COLUMBUS — The day started with a couple of blackout delays due to power outages caused by storms in the area, delaying the start of play by over an hour.
It finished with what was supposed to be Game 8 of Day 1 becoming the final game of the 16-game qualifying block, with the last balls being rolled at 12:15 a.m. Monday — ending a nearly nine-hour day for 100 senior bowlers.
Such has been the story of the PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial tournament at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
When the smoke finally cleared and the final shots were thrown, Forsyth, Ill., right-hander Tom Adcock emerged as the qualifying leader with 3,683 total pinfall, 45 pins ahead of PBA right-handed Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli (3,638) of Venezuela.
The two actually traded places at the end of the normal eight-game Day 2 qualifier. But completed play with their final pinfall totals after a ninth game — Game 8 of Saturday which was pre-empted by the first power outage of the event. Adcock, who had a double when the power went out, went on to finish with 241, while Monacelli, who had two strikes and two spares at the time of the delay, had 194.
“The delay was too much. I was cold when we started. But a solid-8 (in the ninth frame) also didn’t help,” said Monacelli, a 30-time PBA winner, 10 on the PBA50 Tour.
Players were put back on the same lanes where they finished play when the Saturday delay occurred, in some cases, with spares awaiting them. Following a 25-minute delay while the scoreboards were reset, the players were given one ball on each lane as a warmup and then completed action once pins were re-placed on the decks.
ADCOCK’S SURGE
But it was the start of Day 2 that proved key for the 60-year-old Adcock, a rookie on the PBA60 Tour. After sitting 16th after the opening seven games Saturday and averaging 216.86, he came out smoking after the Sunday delay with games of 278, 279, 247, 247 and 279 — an average of 266 after 804 the first three.
“It’s one of those situations were everything matched up. I was very comfortable, I had the right ball in my hand and the condition was perfect for me,” said Adcock, whose only PBA50 Tour title was in doubles with Kerry Painter in 2013. “It’s the type of thing every bowler dreams about, and it happened for five or six games.”
Taking the advice of ball rep Kelly Kulick, Adcock made ball changes after shooting 173 and 183 on Saturday.
“I just didn’t play the lanes correctly, but Kelly got me into the correct place,” said Adcock, who used a combination of the Storm Dark Code and 900 Global Zen during his Sunday surge, completing 16 games with a 230.9 average. “I was seeing the ball more steep in the front of the lanes where I needed to go more left to right. If I didn’t and went more long down the lane to the right, it never seemed to want to see the lane and it would go 60 feet.
“I just made the right ball choices in the morning. After the first 10 minutes of practice when I got loose, I never thought about this one ball. So I said, ‘hey, it’s here, why not throw it?’ Everything was 10-back, 10-back so I started with it.”
The 60-year-old Monacelli, who turns 61 later this week, also made a ball change Sunday, moving to a Hammer 3D Offset.
“What can I say? That ball was very smooth off the spot and had the strength to get around it and get it quick to the dry,” said Monacelli, who finished his eight-game Day 2 block with 278 to surge temporarily into the lead.
“It hooked, but it didn’t overhook, and it gave me a little extra margin. My carry was way better.”
First-round leader Bryan Goebel had 225 in what would have been the eighth game from Saturday, but the 60-year-old Shawnee, Kan., Hall of Fame righty also noticed a difference in the lane conditions.
“There was less oil on the lanes. Yesterday, everyone around me was leaving 2-pins and couldn’t get the ball to hook while I was in the pocket,” said Goebel, who did have games of 276 and 267 on Day 2. “Today, they were in the pocket and I hooked high from the get-go.
“All day I was moving around. Move in, and I would go light. Move back, and I would go high. I spent the whole day fishing. I was grateful for that last game. I started with a spare and a turkey and then was able to stay clean.”
Germany’s Peter Knopp sits third with 3,620, followed by Canada’s John Chapman (3,609), who was among the top five all day, and Goebel (3,589).
Qualifiers 17 through 32 will return at 10 a.m. Monday to begin three-game elimination match play. Those winners will then meet qualifiers 9 through 16 in the second match-play round at 12:15 p.m. before the top eight join the fray in the round of 16 at 2:30. The final eight will then bowl for the five stepladder final spots at 4:45 p.m.
The stepladder finals, which will air live on BowlTV, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Adcock, who has been battling a neck injury, is hoping for a repeat of his early — and somewhat pain-free — success.
“I have a pinched nerve and my left arm goes dead from time to time. I’ve been battling it for the last seven weeks and it gives me fits sometimes,” said Adcock, who has battled occasional spasms due to the injury, has been using a mechanical device and ice packs to aid the problem.
“Today was a pretty good day, and it’s getting better. But I’m not 100-percent whole.”
But a victory Monday might make it more bearable.
NOTEBOOK. Zanesville’s Ted Hannahs, a past John Klonowski Memorial champion, was in the eighth spot by just one pin to earn early match-play byes. … Columbus Bowl pro shop owner Tom Carter (16th, 3,419) and center owner Wayne Webb (24th, 3,355) both made the cut. … PBA Hall of Famer Tom Baker was the cut line, finishing 32nd with 3,330, 17 pins ahead of John Conroy. … High game of both days was 279, with Adcock having a pair on Day 2. … Last week’s PBA60 winner Ron Mohr (11th, 3,440) also reached match play along with past Park Centre 50-60 Doubles champion Sammy Ventura (146th, 3,433). … Among area players, former Hartville resident Dick Gran of Bradenton, Fla., finished 56th, struggling early with equipment and ball pitch changes (3,179), and Burbank’s Jim Dillard was 95th (2,803).
See complete tournament results here: