Professional Bowlers Association

John Gant, who returned to the PBA Tour in the fall of 1994 after a seven-year layoff, captured his first "major" when he defeated Mike Aulby to win the prestigious Brunswick World Tournament of Champions at the National Bowling Stadium, Reno, Nev.

Gant, a 39-year-old from Winston-Salem, N.C., won the title match, 208-187, over tournament leader Aulby in the ESPN telecast. The title was the fourth of Gant's career and earned the former PBA Rookie of the Year (1984) $60,000, a Bayliner boat, motor and trailer package and a five-year exemption into this event.

The start of the final match was delayed for 25 minutes when the fire alarm at the Stadium went off after a delivery truck destroyed several sprinkler heads in the parking garage. The match was further complicated when a computer glitch kept the pinsetters on a "first ball" setting, sweeping off spare attempts and setting a full rack of pins after every shot. All spares in the final match had to be re-set before the attempt at conversion could be made.

"I think all the distractions actually helped me," said Gant. "They took my mind off the fact that I was bowling for our biggest title. I was more relaxed for the title match than I was for the semifinal against Parker Bohn."

Gant gained the lead in the final match after Aulby opened in the fourth frame following a 7-10 split. Gant highlighted the title match with three consecutive strikes in frames four through six. He had his only open frame in the seventh after a 2-10 split, but Aulby also opened in the seventh after a 4-6-8-10 split. Gant converted two single-pin spares in frames eight and nine, then struck on his first two shots in the 10th to secure the win.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Couch defeated Ward, 233-175; Bohn defeated Couch, 169-162; Gant defeated Bohn, 238-224; and in the championship game, Gant defeated Aulby, 208-187. Gant also won a Bayliner boat.

48-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis		11070		230.6		15-9-0		450		11520
2		John Gant, Winston-Salem, NC		10983		228.8		15-8-1		465		11448
3		Parker Bohn III, Jackson, NJ		10944		228.0		14-9-1		435		11379
4		Ricky Ward, North Fort Myers, FL		10097		228.0		12-10-2		390		11377
5		Jason Couch, Clermont, FL		10863		226.3		16-8-0		480		11343
6		Dave Ferraro, Kingston, NY		10874		226.5		15-9-0		450		11324		$10,000
#7		John Mazza, Shelby Township, MI		10946		228.0		11-13-0		330		11276		9,000
8		Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela		10842		225.9		12-12-0		360		11202		8,000
9		Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, IL		10749		223.9		14-10-0		420		11169		7,000
10		Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX		10716		223.2		13-10-1		405		11121		6,000
11		Eric Forkel, Tucson, AZ		10707		223.1		12-12-0		360		11067		5,000
12		Johnny Petraglia, Manalapan, NJ		10684		222.6		12-12-0		360		11044		4,300
13		Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, KS		10634		221.5		13-11-0		390		11024		3,800
14		Norm Duke, Clermont, FL		10602		220.9		11-13-0		330		10932		3,500
15		Ted Hannahs, Zanesville, OH		10443		217.6		13-11-0		390		10833		3,300
16		Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY		10462		217.9		10-14-0		300		10762		3,200
17		Hugh Miller, Seattle		10365		215.9		13-11-0		390		10755		3,100
18		Steve Wilson, Tamarac, FL		10418		217.0		11-13-0		330		10748		3,000
19		David Ozio, Vidor, TX		10288		214.3		14-10-0		420		10708		2,900
20		Brian Voss, Atlanta		10389		216.4		9-14-1		285		10674		2,800
21		Pete Weber, St. Ann, MO		10462		217.9		7-17-0		210		10672		2,700
22		George Branham III, Indianapolis		10299		214.0		10-14-0		300		10599		2,600
23		Harry Sullins, Roseville, MI		10284		214.2		9-15-0		270		10554		2,500
24		W.R. Williams Jr., Stockton, CA		10292		214.4		4-20-0		120		10412		2,420

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
25		Dennis Horan, San Diego	$2,200
*26		Del Ballard Jr., N. Richland Hills, TX	2,220
27		Wayne Webb, Las Vegas	2,050
28		Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY	2,000
29		Bob Spaulding, Greenville, SC	1,950
30		Mike Edwards, Oklahoma City	1,900
31		Ron Williams, Fort Worth, TX	1,850
32		Danny Wiseman, Baltimore	1,800
33		C.K. Moore, Chehalis, WA	1,750
34		Jess Stayrook, Tempe, AZ	1,700
35		Chris Warren, Dallas	1,650
36		Mike Miller, Albuquerque, NM	1,600
37		Bob Vespi, Coral Springs, FL	1,550
38		Dale Eagle, Lewisville, TX	1,500
39		Scott Alexander, Seattle	1,450
40		Dave Husted, Milwaukee, OR	1,400
41		Bob Learn Jr., Erie, PA	1,350
t42		Hiroshi Nagatani, Japan	1,330
t43		Achim Grabowski, Germany	1,320
44		Dave Arnold, Gilbert, AZ	1,310
45		Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ	1,300
t46		Ton Plummen, Netherlands	1,290
47		Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, WA	1,280
48		Marshall Holman, Medford, OR	1,270
t49		Frank Ryan, Australia	1,260
50		Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, FL	1,250
51		Ron Palombi Jr., Erie, PA	1,240
t52		Alfonso Rodriquez, Mexico	1,230
53		Andy Neuer, Milton, PA	1,220
54		David Traber, Woodstock, IL	1,210
55		Robert Lawrence, Austin, TX	1,200
56		Marc McDowell, Madison, WI	1,190
57		Randy Pedersen, Hollywood, FL	1,180
58		Bob Benoit, Topeka, KS	1,170
59		Justin Hromek, Andover, KS	1,160
60		Philip Ringener, Big Spring, TX	1,150
61		Dennis Jacques, Brooklyn, NY	1,140
62		John Handegard, Las Vegas	1,130
63		Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, OH	1,120
64		Roger Bowker, Ocala, FL	1,110
65		Jeff Lizzi, Sandusky, OH	1,100