February 14, 2023 Chase Kaufman

For as quickly as the 2022 regional season ended, the 2023 season began. Patrick Dombrowski capped off his season with a victory at the PBA Regional Players Invitational after sneaking inside the cut line. He put it to good use, winning his first five matches before taking down Colin Champion, 267-259, in a dazzling final bout. 

For the PBA50 RPI, Troy Lint did just the same. The lefty went eight-for-eight on bracket games above 200 en route to a five-figure payout. It was a tough final, facing Darryl Bower, who also hadn’t shot under 200 in the bracket and had just come off a 279. Lint fought to the end, taking home the title after a 246-237 triumph.

But all that is now history. A new season begins, and everyone is back to square one. Each player has multiple opportunities at cashing for the first time, making their first cut or stepladder, or even winning their first tournament. More importantly, everyone has the opportunity to snag a banner and be in the record books forever. 

PBA Bowlero Open

 

A familiar face in Jakob Butturff sat atop the standings after eight games of qualifying at +274, but everyone knows with match play on the schedule, movement on the leaderboard is bound to happen. After 11 games and one to go, Ramsey Basurto jumped from third to first, but Cerell Cardines sat hot on his tail. However, Basurto stood his ground delivering a 226 with a win to hold off the competition and grab his first career title.

PBA Bowlero Open Final Standings

  1. Ramsey Basurto, 2,500 points, $2,300
  2. Gregory Thompson, Jr., 1,500, $1,600
  3. Cerell Cardines, $1,300
  4. Robbie Patterson, $1,100

PBA Bowlero Open Full Results

PBA50 Bowlero Open

 

Same format, same weekend, same pattern, but different bowlers — 55 of them, to be exact — as Bowlero Kyrene hosted both the under-50 and over-50 divisions. On the over-50 side, Michael Haugen Jr. led after qualifying at +173. Eleven games later, William Graham filled that spot after going 10-1 in his match play games. Things weren’t over yet, as Ron Mohr sat 41 pins behind Graham with the position round left. Two great competitors hit the lanes for one last game and tied at 244, giving Graham the win and his first career title. 

PBA50 Bowlero Open Final Standings

  1. William Graham, $1,900
  2. Ron Mohr, 1,500 points, $1,200
  3. Rich Corwin, 1,150, $1,000
  4. Robert Wiley, $850

PBA50 Bowlero Open Full Results

PBA Odessa Southwest Open 

 

Over at Diamond Lanes in Odessa, Texas, both PBA and PBA50 bowlers competed in the qualifying-to-match play format just like the Arizona tournaments. Plenty of big-time names piled at the top of the leaderboard after qualifying as AJ Chapman led the way. Illdemaro Ruiz, Jr. snuck past Chapman after the advancer round, but match play allowed for plenty of changes, and the young gun Eric Jones found his way to the top. He still needed a position round win to take the title and did just that with a 212-193 victory. 

PBA Odessa Southwest Open Final Standings

  1. Eric Jones, 2,500 points, $2,700
  2. Illdemaro Ruiz, Jr., 1,500, $1,700
  3. Anthony Lavery-Spahr, 1,150, $1,300
  4. Shawn Maldonado, 950, $1,100

PBA Odessa Southwest Open Full Results

PBA50 Odessa Southwest Open

 

There were also big names up top for the PBA50 division, as Tom Hess qualified first at +311, which would have been good for a third-place spot on the PBA side of things. But even though Hess held a triple-digit lead over everyone else, it didn’t stop Chris Barnes from staying in the fight, averaging 248 for his five advancer round games. Match play rolled around, and although Barnes and Hess both went 5-2 to start, a pair of late 270s ultimately propelled Barnes to victory. 

PBA50 Odessa Southwest Open Final Standings

  1. Chris Barnes, 2,500 points, $2,500
  2. Tom Hess, 1,500, $1,500
  3. Pete McCordic, 1,150, $1,100
  4. Keith Lesko, 950, $950

PBA50 Odessa Southwest Open Full Results

PBA50 Western Bowling Proprietors Insurance Central/Midwest Open

As the U.S. Open wrapped up, Crawfordsville, Ind., hosted a PBA50 regional, just a short drive from Indianapolis. A couple of guys who bowled the U.S. Open must have gotten enough practice in because Parker Bohn III and Chris Barnes earned the one and three seeds for the stepladder, respectively. Barnes faced Knowlton in the first match, where Barnes won 228-192. Lyle Kuhlmann was up next, but again Barnes got it done, this time 212-187. The two all-time greats gave us an exciting final match where Barnes ran the stepladder and defeated Bohn III 241-236. 

PBA50 Western Bowling Proprietors Insurance Central/Midwest Final Standings

  1. Chris Barnes, 2,500 points, $2,000
  2. Parker Bohn III, 1,500, $1,150
  3. Lyle Kuhlmann, 1,150, $1,000
  4. Dan Knowlton, 950, $950

PBA50 Western Bowling Proprietors Insurance Central/Midwest Open Full Results

PBA50 Tracy Senior Open

 

Many miles away out West, a trio of tournaments took place in Tracy, Calif., at West Valley Bowl. In the PBA50 region, Robby Porter started out with a 201 to put him around the middle of the pack, but then he stepped up. Porter delivered his next seven games no lower than a 229 and did just as well the next day. With five games above 240, Porter built himself a 250-pin lead with position round left. Porter went on to win his fourth career title and earned $2,000. 

PBA50 Tracy Senior Open Final Standings

  1. Robby Porter, 2,500 points, $2,000
  2. Joe Petrovich, 1,500, $1,500
  3. Mike Keough, 1,150, $1,100
  4. Scott Critchfield, $950

PBA50 Tracy Senior Open Full Results

PBA60 Super Senior Tracy Classic

In the 60-division, things were quite a bit tighter. Darron Peters and Ty Dawson started qualifying on top, but after match play, Marty Deh, and Joe Goldstein, Sr., jumped into the mix. With just the position round to go, those four were within 64 pins of each other. Deh struggled in the last game, while Goldstein only put up a 202, so it was down to Peters and Dawson. Needing a win, Peters got it done, defeating Dawson 233-206 to take home his 3rd career title. 

PBA60 Super Senior Tracy Classic Final Standings

  1. Darron Peters, 2,500 points, $1,500
  2. Ty Dawson, 1,500, $1,000
  3. Joe Goldstein, Sr., 1,150, $900
  4. Marty Deh, 950, $800

PBA60 Super Senior Tracy Classic Full Results

PBA Women Tracy Open

In what may have been the most exciting of the three tournaments, the only two perfect games came from youth bowlers in this division. Avery Domaguin delivered a 300 in qualifying to lead at +237. The next day, Ashtyn Woods woke up and immediately fired off a 300 of her own in game one. With one game left, it came down to Domaguin and Katelyn Abigania, who sat just six pins apart. Both put up great scores, but Abigania shot a 255 to grab the win and over $1,000 in scholarship.

PBA Women Tracy Open Final Standings

  1. Katelyn Abigania, $1,050
  2. Avery Domaguin, $800
  3. Ashtyn Woods, $600
  4. Brittney Hillman, $500

PBA Women Tracy Open Full Results

Only a handful of tournaments are in, and we’ve already seen some new titleists and some familiar faces on the podiums. There’s plenty of action left to go this season and numerous questions we can ask. Will Walter Ray Williams Jr. expand his lead on the all-time titles leaderboard? How many debutants will earn their first title? Will anyone break the all-time single-season record for titles, set by Jakob Butturff (9) back in 2016? Only time will tell.