By JILL WINTERS
PBA Communications
HAMMOND, Ind. – One of the greatest bowling champions made even more history Thursday.
After becoming the latest female bowler to surpass $1 million in career earnings on the women’s tour earlier this year, Liz Johnson became the first woman to ever win a PBA50 national title at the South Shore Classic.
She did it less than 10 days after bowling 56 games and finishing in 10th place at the Go Bowling U.S. Women’s Open.
After converting a 9-pin on her first shot in the 10th frame, the PWBA Hall of Famer needed seven pins for the victory over five-time PBA50 champion Brian LeClair.
Using the same ball she had thrown for all 23 games in the tournament, she let go of the ball and went down to one knee. After getting nine, she clenched her right fist in celebration. She earned the 227-224 win to add another incredible accomplishment to her legendary career.
“It’s been a fabulous week. I was able to play my ‘A’ game all week,” Johnson said. “The fact that I was able to trust myself where I was playing. I haven’t really been in that part of the lane in a while. Trusting my shots, trusting my instincts. We had to put the pedal at full speed.”
Johnson loved her look on the right lane where she struck in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth frames. On the left lane she had flat 10-pins in the first, third and seventh frames.
LeClair had a pocket 7-10 for an open in the first frame followed by a double and two spares. He was able to put four strikes together in the sixth through ninth frame to keep the pressure on Johnson.
Yet, his first shot in the 10th went through the nose leaving a 3-pin. He made the spare, struck and sat down as Johnson made history.
Coming into this year, she was saying “26 in ‘26” seeking to win her 26th PWBA title in 2026. She still has time to reach that goal, and this was a bit of an unexpected surprise.
“I am very, very fortunate that I have been able to do this for a living for over 30 years and hopefully, I have a lot more time left,” Johnson said. “Continue to keep doing this as long as I can.”
Johnson earned the top seed in the stepladder finals after games of 237, 248, 258 and 234 in bracket match play. She is on the roster for several more PBA50 Tour stops including the Akron Classic at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, the Bud Moore Players Championship and now, the Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions. She will then compete in PWBA Tour Championship Week from Aug. 11-18 at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights.
To get to the title match, LeClair was able to out strike Springfield left-hander Michael Haggitt, 244-191. Haggitt, who won his first PBA50 title at Olympia Lanes in 2023, came into the stepladder as the fourth seed. He defeated Chris Warren in the opening match.
Warren started with a double and a spare, while Haggitt went strike, spare then five strikes in a row for the lead. Warren put three strikes together before back-to-back spares in the seventh and eighth frames. Haggitt alternated spares and strikes over his final four shots for 239 as Warren finished with 215.
Haggitt kept striking in his match against Rolando Sebelén. Both opened with a double and spare. Haggitt added another double as Sebelén went strike, spare then a double. Haggitt opened in the seventh, yet Sebelén returned the favor with an open in the eighth. Haggitt responded with three straight strikes and a spare for the 219-184 win.
Among other area players, Akron’s Don Hogue finished eighth and former Canton resident Tony Johnson was ninth.
Next up is the PBA60 World Series of Bowling II beginning July 3 at Columbus Square Bowling Palace in Columbus.
2026 PBA50 South Shore Classic Final Standings:
- Liz Johnson $7,500
- Brian LeClair $4,000
- Michael Haggitt $3,200
- Rolando Sebelén $2,500
- Chris Warren $2,000
MATCH SCORES:
Match 1: Haggitt def. Warren 239-215
Match 2: Haggitt def. Sebelén 219-184
Match 3: LeClair def. Haggitt 244-191
Championship match: Johnson def. LeClair 227-224
See complete final standings here: https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=69a8d80c41756021753815b3