By BILL SNIER
LORAIN — Even hall of famers need another set of eyes sometimes to find where their problems lie.
Count 55-year-old Denton, Texas, right-hander and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Chris Barnes among that group.
“About 2 1/2 years ago, I changed my pitches … that was the first time I’d done that since 1989,” the owner of 19 career PBA Tour and eight PBA50 Tour titles said. “I just felt like I wasn’t bowling good and I was having a hard time learning it. OK, I thought, maybe it’s just getting older and my hand was stiffer.
“I did OK out here (PBA50 Tour), but it was bad on the regular tour. Then this season, I had my five worst weeks, and four of them were the first four on the PBA50 Tour. I looked in the mirror and there was no one else to blame or look at.”
So with the help of his wife, Lynda, he went back to work, looking at old videos and even throwing some of his older 16-pound equipment.
“I didn’t know if that would fix anything, but I knew I didn’t suck when I threw them,” Barnes said. “Lynda dug in with me and that’s not fun because I’m pretty stubborn. I’m not much fun when I’m struggling.
“(PBA50 pro) Dan Knowlton threw some things out there and (Akron’s) Donnie Hogue also helped. It takes a village to get these pieces back together. I wish I could say I was smart enough to find things, but I would still be struggling if not for the help of those guys.”
Barnes started to see improvement during the U.S. Open in Colorado, but felt he needed another tuneup to get both his swing back in line and his hand in better positions to be able to use all his tools. So, during another break, he went home and back to work.
The results are there for all to see since.
Barnes won his first 2025 PBA50 title in Hammond, Ind., then earned another during the PBA50 World Series of Bowling in Michigan. The run continued Wednesday when he stopped eight-time PBA winner Michael Haugen Jr. 2-1 during the best-of-three title match of the PBA50 Ohio Lottery Baldo Campana & Dave D’Entremont Memorial Central Open at Rebman Recreation.
“It’s been good since Hammond … I’m feeling more like my old self rather than the recent version,” said Barnes, who had Lynda there to see him capture his 35th overall regional title. “At some point, every athlete kind of loses whatever they had and just aren’t able to get it back.
“I thought I might be at that point. When things started feeling good, but they looked really bad, you don’t know if that’s your body talking or you just can’t do it. At least, I can still do a form of it.”
Barnes, the No. 1 seed following the eight-game Tuesday qualifier after averaging 236, had a first-round bye during Wednesday’s bracketed match play. Game 1 has admittedly been a problem in these best-of-three matches; in fact, he dropped all three during his three matches en route to the title.
“It’s been a tough go. I’ve decided to go with the (PBA50 pro John) Janawicz’s theory of throwing shinier balls to start, which is against what I’ve done forever,” said Barnes, who is battling back and hip problems. “They turn out to be right as the matches go on.
“But I’ve got to fix Game 1 … I’ve had some bad openers. Some of it is the body isn’t loose yet, but once it’s loose, that’s on me.”
Right-hander Brad Angelo, who was seeking his second straight PBA Central Region title after winning Sunday in Bowling Green, hit Barnes hard in the opening game of the quarterfinals by rolling the tournament’s first 300 to Barnes’ 212. But the latter then took the final two games 223-216 and 225-190 to advance.
In the semifinals against 69-year-old Middletown, Pa., right-hander Darryl Bower, one of four super seniors (age 60 and older) to reach match play, Barnes again dropped Game 1 215-205, leaving a pair of splits.
But he again rallied with two wins — 237-223 and 234-212 — to advance to the title match.
HAUGEN’S RUN; JOHNSON PERFECT
Haugen, the 2018 PBA50 Rookie of the Year, returned to Rebman for the first time since his 2018 regional win at the center.
“I met a kid when I bowled at Buckeye Lanes in North Olmsted back in the day (Shane Harmon). He’s 35 now and has two kids,” said Haugen, a Carefree, Ariz., right-hander who was seeking his 30th overall regional title. “The last time I came to see him, I won here. I almost won again, so I have have to come back more often.”
Haugen, the No. 3 seed after averaging 229.3 during qualifying, also had a first-round bye and then swept past Chuck Lupica III 262-221 and 235-193 in his opening match.
He then recorded a semifinal sweep, stopping Ashtabula super senior Dave Johnson 235-216 and 248-196 to advance against Barnes.
Johnson also had a thrill in his opening match against super senior Craig Y. Auerbach, winning Game 3 with the second 300 of the day en route to a 2-1 win.
Johnson, a 64-year-old right-hander with one PBA50 and two regional titles overall, had his first Tour 300 “in six or seven years.”
