VERNON HILLS, Ill. — A closing double enabled Steven Brinkman of Sussex,, Wis., to unofficially capture the 2025 Petersen Classic at Vernon Hills Bowlero on Friday.
According to a Petersen Facebook post, Brinkman took the lead in the event with four squads to go, with a pin count of 1,681. He bested Jonathon Schalow’s score of 1,670 that was bowled Aug. 25.
Brinkman led the Jerry Marrs squad, but Marrs brought in a strong squad with two past winners — Liz Johnson and Kevin McCune. The remaining top five bowlers on the squad were Marrs, 1,566, Johnson, 1,552, Angelique Delasandro, 1,552 and Rick Hara with 1539. As a squad they also took the lead with 45,242.
Brinkman, when contacted by https://www.11thframe.com, said he was told, “Official results not out yet but leader has not changed since Friday.”
Brinkman had games of 190, 221, 181, 244, 196, 238, 210 and 201.
Brinkman, a two-time USBC Open Championships winner, in a message exchange with https://www.11thframe.com, called his Petersen “quite the experience in a positive way.”
The right-hander used a Roto Grip Tour Dynamix and Storm Ice and said he played the lanes “really straight” and “varied my speed based on the lane.”
Like Schalow, Brinkman said he was subject to some classic Petersen Classic distractions, including being moved to the breakdown pair.
“Nothing unusual happened the first four games,” Brinkman told 11thframe.com. “They played some train noises and even put up the bumpers unexpectedly across all the lanes for about 15 seconds. During the second set in game 6 on 1-2, we had a short ‘lane breakdown,’ but it only lasted a minute or two. During game 7, about in the 6th frame, our lanes broke down for about 5 minutes, then they moved us to lanes 17-18. That pair hooked out the window. I had someone else on the pair throw the first shot and he took out the 7-pin. I grabbed my Ice and fired it at the head pin. I ended up getting spares for the rest of that game for 210.
“We got to the last game, and there was only one short ‘lane breakdown.’ I had to tone down my speed from the previous pair as that lane had some oil on it, mainly near the head-pin on the right lane (left two 5-pins and a 5-7 on that lane). I looked up at my score in the 7th and thought, if I strike out (had 2 strikes so far in the game) I might be able to pass Jon. Made an adjustment and struck in the 9th, and then caught a double in the 10th. I thought I needed the fill ball to beat Jon by 1 so when I got a 9-count on the fill, I was kind of bummed. Then I found out I had the lead and was in shock. Realizing I took the lead was so surreal. I am not sure if it has sunk in yet!”
Brinkman’s first strike in the 10th was flush and his second tripped the 10-pin.
“It was an out-of-body experience,” Brinkman said. “Unreal. Hopefully it holds up.”
The Petersen, which moved back to the Chicago area from Milwaukee in 2024, was founded in 1921 by Louis P. Petersen at Archer-35th Recreation in Chicago, where it remained through the 1992-93 season, with its long run there ending when the monsoon rains of the summer of 1993 damaged the building. The tournament then moved to Hoffman Estates, Bolingbrook, and River Grove in the Chicago suburbs.
The 2024 champion was PBA Hall of Famer Steve Jarod, who shot 1,607 in the win.
For complete unofficial results from the event, go to: