FAIRLAWN — At 6 a.m. Friday, Wes Malott wasn’t sure if he would to be able to bowl the first stepladder of the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions.
“I woke up tossing and turning because my back was hurting,” said Malott, who has battled what he believes to be a bulging disc in his back all season.
“I was just asking myself, is this when it’s going to catch again? But I was able to get into a comfortable position, went back to sleep, got up and put ice on it. I’m doing everything I can.”
Despite the pain which altered his usual game plan, forcing him to loft his ball out to the arrow on the lane, Malott was able to get through Phase 1 of the TOC stepladder marathon Friday night at AMF Riviera Lanes.
The No. 14 seed, the 46-year-old Fort Wayne, Ind., right-hander rolled five strikes in a row from the second through sixth frames in his opening match to stop No. 15 seed Tim Gruendler 222-178.
Then, in the finale of the night, Malott was able to stop 2020 TOC champion and 2022 runner-up Kris Prather 211-171.
Malott now advances to Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. second stepladder finals to oppose No. 12 seed Tom Smallwood in his opening match. Others involved in that stepladder include Chris Via, Stu Williams and Jake Peters.
Looming for the winner of that next stepladder is the foursome of Marshall Kent, Andrew Anderson, Jason Belmonte and Kyle Troup, beginning at 9:30 p.m. to determine the last one standing to join Sunday’s noon championship finals.
MALOTT’S JOURNEY
Malott, a 2022 PBA Hall of Fame enshrined with 10 PBA titles, first experienced back pain 10-15 years ago and had an MRI done at the time.
“It feels exactly the same, and I’m sure it’s taking a little longer. The older we get, the slower the body heals,” Malott said. “I’m trying to dig through it.”
Before bowling his opening match, Malott got emotional during his opening interview during the FS1 telecast with Kimberly Pressler, reflecting on what brought him to this point.
“I’m the one who knows how I feel, what I’ve been through and what I’ve done to get to this point. Realistically, I shouldn’t even be here right now. I’m clearly still in pain,” Malott said.
“Last night (during the final round of match play), they were hooking so much that I was throwing it overhand down the lane. If that wasn’t putting strain on my back, why was I backpedaling? I was worried.”
Malott credited his fiancee, Sarah French, for getting him ready to bowl this season.
“What’s gone on the past month, she really kicked my butt to make sure I’m doing stuff at the same time,” Malott said. “It’s not about the money, it’s about life. Sure, is it nice to come out here and make a little money, but that’s not what it’s about to her.
“She wants me to be around for awhile to play with the kids and later the grandkids. That’s what it’s about.”
Malott also praised his sponsors and ball manufacturers who have stuck with him during these painful times.
“I give these guys updates, and they tell me they can’t wait to see me back out here. I’ve got the best group in the business behind me,” Malott said. “I’ve made some shows, but I can’t remember the last time I won on TV. This week was about staying positive, being grateful and knowing that you’re fortunate to even be here.”
SEMIFINAL GAME
French and Malott’s three biological children were in the stands as he opened the semifinal game with a 2-6-10 spare miss after Gruendler, a 27-year-old St. Louis right-hander who was making his first TV finals appearance, converted the same spare.
But while Gruendler was unable to strike until the seventh frame, Malott ran off five in a row to take a 48-pin lead. The former also left a 4-6-7 split in the fifth. Malott, knowns as “The Big Nasty,” started by lofting the ball, a technique he used to stay more upright on his shots.
“I was still able to get my hand through it and get it to pick up,” Malott said. “Did I necessarily want to loft it as much as I have? I don’t know. But I wanted to make sure I hit it. Playing that far left, I had to get it up the hill.
“I think most weeks, that loft wouldn’t be very good. But when you factor in the pattern and the lane surface we’re on, it kind of worked to my favor. Normally, you would roll the ball the first three, four or five games and then get left and lofting might come into play. But not from shot one, but that’s what I’ve got right now and still have a halfway decent shot.”
Gruendler finished with only two strikes as Malott experimented with another ball in the 10th frame during the win.
“I already had my mind made up what I needed to do. The fill ball was information for the next match,” said Malott, who admitted he struggled to get to the warmup pair to stay loose between matches. “You can’t give away one frame and expect to be able to compete out here.
“That was a veteran move, staying focused and in the moment. That information got me to where I’m at.”
FINAL MATCH
In the title match, following an opening strike by Prather, Malott started with a 2-pin spare but then had a double.
Prather, who was the No. 1 seed a year ago before falling to Dom Barrett in the title match, missed a 10-pin spare in the second before converting a 3-4-6-10 split in the third. But from there, he had just two strikes the rest of the way.
“I just had problems the whole game honestly, and that was pretty much how my entire week went,” Prather said. “As soon as the lanes started to hook a little bit and I didn’t throw it perfect, literally I couldn’t double … in match play, qualifying … essentially that’s how the week went.
“If I had a little extra rotation on it went through the face. And, if it read a little early, it split. It was a poor performance on my end. I could have done better at getting matched up with the right ball. I didn’t perform and I didn’t think through the problems very well. I’m pretty annoyed with myself.”
Malott also added a double in the fifth and sixth and then struck out in the 10th to secure the win.
EARLIER MATCHES
The night started with 2021 TOC champion Francois Lavoie, a 30-year-old Canadian right-hander, stopping No. 17-seed Packy Hanrahan 214-210. Hanrahan, a 27-year-old Wichita, Kan., two-hander, was the lone lefty in the 17-man stepladder finals.
Lavoie had three strikes in a row early and then four in a row through the 10th to stop the lefty, who started with three strikes but left a 1-3-7-9 washout in the fourth and failed to convert. Lavoie won despite missing a 4-7 spare in the fifth.
But the Canadian was unable to strike more than once until the seventh frame during his next match against Gruendler, who had made the field after finishing second during Monday’s pre-tournament qualifier.
Gruendler started with three strikes in a row, before giving Lavoie an opening with a 4-6-10 split in the seventh frame. Needing two strikes in the 10th frame to advance after three strikes in a row — the same as he needed to stop Hanrahan, who is 0-6 in TV matches — Lavoie left a 4-pin spare on his opening shot for a 212-195 loss.
But Gruendler, who struck seven times against Lavoie, couldn’t find the proper line against Malott.
“I missed the move. I should have taken a huge step left and gotten around it more,” Gruendler said. “I just moved slowly left and it bit me in the butt. I had the right ball, but I should have moved.”
But Gruendler will not forget his first stepladder finals and TV appearance.
“It was unbelievable … words just can’t describe it. I was so excited coming into it,” he added. “I don’t feel like I was too nervous. I felt like I already won at that point. I just needed to relax and fill frames. I’m very happy with it.”
As for Melott, from his perspective, the night stepladder finals should be a help physically. But getting to Sunday would entail winning eight matches today.
“The mornings are the roughest for me. We’ll get out and do some stuff during the day to get me moving,” Malott said. “We’ll just take it one match and one shot at a time, enjoy the moment and make the most of what I have.
“Some of the other guys may be further right and playing up the lane in shows going forward, but I don’t have that right now and I’m OK with that.”
Tickets remain for Saturday’s double stepladder finals to determine the person who will join top-seeded EJ Tackett, Anthony Simonsen, Matt Ogle and Jason Sterner during Sunday’s noon championship finals. Go to pba.com for information.
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