reach the century mark. After he picked off two, he shared high-fives with the crowd and showed more emotion than Koivuniemi, a native of Finland who lives in Hartland, Mich., did after beating Smallwood 269-207 in the title match.
"My (TV) average will only go up," Daugherty, a part-time pro, said of his first national TV appearance.
"It's not a bad memory. You can't go out there and try to leave seven splits in a game.
"It's one game. It doesn't take away from anything I did this week."
The seven splits by a bowler in a televised game is believed by PBA officials to be another record.
Smallwood, like Daugherty, took advantage of lane conditions all week that favored players with high-revolution attacks that produce sweeping curves.
"He just out-bowled us," Smallwood said of Koivuniemi, who won his third major title. "He made all the shots."
Koivuniemi plays a straighter, more direct line to the pocket, and what he found Saturday suited his style and the 15-pound Ebonite ball he used.
"Early in the week I didn't think I would have much of a chance," he said. "I just kept going and believed I had a chance if I could get to (24 games of) match play."
Koivuniemi received the only break he needed in the opening game against Colombia's Andres Gomez. Koivuniemi finished first with a 224. Gomez needed to start his 10th frame with two strikes, but after getting the first he left a 10-pin on his second ball to lose with a 220.
From there, it was Koivuniemi's show.
In the second match, a wobbly 10-pin kept him from becoming the first bowler to roll two perfect games in a career on a PBA Tour telecast. He rolled one in 2003.
In the championship game, Smallwood opened in the first frame and fell behind quickly after Koivuniemi started with a spare and followed with six consecutive strikes.
Koivuniemi struck on 21 of his last 24 rolls and averaged 264 for the three games.
"When someone beats you like that, they just beat you," Smallwood said.
Smallwood, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship to earn $50,000, was paid $100,000 for finishing second.
Daugherty, however, thinks he should own another record.
"Hey, I got $50,000, and that's $500 a pin."
Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247. Visit lvrj.com/bowling for more on the Tournament of Champions.