Bowling Balls by Storm - The Bowlers's Company™

previous article »

Bowling News USA - August 27, 2010 Wayne Webb is PBA Senior Player of the Year...

PBA Hall of Famer Wayne Webb capped the 2009-10 Senior Tour season with a win in the Senior Jackson Open Tuesday and he clinched Senior Player of the Year honors in the process. He joins fellow Hall of Famer Mark Roth as the only bowlers to win both the PBA Tour and Senior Tour Player of the Year awards.

Webb, the 1980 PBA Tour Player of the Year, defeated Ray Johnson of Battle Creek, Mich., 211-194, in the championship match at Airport Lanes for his third Senior Tour title of the season and fifth of his career. He also won the USBC Senior Masters and Senior Columbus Open earlier this year.

Nursing a knee injury suffered in the PBA Senior U.S. Open in June, Webb qualified 40th after the first round in Jackson and had to fight back to qualify 25th to make the cut for match play after the second round. He then won six matches Tuesday on his way to the victory.

“I thought about withdrawing after the second round but because Player of the Year was on the line I felt I should keep going,” said Webb, who also owns 20 PBA Tour titles. “The whole tournament was a roller coaster ride.”

Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. had a shot at Senior Player of the Year with a win and a fourth- place finish or worse by Webb. Williams, who won a record seventh PBA Player of the Year title at the conclusion of the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season in April, was trying to become the first player to win both the Senior Tour and PBA Tour Player of the Year in the same season, but was eliminated in the best-of-five-game Round of 16 by Dale Traber of Cedarburg, Wis., 3-2.

Mark Williams of Beaumont, Texas, who also had a shot at Senior Player of the Year going into the final event with a victory, also lost in the Round of 16.

“It didn’t look like it was going to happen,” said the 53-year-old Webb, “The way he (Walter Ray) was bowling, I don’t know if I could have beat him.

“With my knee, I felt lucky to still be in the tournament. After awhile I was just running on adrenaline.”

Roth won PBA Player of the Year crowns in 1977, ’78, ’79 and ’84 and Senior Player of the Year in 2002.

“Mark was my idol growing up and I’m honored to be in his company,” said Webb, who is a bowling proprietor in Columbus, Ohio. “Winning Player of the Year 30 years apart is pretty cool — it’s something they can’t take away from you.”

In the semifinals, Webb defeated Patrick King of Yankton, S.D., 236-198, and Johnson defeated Dale Csuhta of Wadsworth, Ohio, 232-226, to advance to the championship match. Webb earned $8,000 for the win and Johnson $4,500 for second.


PBA SENIOR JACKSON OPEN

Airport Lanes, Jackson, Mich., Aug. 24


Championship Match

Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio ($8,000) def. Ray Johnson, Battle Creek, Mich. ($4,500), 211-194

Semifinal Round (losers earn $3,000)

Webb def. Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 236-198.

Johnson def. Dale Csuhta, Wadsworth, Ohio, 232-226.

Round of 8 (best of three games, losers eliminated, $1,700 each)

Webb def. Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 2-1.

King def. Patric Donaghue, Honeoye Falls, N.Y., 2-1.

Johnson def. Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-0.

Csuhta def. Bob Faragon, Schenectady, N.Y., 2-0.

(courtesy pba.com)

Share this Story:

previous article »