Philip Ringener ended a 17-year drought by defeating Joe Firpo, 226-224, to earn his first PBA title. The win was worth $40,000 and qualified Ringener for his first Brunswick World Tournament of Champions. "I can't express the way I feel right now," said Ringener. "I've wanted this for so long and I've been so close. I've never had this feeling before." Ringener entered the title match as the Tour's most prolific non-champion, having amassed $456,256 in career earnings and finishing second four times. His most recent second-place came at the 1995 Bud Light Championship when he missed a pair of single-pin spares and lost by one pin. The finals were once again held in an arena setting at the State University of New York-Stony Brook and a capacity crowd looked on as Ringener dueled Firpo shot-for-shot in the final match. Firpo stepped up in the 10th needing a double and two pins to earn his first singles title (his lone win is a doubles title). Firpo got the first strike, but left a four-pin on his second shot to give Ringener the win. Earlier matches saw Bill Oakes defeat Mike Scroggins, 235-202, and Dave D'Entremont, 279-258, before falling to Firpo in the semifinal match, 268-216. Oakes, Lawton, Okla., earned $12,000 for third, D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, collected $9,000 for fourth and Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas received $7,000 for fifth. CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND | Pos. |  | Name, City/State | Total | Amount | | | 1 | | Philip Ringener, Big Spring, TX | 226 (1 game) | $40,000 | | 2 | | Joe Firpo, Bedford, TX | 492 (2 games) | 21,000 | | 3 | | Bill Oakes, Lawton, OK | 730 (3 games) | 12,000 | | 4 | | Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, OH | 258 (1 game) | 9,000 | | 5 | | Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, TX | 202 (1 game) | 7,000 | |
PLAYOFF RESULTS-Oakes defeated Scroggins, 235-202; Oakes defeated D'Entremont, 279-258; Firpo defeated Oakes, 268-216; and in the championship game, Ringener defeated Firpo, 226-224.
42-GAME TOTALS | | | Name, City | | Pins | | Avg | | WLT | | + | | Tot | | Amt | | | 1 | | Philip Ringener, Big Spring, TX | | 9513 | | 226.5 | | 19-5-0 | | 570 | | 10083 | | | | 2 | | Joe Firpo, Bedford, TX | | 9467 | | 225.4 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9917 | | | | #3 | | Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Hts., OH | | 9412 | | 224.1 | | 16-7-1 | | 495 | | 9907 | | | | 4 | | Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, TX | | 9230 | | 219.8 | | 17-6-1 | | 525 | | 9755 | | | | 5 | | Bill Oakes, Lawton, OK | | 9359 | | 222.8 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9749 | | | | 6 | | Bob Learn Jr., Erie, PA | | 9325 | | 222.0 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9745 | | $6,000 | | 7 | | Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, KS | | 9219 | | 219.5 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9669 | | 5,500 | | 8 | | Randy Pedersen, Hollywood, FL | | 9245 | | 220.1 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9665 | | 5,000 | | 9 | | Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, FL | | 9203 | | 219.1 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9593 | | 4,600 | | 10 | | David Traber, Woodstock, IL | | 9184 | | 218.7 | | 13-10-1 | | 405 | | 9589 | | 4,300 | | 11 | | Bob