2023 PBA50 Tour Season in Review
The 2023 PBA50 Tour season gave us six first-time PBA50 champions, two of whom won a second title later in the season, two first-time PBA60 champions, the 14th title of Pete Weber’s PBA50 career tying him for second all-time and the continuing rivalry between Chris Barnes and Tom Hess.
Troy Lint earned the PBA50 Player of the Year Award, John Janawicz took the PBA50 Rookie of the Year Award and Weber was the PBA60 Player of the Year. Tom Adcock, one of the season’s first-time champions, earned the Dick Weber Sportsmanship Award.
Here’s a quick summary of the 2023 PBA50 Tour season:
USBC Super Senior Classic
Sam’s Town Bowling Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
Winner: John Marsala (1st PBA60 title)
Two-time PBA50 champion John Marsala opened the season with the first PBA60 title of his career, defeating two-time PBA Tour champion Jack Jurek in the championship match of the USBC Super Senior Classic.
The win over Jurek was Marsala’s third victory of the day, having first defeated Gary Reh and then Lennie Boresch Jr. on the way to the title match.
USBC Senior Masters
Sam’s Town Bowling Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
Winner: John Janawicz (1st PBA50 title)
Rookie John Janawicz entered the season as one of the most compelling stories on the PBA50 Tour. Finally a PBA member, the long-time Team USA stalwart committed to bowling most of the PBA50 Tour season. In his first event, he qualified 18th, made his way through the bracket unscathed, then won the championship match in the stepladder.
Janawicz defeated Boresch to claim the No. 1 seed, then again beat Boresch to secure the title.
PBA Senior U.S. Open
Highland Park Lanes
Greeley, Colorado
Winner: Troy Lint (1)
After winning the PBA50 Regional Players Invitational in January, Troy Lint—who had previously been well-known in the East Region but not so much on the national level—confirmed he would be joining the PBA50 Tour. He quickly made himself known to everyone.
Lint started his season with a third-place finish in the USBC Senior Masters, then led all qualifiers in the Senior U.S. Open, then defeated PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III in the title match. It was the second of what would be seven top-10 finishes (including appearances in five title matches) for Lint and, more important, the first of what would be two wins.
PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial Tournament
Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl
Columbus, Ohio
Winner: Walter Ray Williams Jr. (1)
Walter Ray Williams Jr., the all-time leader in PBA Tour titles (47) and PBA50 Tour titles (16) earned his first ever PBA60 title with a win over the ever-present Boresch in the championship match of the Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial Tournament.
For a man who chases down all possible titles records, it’s worth noting Williams sits four behind Ron Mohr, whose five PBA60 titles are the most all-time.
PBA50 South Shore Classic
Olympia Lanes
Hammond, Indiana
Winner: Michael Haggitt (1)
Janawicz did his best to secure his second victory in his first three events, but he had to settle for his first runner-up finish as top seed Michael Haggitt would not be denied his first career title.
Haggitt led all qualifiers and held the top seed, earning his first title in just his third stepladder appearance. It was the third time in three PBA50 events we saw a first-time winner.
PBA50 Ballard Championship
JAX 60
Jackson, Michigan
Winner: Dan Knowlton (1)
Make it four for four in first-timers hoisting trophies. Dan Knowlton, in his third season as a professional and on the PBA50 Tour, opened the first ever PBA50 World Series of Bowling with a win in the PBA50 Ballard Championship, defeating eventual PBA50 Bowler of the Year Lint in a best-of-three championship match.
PBA50 Monacelli Championship
JAX 60
Jackson, Michigan
Winner: Jon Rakoski (1)
The fifth first-time champion in as many events, Jon Rakoski, bowled an impressive 265-256 set in the best-of-three championship match, beating 2021 PBA50 Player of the Year Tom Hess by more than 40 pins each game. The win began a string of three consecutive top-10 finishes for Rakoski, who totaled five top-10s on the season.
PBA50 Petraglia Championship
JAX 60
Jackson, Michigan
Winner: Tom Hess (4)
Hess had a lot of motivation for winning the PBA50 Petraglia Championship, particularly that he’d just finished second in the previous event and his foe in the title match was a familiar one: Chris Barnes. In their two full seasons on the PBA50 Tour, Hess and Barnes had bowled for the title three times, with Hess winning twice.
Hess took game one of the best-of-three series and Barnes took game two, but it was all Hess in the third game, rolling 268 to claim his fourth PBA50 Tour title. The win was Hess’s fourth top-five performance in the first six events of the season.
PBA50 World Championship
JAX 60
Jackson, Michigan
Winner: Chris Barnes (5)
What better way to open the PBA50 World Championship stepladder than with another Barnes/Hess match? Barnes took out Hess, then Janawicz, then Brad Angelo, then Lint in the title match. Barnes rolled a four-game set of 1,029 to climb the stepladder and claim his fifth PBA50 Tour title.
