FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Aug. 30, 2019)
Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations
Professional Bowlers Association | 55 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 401 | Chicago, IL 60604
bill.vint@pba.com | cell: 414.339.0404
AT AGE 22, SIMONSEN BECOMES YOUNGEST TO QUALIFY FOR PBA HALL OF FAME BALLOT…IN 2033
With his victory Thursday in the PBA Bear Open, the second event in the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing, Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, became the youngest player in PBA history to qualify for eventual placement on the PBA Hall of Fame ballot. The thing is, he has a considerable wait ahead of him.
There are two key qualifiers to become PBA HOF-eligible. First is “title eligibility,” which calls for winning a minimum of 10 “standard” PBA Tour titles or five “standard” titles plus two majors. The Bear Open was Simonsen’s fifth standard title, won at age 22 years, 235 days. He also has won two majors: the 2016 USBC Masters and the PBA Players Championship earlier this year.
The second qualifier to get on the PBA HOF ballot is 20 years of PBA membership. Assuming he will remain a member, Simonsen will reach his 20-year requirement in 2033.
In that unusual record category, Simonsen displaced EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Ind., his victim in Thursday’s Bear Open title match. Tackett became HOF “title eligible” when he won the 2017 PBA Tournament of Champions in Shawnee, Okla., at the age of 24 years, 191 days. Tackett, who now owns a total of 13 PBA Tour titles, also is on the wait list for participation eligibility. He’ll be on the HOF ballot a year ahead of Simonsen, in 2032.
MYKEL HOLLIMAN TOPS PBA TOUR ROOKIES IN COMPETITION POINTS
Thanks to his runner-up finish in the USBC Masters, 26-year-old Mykel Holliman of Collierville, Tenn., continues to pace rookies on the overall 2019 PBA Points list, which is a barometer of how players on the 2019 Bowl4life PBA Rookie Watch list are faring in their first year of PBA Tour competition. The points list will be one of the factors voters consider when they select the 2019 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year. Other rookies on the watch list are Kenneth Ryan of Farmingdale, N.J.; Wichita’s Patrick Hanrahan; Mike Coffey of Melbourne, Fla.; Jake Rollins of Glen Rock, N.J. and Greg Young of Viera, Fla. Fans can follow the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour points race by clicking on this link: https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsList/132?list=12
The 2019 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year will receive a $2,500 bonus from Chuck Gardner’s Bowl4Life Foundation and the foundation will donate an additional $2,500 to a youth bowler scholarship in the ROY’s name.
PBA REGIONAL UPDATE: PB3 WINS EIGHTH PBA50 REGIONAL TITLE IN COLDWATER
Two days after the PBA Tour’s BowlerStore.com Classic completed play in Coldwater, Ohio, PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., defeated Neil Kassel of Beavercreek, Ohio by 93 pins to win his eighth career PBA50 Regional title and a $1,500 prize in the PBA50 Coldwater/Roto Grip Central/Midwest Open at Pla-Mor Lanes on Sunday.
In the eliminator format tournament, Saturday’s top 11 semifinalists after eight games returned Sunday to bowl four additional games. The top eight advanced and bowled two more games. The remaining four bowlers bowled one final game on the same pair of lanes and the 15-game total pinfall determined the champion.
• The PBA closes its August schedule of Regional activity with the PBA60 Wilson & Sons Pest Control Super Senior Open at Victory Lanes Family Entertainment Center in Mooresville, N.C., Aug. 29-31. The extended Labor Day weekend also includes the PBA50 Strike Zone Alleys Eastern Open presented by Hammer in Pottsville, Pa.; the PBA Illinois Valley Midwest Open at I.V. Super Bowl in Peru, Ill., and the PBA50 Mooresville South Open presented By Columbia 300 at Victory Lanes Family Entertainment Center in Mooresville, N.C.
• The PBA Regional calendar moves into fall with a pair of events over the Sept. 6-8 weekend: the Boss Snow Plows/Ebonite Central/Midwest Open at PinHeads in Fishers, Ind., and the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort Southwest Invitational at FireLake Bowling Center in Shawnee, Okla.
• The Sept. 13-15 PBA Regional schedule features the PBA50 King Pin Lanes Eastern Open in Rome, N.Y.; the Sturgis/Storm Central/Midwest Open at Sturgis Bowl in Sturgis, Mich.; the Fayetteville South Open at Lafayette Lanes in Fayetteville, N.C.; the Liberal Kansas Southwest Open at Ayr Lanes in Liberal, Kan., and a doubleheader at AMF Mardi Gras Lanes in Sacramento, Calif. – the PBA and PBA50 West/Northwest Capital City Opens presented by DV8 and Genesis.
• PBA Regional activity scheduled for the Sept. 20-22 weekend includes the PBA/PBA50 Over/Under Doubles at Millsboro Lanes in Millsboro, Del.; the EZ Bowl Central Open in Bluffton, Ind.; the Odessa Southwest Super Regional at Diamond Lanes in Odessa, Texas, and a tripleheader including the PBA Paradise Lanes Northwest/West Open, PBA50 Paradise Lanes Gary Mage Northwest/West Senior Open (both presented by 900 Global) plus the Jeanne Naccarato Women’s Open in Tacoma, Wash. On Saturday, Sept. 21, Ten Pin Alley in Fitchburg, Wis., also will host the Ten Pin Alley Midwest Open.
• September’s busy calendar of PBA Regional events will conclude over the Sept. 27-29 weekend with the Bowlers Discount Pro Shop East Open presented by Radical at Terrace Lanes in Frederick, Md.; the PBA50 Mel Westrich Memorial Central/Midwest Open at Delphos Recreation in Delphos, Ohio; the PBA50 J&L Sports South Open at Paradise Lanes in Spartanburg, S.C.; the back-to-back PBA50 Junction City Bowl Southwest/Midwest Open I and II one-day events in Junction City, Kan.; and the 17th annual Double Decker Lanes West/Northwest Open presented by Roto Grip in Rohnert Park, Calif.
• Competition in the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour points competition ends Saturday when Parkside Lanes in Aurora, Ill., hosts the Illinois Open stepladder finals, concluding the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing. FloBowling’s live coverage of the final round of match play begins at noon Eastern followed by the five-man stepladder finals at 4:30 p.m. Updated points standings will be posted shortly after the completion of the Illinois Open finals at: https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsList/132?list=10. The FloBowling PBA Summer Tour points competitions will determine the USBC Cup points leaders, and the eight qualifiers for both the FloBowling PBA ATX Invite and the PBA China Tiger Cup Invitational.
• PBA Hall of Famer Danny Wiseman will host his 20th anniversary Youth Scholarship Tournament Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12-13, at AMF Country Club Lanes in Baltimore. For complete information about the event, including how to enter, visit: https://pjbtbowlingseries.com/6843-2/?fbclid=IwAR25lmfG65mCdSbEp4ijE5qIXkt074TmUHPhR65T28P_42MyHjQrhydiOvA
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