By CHASE KAUFMAN
PBA Communications
Hundreds of bowlers have etched their names in the PBA history books and now a few more have engraved their own into the titleholder list.
During the 10 tournaments held over the previous two weeks,three bowlers earned the first regional title of their careers. Meanwhile, six other bowlers picked up a win to add to their résumés.
Read about their exploits in this week’s regional recap:
PBA BRIGHTON CONSTRUCTION MYRTLE BEACH OPEN
At the Myrtle Beach Open, tournament director Steve Taylor brought in 148 bowlers for the three-squad, two-day competition. Through seven games on Saturday, CJ Petrin had the lead; after nine more games in the advancers rounds, Petrin grabbed the top seed for the stepladder, followed by Bryan Hahlen, Sean Connolly, and Cristian Azcona.
In the opening match, Azcona took an early lead after Connolly missed a single pin in the second frame, but Connolly fought back to force Azcona to double in the tenth, where Azcona got nine and lost 236-224. In the second match, the story reversed against Hahlen, who stepped up and doubled in the 10th to force Connolly to get the first strike in the final frame. Connolly, like his previous opponent, got nine, and Hahlen moved on to the finals after a 225-212 win.
The winner-take-all match was close for six frames, but in the seventh and eighth frames Hahlen doubled while Petrin split twice. Hahlen won 202-184 for his first PBA regional title and a cool $2,500.
PBA Brighton Construction Myrtle Beach Open Final Standings
Bryan Hahlen, 2,500 points, $2,500
CJ Petrin, $1,900
Sean Connolly, 1,150, $1,600
Cristian Azcona, 950, $1,300
PBA NORTHROCK SOUTHWEST OPEN
Transitioning out West, host of a 2023 PBA Tour stop, Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kan., hosted a regional event for 95 bowlers this month. David ‘Boog’ Krol, who accumulated 31 straight strikes here in February, stayed on the strike train, qualifying first at +283. The strike train chugged along in the advancers round as Krol had now developed more than a 200-pin lead over second place. He claimed the top seed and as the strike train conductor, Krol’s final stop came at Titletown, USA, after defeating Alec Keplinger in the finals, 225-206, for his second title.
PBA Northrock Southwest Open Final Standings
David Krol 2,500 points, $2,800
Alec Keplinger, $1,800
Spencer Robarge, $1,250
Dylan Burns, 950, $1,250
PBA50 THE BOWLER MIDWEST OPEN
In the Peace Garden State, 34 senior bowlers came out to the aptly-named center “The Bowler” in Fargo, N.D. Only five players went plus on the demanding Mike Aulby pattern, while Rick Woloszyn led at +80. The top eight moved onto match play on Sunday, and Lyle Kuhlmann stole the top spot from Woloszyn. Heading into the title-deciding position round, Bryan Schmidt sat just 44 pins behind while Woloszyn had an outside shot trailing by 62 pins. All three bowlers struggled in the final game, but Kuhlmann’s 178 was good enough to hold onto the win for his first career PBA Regional Tour title.
PBA50 The Bowler Midwest Open Final Standings
Lyle Kuhlmann, 5,000 points, $2,000
Tom Adcock, 3,000, $1,300
Bryan Schmidt, 2,300, $1,000
Rick Woloszyn, 1,900, $850
PBA50 FITNESS QUEST CLASSIC
To kill a scorpion, make sure you are wearing protective clothing, then stab it with a sharp object. Do not simply crush it, as many scorpions have the ability to completely flatten themselves. That’s a weak segue into qualifying, where Brad Angelo indeed stabbed the Scorpion pattern going +103 for eight games.
After match play, Angelo dropped into the No. 2 seed for the stepladder and took on Greg Thomas, who had just defeated Jeffrey Knapp. The scorpion stung back in Angelo’s match as Thomas won 215-167. In the finals, Hohlbein put together a four-bagger in the middle of the game to seal his win 232-185 for his seventh title and first since 2016.
PBA50 Fitness Quest Classic Final Standings
Erik Hohlbein, 2,500 points, $1,500
Greg Thomas, 1,500, $1,100
Brad Angelo 1,150, $1,000
Jeffrey Knapp, 950, $900
PBA DAFFODIL BOWL OPEN
Same place, same pattern, same sting. The top 12 of the 48 entrants moved onto match play, all competing for a spot in the four-person stepladder. Even after 15 games, the position round still left much up in the air, but in the end, Duke Knudsen, Christopher Tuholski, Clay Rees, and Michael Fitzgerald earned the stepladder positions in that order.
Rees won the first match over Fitzgerald, 175-166, but then lost to Tuholski, 211-191. 211 was the magic number for Tuholski once again as he took down Knudsen 211-174. This marks title No. 4 for Tuholski, a special one for sure, as it took place in front of his newborn and his girlfriend on Mother’s day.
PBA Daffodil Bowl Open Final Standings
Christopher Tuholski, 2,500 points, $2,000
Duke Knudsen, 1,500, $1,400
Clay Rees, 1,150, $1,100
Michael Fitzgerald, 950, $900
PBA MEMBER/NON MEMBER DOUBLES PRESENTED BY CASINO MORONGO
Staying out West, this time in Cabazon, Calif., a member/non-member doubles format brought 43 duos right outside of Los Angeles. Member Cortez Schenck and non-member Robbie Patterson narrowly earned the top seed by a pin, but even with that bye, they fell in their first match.
In the first semifinal, Aaron Yamamoto and titleholder Tim Cagle II fell to Mike Villarreal and Kevin Valmonte 2-0 in the best-of-three match. Cerell Cardines and Christopher Mayes also won their semifinal match over DJ Kneifel and Hunter Mayes 2-0. In the one-game final, Cardines and Mayes started with an early four-bagger and sealed it with the first strike in the 10th to win, 233-191.
PBA Member/Non Member Doubles presented by Casino Morongo Final Standings
Christopher Mayes and Cerell Cardines, 2,500 points, $4,000
Mike Villarreal and Kevin Valmonte, $2,600
Hunter Mayes and DJ Kneifel, 1,150, $1,900
Tim Cagle II and Aaron Yamamoto, 950, $1,900
PBA WAXAHACHIE SOUTHWEST MEMBERS ONLY EVENT
Next up, in a members-only event at Hilltop Lanes just south of Dallas, we had a wire-to-wire tournament win from one of the newest PBA Tour champions. Packy Hanrahan opened qualifying with a 64-pin lead, and that margin would only increase from there.
Sixty-four pins eventually turned into 132 and then into 176. Deo Bernard competed for a while in match play, putting up five games over 240, but he couldn’t quite get there. Hanrahan picked up his third career regional title and first of 2023.
PBA Waxahachie Southwest Members Only Event Final Standings
Patrick Hanrahan, 2,500 points, $2,800
Deo Bernard, 1,500, $1,800
Beau Peterson, 1,150, $1,350
Sean Lavery-Spahr, 950, $1,100
PBA50 JORDAN LANES OPEN
It may have been Packy’s time to shine in Waxahachie, but in Whitehall, Pa., Troy Lint had his own day to remember. Lint topped the field of 70 on the Steelsmith pattern, averaging 232 for his eight-game block. Most impressively, Lint ran through the field as the No. 1 seed in the bracket, something that seems nearly impossible to do. Lint defeated John Neral, Richard Strath, and two-time titleist Andrew Rettig on his way to picking up his ninth career title and third of the season.
PBA50 Jordan Lanes Open Final Standings
Troy Lint, 2,500 points, $3,000
Andrew Rettig, 1,500, $1,700
Ryan Shafer, 1,150, $1,200
Richard Strath, 950, $1,200