Croucher earns No. 1 seed for match play in Jackson

05/13/08

2008 PBA Senior Tour #3

Airport Lanes in Jackson, Mich. (May 10-13, 2008)

2008PBAS03KevinCroucher.jpg The last time Kevin Croucher put himself in a position to earn two byes in match play, he parlayed that advantage to his first career Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Senior Tour title.

Croucher will look to repeat the feat Tuesday as he earned the top seed for match play and byes through the Rounds of 32 and 24 by leading the field with a 3,727 18-game pinfall in the 2008 PBA Senior Jackson Open at Airport Lanes.

Last August, Croucher qualified seventh in the PBA Senior Decatur Open in Decatur, Ill., and was one of eight players to earn two byes. He won all four of his matches, including the title match in a one-ball sudden death roll-off after he and Gary Smith tied at 227. This time, Croucher earned the top seed by averaging 233.63 over his eight games on Monday.

"I started the day off well with a 279 and 235 and that got me up there quite a ways," Croucher (Grants Pass, Ore.) said. "The shot was a little different from yesterday. You really had to stay further right. There were some tough pairs so you just had to hang in and shoot 200 on those and then got some big scores when you can. If you're patient enough you could do well on what was out there."

2008PBAS03RohnMorton.jpg Croucher was trailing Sunday's leader Rohn Morton (Vancouver, Wash.) heading into the final game of the night, but he shot 267 to take the overall lead. He'll look to bounce back from a slow start to the season after finishing fifth in the 2007 PBA Senior Point Rankings.

"The first week the shot was very different than it was on that pattern last year and that was one of the first times where I didn't even cash," Croucher said of the season-opening PBA Senior Dayton Classic.

"Last week I threw the ball well and cashed but didn't make match play because I couldn't carry. This week my bowling balls really like the condition and I'm just able to knock down more pins."

Morton finished second with 3,700 while rookie Brian Brazeau (Ocala, Fla.) finished third with 3,681. Two-time PBA Senior Tour titlist Henry Gonzalez (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished fourth with 3,665 while PBA Senior Dayton Classic champion Keith Sharp (Orlando, Fla.) finished fifth with 3,660.

Rounding out the eight bowlers who earned two byes were Ron Profitt (Brookville, Ohio), John Bennett (Clarkston, Mich.) and Bob Brady (Santa Monica, Calif.).

A handful of PBA Hall of Famers advanced to match play including Johnny Petraglia (Manalapan, N.J.) who finished 15th, Dave Soutar (Bradenton, Fla.) who was 20th, Mark Roth (Fulton, N.Y.) who finished 25th and three-time defending PBA Senior Player of the Year Tom Baker (King, N.C.) who was 28th.

Match play gets underway Tuesday with qualifiers 17-32 bowling each other at 9 a.m. EST followed by those winners taking on qualifiers 9-16 at 11 a.m. The Round of 24 winners will face the top eight from qualifying at 1:30 p.m.

The Round of 8 takes place at 6:30 p.m. with the final two bowlers rolling off for the $8,000 top prize Tuesday evening at Airport Lanes.


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Morton sets the pace after Day One in PBA Senior Jackson Open



Round Two Qualifying


Players with position, hometown and 16-game pinfall. Top 32 advance to match play. Positions 33-53 cash. $700 indicates Super Senior check – 60 years and older.

1, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,727
2, Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., 3,700
3, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 3,681
4, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3,665
5, Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., 3,660
6, Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 3,648
7, John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich., 3,639
8, Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,631
9, Doug Spicer, Canton, Mich., 3,624
10, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,620
11, (TIE) Kenny Parks, East Chicago, Ind., and Rick Vittone, Canada, 3,606
13, Dennis Psaropoulos, Lake Worth, Fla., 3,585
14, Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 3,577
15, John Petraglia, Manalapan, N.J., 3,574
16, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 3,567
17, Mel Wolf, Jackson, Mich., 3,561
18, Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 3,546
19, Karl Wolf, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., 3,545
20, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 3,531
21, (TIE) Mark Weller, Jonesville, Mich., and Vince Honeycutt, Monroe, Ga., 3,528
23, Sam Zurich, Grant, Fla., 3,524
24, Norb Wetzel, Fond du Lac, Wis., 3,522
25, Mark Roth, Fulton, N.Y., 3,517
26, (TIE) John Shreve Sr., Elyria, Ohio, and Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 3,515
28, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,513
29, Robert Flaws, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 3,504
30, Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 3,493
31, Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., 3,486
32, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,485

