Jack Jurek Wins First-Ever PBA60 World Championship
Columbus, Ohio – The game of bowling challenges a player physically and mentally. Add in three different patterns in six days for good measure. That is the challenge nearly 140 bowlers aged-60-and-older accepted in the first-ever Wayne Webb’s PBA60 World Series of Bowling. Ultimately, Jack Jurek came out on top in the PBA60 World Championship on Monday.
Despite some early anxiety followed by a quick ball change in the semifinal match, Jurek went on to roll 17 out of 23 strikes for games of 255 and 245 in the stepladder finals at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, winning $15,000 and his second major title on the PBA60 Tour.
“When I think about it being a brand-new event, with a new major championship with the crew that we had in the show, and the guys that just missed the show, to come out and have someone hand me a trophy after all of that, still hard to believe it was actually me. Someone was watching over me because I was very blessed on some shots and I did throw some good ones in there to mix it up,” Jurek said, humbly. “These are things you dreamed about as a kid, even now almost 40 years as a PBA member. Every stepladder is very special, and I think there is always a little bit of anxiety for me. This season, for whatever reason, I just have not be in the best mind space.”
That someone watching over him, just may have been his mom. He missed a couple of seasons taking care of her, and when she passed away, he entered “the darkest six months of my life where it was an adjustment. I eventually got to a place to get back on the lanes doing something I have always loved doing since I was a kid. I found new appreciation for having the good fortune to be able to do that,” he said.
For a couple of years, life was enjoyable again then out in Las Vegas this year, he was frustrated with his game and “old demons have crept back in a little bit. The brain is very powerful. It can work good for you, and it can work bad for you. I am going to exercise those demons when I get home. It is just a little bump in the road,” he said. “The guys on the 50 and 60 Tour are some of the greatest guys in the world and it is a pleasure to share the lanes with them. Every once in a while, you have a little hiccup, but I think overall, if nothing else, the staff on this tour is such a great support system for me. It will be all good.”
Jurek credited good friend and No. 1 seed Brian LeClair, who he beat 245-215 in the title match, with helping guide him on where to play toward the end of match play on Sunday, which paid off again on Monday.
“I was struggling, and he was crushing them. I got to see up close how he was playing the lanes. I ended up doing that last night and this morning playing a similar part of the lane and obviously that was the right place to be,” Jurek said. “If we were keeping score, he has definitely had my number over the years. It is a bittersweet feeling, as Brian bowled so good. To see him not win is tough. He was very gracious.”
In the championship match, Jurek started with four straight strikes followed by a spare and three more strikes, while LeClair got his first double in the fourth and fifth frames then again in the seventh and eighth paired around spares.
The most strikes of the night were thrown in the semifinal match between Warren and Jurek. Both started with doubles. Jurek left the 4-6-7 in the third for an open frame then missed the head pin leaving the 1-2-4. He converted the spare then made a key ball change in the fifth. Warren picked up a 4-pin followed by a double.
After the ball change, Jurek rolled eight straight strikes to end the match with 255. Warren ended his game with back-to-back spares in the sixth and seventh then five straight strikes for 245. They combined for 19 strikes.
In the opening match, Amleto Monacelli, who made his third straight stepladder this week, came out firing. Using urethane, Monacelli threw six straight strikes to take a commanding lead. His opponent, Pete Weber, had an open in the first frame followed by a double. He then picked up the 1-2-4-6-10, but another open in the sixth frame, put Weber behind by 69 pins. Monacelli went on to win 259-162.
Monacelli continued to strike in his second match against Chris Warren, who finished in second place at the PBA60 Webb Championship. Monacelli went strike, spare and three in a row through five frames. After making two single-pin spares, Warren made a ball change and used a little loft starting in the third frame for a strike. He followed that by another spare before wheeling off five straight strikes. Monacelli got a spare in the sixth then a double. He finished with spare, strike then spare for 228. Needing a mark for the win, Warren left a wiggling 9-pin on his first shot. He got the spare before striking on his last shot for 238.
Up next, is the PBA50 World Series of Bowling III with five titles up for grabs. That event will begin on Thursday with the Ballard Championship at JAX 60 in Jackson, Mich. You can watch the entire PBA50 WSOB III on BowlTV.
Championship Round Scores
Match 1: Monacelli def. Weber 259-162
Match 2: Warren def. Monacelli 238-228
Match 3: Jurek def. Warren 255-245
Championship match: Jurek def. LeClair 245-215
PBA60 World Championship Final Standings:
Jack Jurek, $15,000
Brian LeClair, $8,000
Chris Warren, $6,000
Amleto Monacelli, $5,000
Pete Weber, $4,000