Professional Bowlers Association

Parker Bohn III finished second in the Inaugural Brentwood Classic in 1997. In 1998, he improved his position by one.

Bohn kicked off the PBA Tour's 40th year of competition by defeating Tom Baker, 239-222, in an exciting and tense championship match at Harvest Park Bowl. The victory, which came before a raucous, standing room only crowd, was the 14th of Bohn's career and earned him $16,000.

"This is a little bit of redemption for me," said Bohn, "it really means a lot to me to come back and win after finishing second. This is the way you want the new year to start."

The PBA Tour continued its new format for the championship round, seating fans on bleachers down both sides of the bowlers in an "arena-like" setting and allowing them to cheer constantly throughout the ESPN telecast (the first by PBA Tour Productions).

"I think the constant cheering is great," said Baker. "It got my heart pumping and I was excited right from the start. I showed more emotion than I've ever shown in my life."

All that emotion wasn't enough against Bohn. An open frame by Baker in the second frame after a failed conversion of a 4-6-7 split gave Bohn an early opening. He responded by putting together five consecutive strikes in frames two through six to take a 21-pin lead. Baker hung tough, striking In frames four through nine.

Bohn spared in the seventh, struck in the eighth, spared in the ninth, then struck and converted a 7-pin in the 10th to finish with 239. Baker, Buffalo, N.Y., got up needing a strike on his first shot in the 10th to win, but left the 4-6-7-10 split.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Ward defeated Duke, 204-202; Ward defeated Couch, 257-254; Baker defeated Ward, 277-266; and in the championship game, Bohn defeated Baker, 239-222.

42-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Parker Bohn III, Jackson, NJ		9689		230.7		15-9-0		450		10139
2		Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY		9458		225.2		19-5-0		570		10028
3		Jason Couch, Clermont, FL		9496		226.1		15-9-0		450		9946
4		Norm Duke, Clermont, FL		9342		222.4		16-6-2		510		9852
5		Ricky Ward, North Fort Myers, FL		9340		222.4		16-8-0		480		9820
#6		Dennis Horan, San Diego		9292		221.2		15-9-0		450		9742		$2,600
7		Jess Stayrook, Tempe, AZ		9243		220.1		15-8-1		465		9708		2,500
8		Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, KS		9333		222.2		12-12-0		360		9693		2,400
9		Justin Hromek, Andover, KS		9249		220.2		14-10-0		420		9669		2,300
10		Mike Edwards, Oklahoma City		9257		220.4		13-11-0		390		9647		2,200
#11		Warren Guernsey, Cobelskill, NY		9229		219.7		12-12-0		360		9589		2,100
12		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis		9254		220.3		10-14-0		300		9554		2,000
#13		Chris Barnes, Wichita, KS		9305		221.5		8-16-0		240		9545		1,900
14		Hugh Miller, Seattle		9257		220.4		9-15-0		270		9527		1,800
15		John Mazza, Shelby Township, MI		9301		221.4		7-17-0		210		9511		1,700
16		Danny Wiseman, Baltimore		9166		218.2		11-13-0		330		9496		1,650
17		Michael Haugen Jr, Riverside, CA		9200		219.0		9-15-0		270		9470		1,600
18		Dave Arnold, Gilbert, AZ		9151		217.9		10-13-1		315		9466		1,550
19		Dave Wodka, Las Vegas		9062		215.8		12-12-0		360		9422		1,500
20		Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, FL		9048		215.4		12-12-0		360		9408		1,450
21		Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, WA		9133		217.5		8-16-0		240		9373		1,400
22		Wayne Webb, Las Vegas		9002		214.3		10-14-0		300		9302		1,350
23		Ryan Shafer, Elmira, NY		9005		214.4		9-15-0		270		9275		1,300
24		Bryon Smith, Sutherlin, OR		8947		213.0		9-15-0		270		9217		1,250

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
25		Eric Forkel, Tucson, AZ	$1,010
26		Brian Voss, Atlanta	970
*27		Steve Wilson, Lake Worth, FL	1,070
28		George Branham III, Indianapolis	930
29		Harry Sullins, Roseville, MI	910
30		Dave Husted, Milwaukie, OR	885
		Randy Pedersen, Hollywood, FL	885
32		David Traber, Woodstock, IL	870
33		Rohn Morton, Vancouver, WA	860
34		Gene Bruihl, Petaluma, CA	845
		Butch Soper, Lake Havasu City, AZ	845
36		Jason Hurd, Visalia, CA	415
		Tony Reyes, Cupertino, CA	415