Missed Cut:
33, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 3,479, $900
34, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,467, $900
35, Chuck Haus, Linden, Mich., 3,460, $900
36, James Stanley, Cincinnati, Ohio, 3,457, $900
37, Dave Bernhardt, Shelby Twp., Mich., 3,456, $900
38, (TIE) Don Sylvia, Discovery Bay, Calif., and Ted Hannahs, Zanesville, Ohio, 3,452, $900
40, Matt Buxton, Jefferson City, Mo., 3,434, $900
41, Steven Jansson, Barnes, Wis., 3,429, $900
42, Paul McCordic, Sugarland, Texas, 3,427, $900
43, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,426, $900
44, Michael Truitt, Orland Park, Ill., 3,416, $900
45, Mickey Higham, Bowling Green, Ohio, 3,411, $900
46, (TIE) Roy Buckley, New Albany, Ohio, and Jim Shuck, Huntingdon, Pa., 3,410, $900
48, Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 3,402, $900
49, Mark Glover, Woodbridge, Va., 3,394, $900
50, Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., 3,393, $900
51, Linda Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,392, $900
52, Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,387, $900
53, Scott Weston, Auburn, Mich., 3,381, $900
54, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,378
55, (TIE) Bill Spigner, Vernon Hills, Ill., and Marc Lineberry, Camanche, Iowa, 3,377
57, (TIE) Jerry Lau, St. Peters, Mo., and Pete Bryan, Laurel, Del., 3,375
59, Ken Waters, Kingsport, Tenn., 3,370, $700
60, Michael Chrzanowski, Shepherd, Mich., 3,367
61, (TIE) Doug Evans, Southgate, Mich., and Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 3,365
63, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3,362
64, Michael Longmire, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,356
65, (TIE) Bobby Johnson, Chillicothe, Ohio, and Larry Galloway, Fresno, Calif., 3,353, $700
67, Dannie Hettinger, Circleville, Ohio, 3,351
68, (TIE) Larry Montgomery, Safety Harbor, Fla., and Frank Gallo Jr., Newport News, VA., 3,349, $700
70, Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., 3,348
71, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3,344
72, Leo Scantamburlo, Riverview, Mich., 3,337
73, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 3,332
74, (TIE) Fred McClain, Lincoln Park, Mich., and Ron Garr, Ridgedale, Mo., 3,327, $700
76, Leo Plaia, New Orleans, 3,321, $700
77, Gregg Getzlow, St Peters, Mo., 3,318
78, Doug Arden, Havelock, N.C., 3,316
79, Vince Mazzanti Jr., Levittown, Pa., 3,313
80, (TIE) Perry Keplinger, Amherst, Ohio, and Steve Fulton, Lansing, Mich., 3,309
82, Vic Portalatin, Jackson, Mich., 3,308
83, (TIE) Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., and Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 3,297
85, Mark Fahy, Chicago, Ill., 3,296
86, (TIE) William Keenan, Jr., Orlando, Fla., and Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., 3,290
88, (TIE) Randy Rau, Belleville, Ill, and Patrick Cahalan, Maricopa, Ariz., 3,289
90, (TIE) Aron Lipshy, Roseville, Mich., and Jerry Owczarski, South Lyon, Mich., 3,288
92, Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 3,276
93, Barry Mefford, Aurora, Ill, 3,271
94, George Miller III, Grand Rapids, Mich., 3,270
95, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 3,260
96, Ray Johnson, Battle Creek, Mich., 3,254
97, Tim Stancil, North Augusta, SC, 3,244
98, Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., 3,240
99, Teata Semiz, North Brunswick, N.J., 3,239
100, (TIE) Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, and Bill Hewlett, Meridian, Idaho, 3,231
102, Michael LaRocca, New Hudson, Mich., 3,227
103, John Hunt, Grayling, Mich., 3,226
104, Rod Michael, Florissant, Mo., 3,224
105, Mark Koehler, Saint Clair Shores, Mich., 3,209
106, John McClure, Maumee, Ohio, 3,208
107, Patrick King, Yankton, S.D., 3,200
108, Larry Graybeal, Elizabethton, Tenn., 3,191
109, Allen Meskan, Wood Dale, Ill., 3,188
110, Bill Argenbright, Fisherville, Va., 3,184
111, Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio, 3,178
112, D.A. Carbone, Broomfield, Colo., 3,172
113, Barry Witmer, St. Charles, Mo., 3,166
114, Timothy Bates, Orlando, Fla., 3,154
115, (TIE) Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., and Bob Oakes, Akron, Ohio, 3,152
117, Chuck Huckelberry, Rockford, Ill., 3,147
118, John Milletics, Sandusky, Mich., 3,143
119, Terry Hockstad, Shelby Twp, Mich., 3,140
120, Steve Rosen, Toronto, Canada, 3,136
121, Fred Kaczmarczyk, Martinez, Calif., 3,124
122, Jamie Lawrence, Camillus, N.Y., 3,122
123, Thomas Kelley Sr., Omaha, Neb., 3,109
124, Dan Clausse, Reno, Nev., 3,108
125, Fred Baldwin, Sturgis, Mich., 3,107
126, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3,104
127, Mark Fordin, Oceanside, N.Y., 3,103
128, Edward Buco, Berlin, Md., 3,083
129, Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., 3,079
130, James Scott, Villa Park, Ill, 3,077
131, (TIE) George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., and Jay Aono, Boise, Idaho, 3,071
133, Dale Diamond, Springfield, Ill., 3,065
134, Oliver Mabry, West Bloomfield, Mich., 3,055
135, (TIE) Frank Fiscello, Bloomfield, N.J., and Charles Sitko, Jackson, Mich., 3,051
137, Charlie Juliano, Batavia, N.Y., 3,049
138, Frank Ensweiler, Lowell, Ind., 3,045
139, Don Boone, South Euclid, Ohio, 3,043
140, Douglas Weese, Carson City, Mich., 3,035
141, Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 3,026
142, Richard Felten, Rockville, Md., 3,016
143, Steve Tetil, Albion, Mich., 3,010
144, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 3,009
145, Ron Sandusky, Visalia, Calif., 3,007
146, Brian Buczek, Brighton, Mich., 3,004
147, Bob Brissette, Toledo, Ohio, 2,995
148, Bruce Himschoot, Sanford, Fla., 2,985
149, Joseph Venezio, Linden, N.J., 2,965
150, Larry Grandt, Gurnee, Ill, 2,944
151, Jim Hunt, Albion, Mich., 2,938
152, Howard Frostman, Washburn, Wis., 2,937
153, Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va., 2,919
154, Terence Freeman, Union City, Mich., 2,903
155, Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., 2,883
156, Dave Kangas, Gwinn, Mich., 2,850
157, Bob Powers, Port Charlotte, Fla., 2,849
158, Donald Greer, Bourbon, Ind., 1,522 (WD)
159, Harv Pallas, Stevensville, Mich., 1,098 (WD)

300 games (1) – Kenny Parks