Steve Neff ended a victory drought that lasted nearly 18 months when he defeated tournament leader Dan Roche for the championship of the Houston Open, at Stadium Bowl. Neff, Sarasota, Fla., beat Roche, Downey, Calif., 222-181, and thwarted Roche's bid for PBA title No. 1. Neff's last title had been in the 1977 Rolaids Open in St. Louis. "I just had to do something before the Summer Tour started;' Neff said of his poor showing during the 1978 Winter Tour. "1 went home, got some new bowling balls, changed weights and worked out physically. It finally has paid off." 42-GAME TOTALS | |  | Name, City | | Pins | | Avg | | WLT | | + | | Tot | | Amt | | | 1 | | Steve Neff, Sarasota, Fla. | | 9363 | | 222.9 | | 16-8-0 | | 480 | | 9843 | | $6,000 | | 2 | | Dan Roche, Downey, Calif. | | 9276 | | 220.8 | | 18-6-0 | | 540 | | 9816 | | 3,500 | | 3 | | Pete McCordic, Houston, Texas | | 9201 | | 219.7 | | 17-7-0 | | 510 | | 9711 | | 3,000 | | 4 | | Joseph Groskind, Memphis, Tenn. | | 9234 | | 219.8 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9594 | | 2,500 | | 5 | | Bill Coleman, San Jose, Calif. | | 9046 | | 215.3 | | 15-8-1 | | 465 | | 9511 | | 2,000 | | 6 | | Boysie Huber, St. Louis, Mo. | | 9145 | | 217.7 | | 11-11-2 | | 360 | | 9505 | | 1,800 | | 7 | | Tommy Hudson, Akron, Ohio | | 9054 | | 215.5 | | 15-9-0 | | 450 | | 9504 | | 1,650 | | 8 | | Butch Soper, Santa Ana, Calif. | | 9111 | | 216.9 | | 11-12-1 | | 345 | | 9456 | | 1,500 | | 9 | | Matt Surina, Longview, Wash. | | 9076 | | 216.0 | | 12-12-0 | | 360 | | 9436 | | 1,450 | | 10 | | Ken Fernandez, Rogue River, Ore. | | 8980 | | 213.8 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9400 | | 1,400 | | 11 | | Ed Ressler, Allentown, Pa. | | 8915 | | 212.2 | | 14-8-2 | | 450 | | 9365 | | 1,350 | | 12 | | Mike Matosich, San Bruno, Calif. | | 9123 | | 217.2 | | 7-16-1 | | 225 | | 9348 | | 1,300 | | 13 | | Neil Burton, St. Louis, Mo. | | 8918 | | 212.3 | | 14-10-0 | | 420 | | 9338 | | 1,250 | | 14 | | Bill Spigner, Hamden, Conn. | | 8944 | | 212.9 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9334 | | 1,200 | | 15 | | Carmen Salvino, Chicago, | | 8857 | | 210.8 | | 13-10-1 | | 405 | | 9262 | | 1,150 | | 16 | | Jay Robinson, Van Nuys, Calif. | | 8868 | | 211.1 | | 13-11-0 | | 390 | | 9258 | | 1,100 | | 17 | | John Denton, Midland, Texas | | 8865 | | 211.0 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9165 | | 1,050 | | 18 | | Tom Laskow, Commack, N.Y. | | 8748 | | 208.2 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 9048 | | 1,000 | | @19 | | Joe Vito, San Antonio, Texas | | 8743 | | 208.1 | | 9-13-2 | | 300 | | 9043 | | 950 | | 20 | | Steve Cook, Roseville, Calif. | | 8821 | | 210.0 | | 6-17-1 | | 195 | | 9016 | | 900 | | 21 | | Mark Grant, Houston, Texas | | 8573 | | 204.1 | | 10-14-0 | | 300 | | 8873 | | 850 | | 22 | | Dave Davis, Hackensack, N.J. | | 8551 | | 203.5 | | 9-15-0 | | 270 | | 8821 | | 800 | | 23 | | Paul Moser, Medford, Mass. | | 8568 | | 204.0 | | 7-16-1 | | 225 | | 8793 | | 750 | | 24 | | Mike Cox, Angleton, Texas | | 8518 | | 202.8 | | 6-18-0 | | 180 | | 8698 | | 700 | |
18-GAME TOTALS | Pos. | | Name, City/State | Amount | | | #*25 | | Dave Beckmann, Mercer Island, Wash. | $657.50 | | | | Gary Dickinson, Ft. Worth, Texas | 582.50 | | 27 | | Charlie Venable, Brooklyn, N.Y. | 560 | | 28 | | John Handegard, Eugene, Ore. | 550 | | 29 | | Randy Neal, EI Segundo, Calif. | 540 | | 30 | | Wayne Graham, Miami, Fla. | 530 | | 31 | | Art Trask, Fresno, Calif. | 520 | | 32 | | Dick Weber, St. Louis, Mo. | 510 | | 33 | | Steve Westberg, Cottage Grove, Ore. | 500 | | 34 | | Joe Nuzzo, Youngstown, Ohio | 490 | | 35 | | George LeCain, Danvers, Ma. | 480 | | 36 | | Pete Couture, Windsor Lakes, Conn. | 470 | | 37 | | Mike Durbin, Chagrin Falls, Ohio | 460 | | 38 | | Rick Jones, Bellingham, Wash. | 445 | | | | Mike Laughlin, Erie, Pa. | 445 | | @40 | | David Rountree, Houston, Tex. | 430 | | 41 | | Bo Bowden, Dallas, Tex. | 420 | | 42 | | Cliff McNealy, San Lorenzo, Calif. | 410 | | 43 | | Larry Gray, Torrance, Calif. | 400 | | 44 | | Gil Sliker, Washington, N.J. | 390 | | 45 | | Larry Thompson, Houston, Texas | 380 | | 46 | | Norm Meyers, St. Louis, Mo. | 370 | | 47 | | Joe Signorelli, Crowley, La. | 360 | | 48 | | Wendell Davis, Johnson City Tenn. | 350 | |
*Alternate. 18-game qualifying leader - Matosich, 4,111. 24th place - Salvino, 3,756. @Joe Vito, Dave Beckmann and Dan Strey had 300 games. PRO-AM CHASERS - John Edelberg, Fred Jaskie, Randy Lightfoot, Paul Vorisek, John Denton, Bobby Nelson, Pete Brennan, Gil Sliker, Paul Moser, Jeff Mattingly, Bo Bowden, Sam Flanagan, AI Stonum, Jack Lee, Mike Durbin, Jay Robinson, Pete McCordic, Rich Haertl, Steve Neff, Dennis Swayda, Tommy Hudson (twice) and Tom Laskow (twice).
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