HEATH — Urbana left-hander Graham Fach, who claimed his 16th Professional Bowlers Association regional title in May, made it No. 17 Sunday during the PBA Buffalo Wild Wings Central Open at Park Lanes.
Fach, who was the No. 1 qualifier in the 61-player field after averaging 236 over the opening eight games, defeated Dayton’s Andrew Sacks 2-1 in the best-of-three title match. Fach took Game 3 231-189 after losing Game 1 267-182 on the PBA Hardwick 44 oil pattern.
Fach advanced to the title match with a 2-1 in over Justin Knowles in the semifinals, winning Game 3 296-220. Sacks advanced with a 2-0 win over nonmember Carter Street of Dublin.
The field bowled eight qualifying games Saturday before it was cut to the top 20 for best-of-three match-play rounds with the top four players receiving first-round byes.
Fach won $2,600 for the victory while Sacks took home $1,350.
Among area players, Fairport Harbor right-hander Casey Cohagan finished fifth, nonmember and Cuyahoga Falls two-handed lefty Bryce Oliver was seventh and Parma right-hander Patrick Dombrowski finished ninth.
See complete results here: https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=680935d1bf635a73499b7257
The next PBA Central Region event is July 11-13 at Emerson Lanes in Parkersburg, W.Va.
PBA50 CENTRAL REGION
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. — Mexico’s Mario Quintero, who captured the 2024 PBA50 World Championship, won Sunday’s PBA50 Ruth Froberg Memorial Brunswick Central Midwest Open at Striker’s Bowl.
Quintero, the No. 3 seed after qualifying with 1,798 total pinfall and the No. 1 seed during the four-man stepladder finals, defeated right-hander Dave Wodka 183-164 in the title match. Wodka stopped Larry Verble (225-203) and Brad Angelo (198-192) en route to the title match on the PBA Holman 38 oil pattern.
The 69-player field bowled eight qualifying games before the field was cut to the top 23 for the five-game advancers round Sunday. Eugene McCune led after both qualifying and the advancer round with 3,005 after 13 games. The field was then cut again to the top eight for eight games of match play to determine the top four for the stepladder finals.
Wodka stood fifth after the opening seven match-play games, but stopped McCune in the position round to reach the top four by just 18 pins over Butch Cormier.
Among area players, North Olmsted’s Michael Clark Jr. finished seventh after a 3-5 match-play record.
See complete results here: https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=680939c37baf69c40ff40fdb
The next PBA50 Central Region event will be July 25-27 at Al-Mar Lanes in Bowling Green.
BOWLING DROPPED FROM PANAM GAMES
After being in every Pan American Games since 1991, bowling has been left off the list of sports for the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, according to a news release posted by PanAm Sports on Thursday.
The 36 sports that will be on the program for the competition were announced following a meeting of the Panam Sports Executive Committee. There were 39 sports on the program for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Of the 36 sports for 2027, 33 were chosen based on the preferences of the 41-member National Olympic Committees, and three were selected by the Lima 2027 Organizing Committee.
The 2027 Pan American Games are scheduled for July 16 through Aug. 1, 2027 and will feature more than 7,000 athletes from 41 countries across the continent.
Bowling also had been left off the initial list of sports for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, but later added by the PanAm Sports Executive Committee.
Professional Bowlers Association Tour champion and Team Canada member Francois Lavoie made a Facebook post Sunday asking for the sport’s return to the games.
“Because of our sport’s participation in these Games, bowling is officially recognized by 24 National Olympic Committees in the Pan Am Zone. This recognition means that, to varying degrees, those national bowling federations and associations receive support from their NOCs for training, preparation and participation in international championships and Games. Some countries’ NOCs and governments even award scholarships and/or salaries to their national team members.
“Because most NOCs base their support level on the Olympic cycle, the exclusion of bowling from the 2027 Pan Am Games could have a trickle down effect that would severely jeopardize future funding, and ultimately, the ability for the sport of bowling to continue to develop,” Lavoie said in his post.
“With some understanding that the decision is not final, I call on all athletes to communicate with their local federations. I urge you to emphasize the importance of this decision. With enough support from enough national federations and NOCs, maybe we can get Pan Am Sports to reconsider their decision and continue bowling’s long history in the Pan Am Games.”
Team USA is among the countries that participates in the event.