Professional Bowlers Association

Norm Duke solidified his status as leading contender for IOF/PBA Player of the Year honors with his fifth win of the year in the Greater Rochester Open at Marcel's Olympic Bowl, Rochester, N.Y. Duke upset leading qualifier and local favorite Doug Kent of nearby Canandaigua, 216-190, after Kent had dominated this tournament leading by more than 300 pins through 42 games of qualifying and match play.

Second-seeded Duke earned $16,000 for his ninth PBA title. Kent collected $8,500 as runnerup and is still in pursuit of his first national PBA title.

Duke opened the title game with a triple and Kent fell behind early, and then suffered a critical open fifth frame when he failed to convert the 2-8-10 split. Duke allowed Kent a brief glimmer of hope when he missed a 10-pin conversion In his eighth frame, but Kent left back-to-back solid 10-pins to spell his fate.

"The advantage is always with the player coming in with a win under his belt," Duke said. "I just simplified things tonight and wanted to hit the pocket. I made one bad mistake in missing the 10-pin in the eighth frame, but fortunately it didn't cost me.

"My hat's off to Doug, who really deserved to win and I think will win many tittles out here."

In the first game of the ESPN finals, three-time '94 winner Bryan Goebel was seeking back-to-back titles and started with a win against crowd favorite, Tom Baker of Buffalo, 209-200. Goebel continued against PBA career earnings leader Pete Weber of St. Ann, Mo., 248-204, before falling to Duke, 227-201. Goebel, Merriam, Kan., earned $5,000 for third place, Weber took home $4,000 for fourth and Baker (whose last tour victory was here in 1986) won $3,000.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Goebel defeated Baker, 209-200; Goebel defeated Weber, 248-204; Duke defeated Goebel, 227-201; and in the championship game, Duke defeated Kent, 216-190.

42 GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY		10204		242.9		17-7-0		510		10714
2		Norm Duke, Edmond, OK		9965		237.3		13-10-1		405		10370
3		Pete Weber, St. Ann, M		9745		232.0		15-9-0		450		10195
4		Bryan Goebel, Merriam, KS		9650		229.2		17-7-0		510		10160
5		Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY		9593		228.4		16-7-1		495		10088
6		Walter Ray Williams Jr., Stockton, CA		9652		229.8		14-10-0		420		10072		$2,650
7		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis, IN		9651		229.8		13-11-0		390		10041		2,500
8		Jess Stayrook, Tempe, AZ		9603		228.6		13-11-0		390		9993		2,350
9		Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX		9623		229.1		12-12-0		360		9983		2,200
10		Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Hts., OH		9610		229.0		11-13-0		330		9940		2,050
11		Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, IL		9560		227.6		12-11-1		375		9935		1,900
12		Ron Williams, Fort Worth, TX		9612		228.9		10-14-0		300		9912		1,800
13		Bill Oakes, Lawton, OK		9525		226.8		11-12-1		345		9870		1,700
14		Andrew Neuer, Milton, PA		9560		227.6		10-14-0		300		9860		1,600
#15		Ed Richardson, Corpus Christi, TX		9444		224.9		12-11-1		375		9819		1,500
16		Jeff Germann, Wheeling, WV		9407		225.9		10-14-0		300		9707		1,400
17		Pete Maybank II, Cheboygan, MI		9375		223.2		13-10-1		405		9780		1,350
18		Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ		9509		226.4		9-15-0		270		9779		1,300
19		Jeff Lizzi, Medford, NY		9455		225.1		10-14-0		300		9755		1,250
20		Parker Bohn III, Jackson, NJ		9461		225.3		9-14-1		285		9746		1,200
21		Don Moser, San Jose, CA		9362		222.9		12-12-0		360		9722		1,150
22		George Branham III, Indianapolis, IN		9211		219.3		10-13-1		315		9526		1,100
23		John Gant, Winston-Salem, NC		9136		217.5		7-17-0		210		9346		1,060
24		Marc McDowell, Madison, WI		9026		214.9		8-16-0		240		9266		1,020

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
*25		Wayne Webb, Canandaigua, NY	$980
26		Billy Odikowski, Grand Rapids, MI	840
27		Randy Pedersen, Hollywood, FL	820
28		Eugene McCune, Munster, IN	800
29		Jim Gibson Jr., LeCrescenta, CA	780
30		Bob Markiewicz, San Diego, CA	760
31		Tommy Delutz Jr., Jamaica, NY	750
32		Brian Davis, Casselberry, FL	740
33		Justin Hromek, Andover, KS	730
34		Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD	720
35		Ray Szajko, South Bend, IN	710
36		Joe Hutchinson, Scranton, PA	705
37		Joe Firpo, Lake Worth, FL	700
38		Dave Wodka, Las Vegas, NV	695
39		Del Ballard Jr., Richardson, TX	688
#		Curtis Odom, Winston-Salem, NC	688
41		Steve Wishner, Port Chester, NY	680
42		Ryan Shafer, Elmira, NY	675
43		Dave Arnold, Gilbert, AZ	670
44		Adam Apo, Florissant, MO	665
45		Mike Shady, Ripon, WI	660
@46		Jay Nephew, Rochester, NY	655
47		Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, KS	650
48		Danny Wiseman, Portland, OR	645