Spaulding, Greenville, SC | | 9281 | | 221.0 | | 9-15-0 | | 270 | | 9551 | | 4,000 | | 12 | | Brian Eaton, Buffalo, NY | | 9210 | | 219.3 | | 9-15-0 | | 270 | | 9480 | | 3,800 | | 13 | | Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD | | 9095 | | 216.6 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9455 | | 3,600 | | 14 | | Danny Wiseman, Baltimore | | 9119 | | 217.1 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9449 | | 3,400 | | 15 | | Don Moser, San Jose, CA | | 9092 | | 216.5 | | 11-12-1 | | 345 | | 9437 | | 3,200 | | 16 | | Ron Palombi Jr., Erie, PA | | 9126 | | 217.3 | | 9-14-1 | | 285 | | 9411 | | 3,000 | | 17 | | Curtis Odom, Winston-Salem, NC | | 9156 | | 218.0 | | 8-16-0 | | 240 | | 9396 | | 2,800 | | 18 | | George Branham III, Indianapolis | | 9095 | | 216.6 | | 9-14-1 | | 285 | | 9380 | | 2,600 | | 19 | | Ron Williams, Fort Worth, TX | | 9070 | | 216.0 | | 9-14-1 | | 285 | | 9355 | | 2,400 | | 20 | | Michael Luft, Brook Park, OH | | 8955 | | 213.2 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9315 | | 2,300 | | 21 | | Ray Edwards, Centereach, NY | | 8913 | | 212.2 | | 11-13-0 | | 330 | | 9243 | | 2,200 | | 22 | | Billy Orlikowski, Grand Rapids, MI | | 8917 | | 212.3 | | 9-14-1 | | 285 | | 9202 | | 2,100 | | 23 | | Billy Myers Jr., Temple City, CA | | 8891 | | 211.7 | | 9-15-0 | | 270 | | 9161 | | 2,000 | | 24 | | Tim Scheerer, Newark, DE | | 8806 | | 209.7 | | 7-17-0 | | 210 | | 9016 | | 1,950 | |
OTHER CASHERS | Pos. | | Name, City/State | Amount | | | 25 | | Stoney Baker, Alpharetta, GA | $1,660 | | t*26 | | Brian Ziesig, Levittown, NY | 1,730 | | 27 | | Tommy Delutz Jr., Jamaica, NY | 1,580 | | 28 | | Wayne Webb, Barberton, OH | 1,560 | | 29 | | Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY | 1,540 | | 30 | | Michael Azcarate, Sunrise, FL | 1,515 | | | | Kelly Coffman, Topeka, KS | 1,515 | | 32 | | David Ozio, Vidor, TX | 1,500 | | 33 | | Barry Marcus, Old Bridge, NJ | 1,490 | | 34 | | Dennis Jacques, Brooklyn, NY | 1,480 | | 35 | | Bryan Bailey, Grove City, PA | 1,455 | | | | Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY | 1,455 | | # | | Norman Titus, Flemington, NJ | 1,455 | | | | Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX | 1,455 | | 39 | | Eric Forkel, Tucson, AZ | 1,430 | | 40 | | Steve Wishner, Port Chester, NY | 1,420 | | 41 | | Jeff Hickenbottom, Thousand Oaks, CA | 1,410 | | 42 | | Jess Stayrook, Tempe, AZ | 1,400 | | 43 | | Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, KS | 1,390 | | 44 | | John Mazza, Shelby Township, MI | 1,380 | | 45 | | Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, WA | 1,370 | | 46 | | Bob Vespi, Coral Springs, FL | 1,360 | | 47 | | Dave Wodka, Las Vegas | 1,350 | | 48 | | Bob Benoit, Topeka, KS | 1,335 | | | | Brian LeClair, Hudson, NY | 1,335 | | 50 | | Eddie Kline, Sound Beach, NV | 1,320 | | 51 | | Andy Neuer, Milton, PA | 1,310 | | 52 | | Parker Bohn III, Jackson, NJ | 1,300 | | 53 | | John Handegard, Las Vegas | 1,290 | |
*-Match play alternate. 18-game qualifying leader-Bob Spaulding, 4220. 24th place-Steve Hoskins, 3897. 53rd place-John Handegard, 3805. #-Norm Titus and Dave D'Entremont rolled 300 games ($500 each). PRO-AM CASHERS-Ed Richardson, Tim Criss, Del Ballard Jr., Chris Warren, Brian LeClair, Amleto Monacelli and Steve Wilson ($50 each). t-Non-PBA member.
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