He also won his quarterfinal match to gain his first semifinal round in over a year, defeating No. 2 seed Michael Clark Jr. of North Olmsted 2-1. Johnson got the win after Clark left a stone 8-pin on his first shot in the 10th frame — but failed to convert the spare. The former gained a 204-203 win following a strike and covering a 10-pin spare in the 10th.
“I was torn on how to throw at it. Usually I hook it, but I decided to go straight and hard,” said the 52-year-old right-hander, who finished second to Angelo in Bowling Green on Sunday. “It wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last.”
Johnson admittedly felt “lucky” to advance.
“I knew he could shut me out with another strike. To stone an eight like that and miss it … it was a gift,” Johnson said.
But after struggling during the PBA50 Tour season, Johnson was happy with his finish.
“I never missed the hole … that was probably the best 196 game I’ve ever shot in my life,” said Johnson, who went a PBA-record 42 years between regional titles before winning in 2023 in Wooster. “It was a sad year for me. I just didn’t match up at all and only made four checks.
“I think the problem was I wasn’t lofting the ball. The guys who did were making money. So I started doing that yesterday and it helped.”
TITLE MATCH
As was the case in his previous two matches, Barnes dropped Game 1 of the title match to Haugen 238-236 despite a four-bagger. His one poor shot came on his first ball in the 10th frame when he left a 4-8 spare on a double.
“The left lane was super tight, and I threw the shot I wanted to. I felt if I got the ball right a little quicker that that was where Haugen was and it would pick up and face up,” Barnes said. “Instead, it went right through it.
“So I ended up moving a couple more (boards). I took me awhile to get far enough right. It just seemed to be getting slicker.”
Barnes found the answer in Game 2, starting with three strikes and then finishing with strikes on six of his last seven shots for a 265-201 win, Haugen, meanwhile, left five straight nine counts, including three 7-pins.
In Game 3, Haugen started with a double but left a 4-7-10 split in the fourth frame followed by three more nine counts before three more strikes.
Barnes started slowly, eventually moving a combined five boards to get to the position he wanted and reduced his ball speed. He then had five strikes after leaving a 2-7 “baby split” and covering it in the fourth frame en route to a 246-210 win and the title.
“A little of it was carry, but I made a couple of bad shots in the middle of the match against Barnes and you just can’t give him that,” Haugen said. “He bowled so well (Tuesday) and led the tournament. I have no problem with the tournament leader winning.
“I would have liked it to have been me, but at the end of the day, he bowled the better match and deserved to win.”
Haugen will be driving back to his Arizona home. He admittedly has been experiencing thumb problems during the PBA50 Tour run through the Midwest and will attempt to fix the problem.
“I sucks because I’m really bowling well right now and the TOC is right around the corner,” Haugen said,, adding he will bowl more regional events in the West. “But I made this plan and I plan to stick to it.”
Barnes, who was making his first appearance at Rebman Recreation, will spend the weekend visiting friends in Malvern before heading to the PBA50 Tournament of Champions in Morgantown, W.Va. — an event held in Fairlawn a year ago. It also will mean taking a few days off after going about 60 straight on the lanes.
“I don’t know if it’s the best timing for me because I like to bowl a lot,” said Barnes, who earned $2,000 with the win. “But I need the mental break more than anything.
“I needed all those days at the beginning to get things back on the rails. But now that I’m on the back side of that, I’m trying to make up for a bad first half of the year and trying to save it.”
With the TOC ahead and standing fourth on the PBA50 Tour points list, there are more goals ahead.
NOTEBOOK: Rebman Recreation pro Rick Zakrajsek has already discussed returning the event in 2026 for its 18th year overall, but the PBA50 Tour schedule will determine dates. Nearly 100 bowlers, including those with special needs whose participation was paid for by tournament sponsors, participated in Monday’s pro-am event. Zakrajsek plans on continuing his pre-tournament qualifiers for both the regular and senior regionals next season. … Hudson right-hander John Brockway fell in the first round to Angelo 226-189 and 215-201, but earned his first PBA50 regional check. “I threw the ball better than I scored,” said Brockway, who serves as Hudson High School’s boys bowling coach. … Vermillion’s John Shreve Jr. went to three first-round games before falling to Lupica, dropping Game 3 200-168. He had two splits in the final game. … Other area cashers outside of the top 12 include Strasburg’s Steve Easterday, Wadsworth’s Dale Csuhta, Streetsboro’s John Kertis (the defending champion) and Wooster’s Michael Burns — all super seniors — and Painesville’s Charles (Butch) Ferrell. In all, 15 players cashed among the 47 entries, not including the top two super seniors outside of the top 15. … The next PBA50 regional is Friday through Sunday in Charleston, W.Va.
See complete standings here:
https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=6809432ca0f8de1a4bb813d1