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Wayne Webb Caps 2010 PBA Senior Tour Season with Win in Senior Jackson Open and Senior Player of the Year
JACKSON, Mich. (Aug. 24, 2010) – Professional Bowlers Association 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 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.
Round of 16 (best of five games, losers eliminated, $1,300 each) Traber def. Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3-2.
Webb def. Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 3-1.
King def. Roy Buckley, New Albany, Ohio, 3-2.
Donaghue def. Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 3-1.
Baker def. Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 3-0.
Johnson def. Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 3-1.
Faragon def. Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 3-1.
Csuhta def. Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 3-0.
Round of 24 (best of five games, losers eliminated, $1,150 each) Traber def. Peter Knopp, Germany, 3-0.
Webb def. Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3-0.
Buckley def. Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3-0.
Donaghue def. Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 3-1.
Henson def. Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., 3-0.
Johnson def. Mike Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3-1.
Faragon def. Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 3-0.
Mora def. Pete Kaczmarczyk, Warren, Mich., 3-1.
Round of 32 (best of five games, losers eliminated, $1,050 each) Knopp def. Andrew Ippolito, Forest Hills, N.Y., 3-1.
Webb def. John Chapman, Canada, 3-0.
Buckley def. Derek Smith, Hicksville, Ohio, 3-1.
Donaghue def. John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 3-0.
Henson def. Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 3-0.
Johnson def. Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3-0.
Faragon def. Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 3-1.
Mora def. Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3-1.
About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is an organization of more than 3,800 of the best bowlers from 13 countries who compete in Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, Regional and Senior Tour events. Nearly one million ESPN viewers watch PBA Tour on Sundays during the tour season and thousands watch PBA activities online by using PBA’s video streaming service, Xtra Frame. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Bayer, Brunswick, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, One A Day Men’s 50+ Multivitamin, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.
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