His victory was one of eight top-10 finishes on the season, seven of which were top-fives that included three championship-match appearances.
PBA50 Morgantown Classic
Suburban Lanes
Morgantown, West Virginia
Winner: Troy Lint (2)
Continuing the trend of a player losing in the title match of one event and winning the next event, Lint climbed the stepladder in Morgantown to win his second title of the season. Lint defeated Haggitt, Knowlton, Jason Couch and ultimately Hess to earn the title and keep Lint at the top of the points-based Player of the Year race.
Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship
Bowl America Dranesville and Bud Moore Lanes
Sterling, Virginia
Winner: Pete Weber (14)
Lint advanced to the title match of the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship in an effort to win back-to-back titles, but waiting for him in that match was tournament leader Pete Weber, whose confidence had been high since day one of match play.
Weber’s 236-211 victory earned him his first title since 2021 (when he won twice) and 14th of his PBA50 career, tying him with John Handegard for second all-time, just two titles behind Williams.
PBA50 The Villages Classic
Spanish Springs Lanes
The Villages, Florida
Winner: Tom Adcock (1)
The sixth and final first-time winner on the 2023 PBA50 Tour, Tom Adcock, beat Angelo in the championship match. Angelo worked his way past Barnes, Danny Wiseman and Parker Bohn III but ultimately notched his first runner-up finish of the season among eight top-10s.
It was Adcock’s fourth top-10 finish and second appearance in a livestreamed finals, having finished third in the PBA50 Monacelli Championship.
PBA50 Fort Myers Lightning Strikes Lanes Classic
Lightning Strikes Lanes
Fort Myers, Florida
Winner: Tom Hess (5)
How about another Hess/Barnes title match? Barnes, already a five-time champion, held the top seed and watched while Hess worked his way through Andres Gomez, Janawicz and Angelo, setting up the fifth championship match between Hess and Barnes since they joined the PBA50 Tour in 2021.
In the lowest-scoring match of the stepladder, Hess beat Barnes 194-167, and in doing so tied Barnes with five career PBA50 Tour titles.
PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions
Orange Bowl Lanes
Lakeland, Florida
Winner: John Janawicz (2)
The season ended as it began: with John Janawicz winning a major title. This time, rather than wait in the championship match as he did as the top seed in the USBC Senior Masters, Janawicz had to climb the stepladder to get to No. 1 seed Adcock. Janawicz took out Bryan Goebel, Bohn and Barnes, then beat Adcock by 58 pins to give Janawicz his second major championship and secure the PBA50 Rookie of the Year Award.
2023 PBA50 Tour Awards
PBA50 Bowler of the Year: Troy Lint
PBA50 Rookie of the Year: John Janawicz
PBA50 Dick Weber Sportsmanship Award: Tom Adcock
PBA60 Bowler of the Year: Pete Weber
Final 2023 PBA50 Tour Points Standings
- Troy Lint, 31,492
- John Janawicz, 25,890
- Chris Barnes, 24,980
- Tom Hess, 24,735
- Brad Angelo, 22,460
- Pete Weber, 17,795
- Tom Adcock, 17,670
- Parker Bohn III, 16,170
- Michael Haggitt, 14,395
- Jon Rakoski, 14,120
Final 2023 PBA50 Tour Earnings
- Troy Lint, $65,000
- Chris Barnes, $55,550
- John Janawicz, $54,300
- Tom Hess, $41,750
- Brad Angelo, $41,500
- Pete Weber, $40,175
- Tom Adcock, $32,600
- Lennie Boresch Jr., $31,850
- Walter Ray Williams Jr., $26,450
- Parker Bohn III, $24,250
2023 PBA50 Tour Champions
Majors in bold
PBA60 events in italics
USBC Super Senior Classic: John Marsala (1st PBA60 title)
USBC Senior Masters: John Janawicz (1st PBA50 title)
PBA Senior U.S. Open: Troy Lint (1)
PBA60 Tristan’s T.A.P.S. Memorial Tournament: Walter Ray Williams Jr. (1)
PBA50 South Shore Classic: Michael Haggitt (1)
PBA50 Ballard Championship: Dan Knowlton (1)
PBA50 Monacelli Championship: Jon Rakoski (1)
PBA50 Petraglia Championship: Tom Hess (4)
PBA50 World Championship: Chris Barnes (5)
PBA50 Morgantown Classic: Troy Lint (2)
Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship: Pete Weber (14)
PBA50 The Villages Classic: Tom Adcock (1)
PBA50 Fort Myers Lightning Strikes Lanes Classic: Tom Hess (5)
PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions: John Janawicz (2)