September 20, 2026 Anonymous (not verified)

Connor Breaman won a regional for the second time at Rocky Mount Bowling Center. This time it was his third singles regional title as he came out on top in the standard division on Sunday, during the PBA ELITE Tour South Region 1. In the senior division, Kip Roberts earned his first regional title as a two-hander.

Competing on a 37-foot oil pattern, Breaman posted a 6-2 match play record to claim the $8,500 prize in a field of 60 players.

 

“This feels pretty good because I won two tournaments ago. The next tournament after I won, I missed the cut,” Breaman said. “To be able to bounce back, especially this week means a lot moving forward.”  

What made the win even better was his dad, Carl Breaman, was competing in the senior division. His dad finished in 13th place. Breaman was confident in what he saw and was doing on the lanes, so his dad was there to support him, keep him motivated and made sure he stayed within myself, he said.

With the win, Breaman earned his spot in the PBA Regional Players Invitational in December, yet he had to decline that invitation for another milestone in his life.

“I can’t be at the RPI since I have my wedding the same weekend,” Breaman said.

Alex Glinski, who had led the majority of the tournament, finished in second place, followed by Brian Robinson, Tyrell Ingalls and Kayden Lagana in the standard division. Lagana currently attends Savannah College of Art and Design.

As for Roberts, he made the switch to bowling two-handed in May and he is thoroughly enjoying the pin reaction he now gets, which included a messenger on the 10-pin on his first shot in his final frame for a strike.  

“With the pain in hand, I started bowling two-handed. It has revived my journey for bowling. I get to redo so many things I did 30 years ago,” Roberts said. “Relearning how to cope and manage physical things. The journey is the best part of anything. So, I get to do the journey part over again, which is super, super cool.”

That journey includes being able to bowl with his son who started bowling a couple of years ago. Now that he doesn’t feel pain in his thumb, he plans to bowl a few more PBA50 Tour stops next season and he can’t wait to compete in the RPI, which he estimates he has not bowled in for maybe 20 years. He is also excited to do more PBA ELITE events.

“As I am looking down and I see the top 20 guys on the regular side and the top 10 guys on the seniors side, it was a strong field of bowlers. It was truly kind of elite,” Roberts said. “I thought it was really cool that we mixed and bowled together. So I got to meet a bunch of young guys that I would have never had the opportunity to meet. I like the premise of the event.”

Behind Roberts, who won $5,000, was Mark Tarkington in second, who also earns a spot in the RPI. Dan Knowlton finished in third, Jeffrey Ripic in fourth and Steve Hollandsworth in fifth.

The final standings from the first ELITE event in the South Region are available here.

NORTHWEST

Dallas Leong and Blaine Weninger are the first-ever ELITE Tour winners in the Northwest Region. They battled a 48-foot oil pattern at Westy’s Garden Lanes in Garden City, Idaho.

Leong, who missed exemption for the 2027 PBA Tour season by finishing just outside of the top 75 players on the points list, came into this tournament motivated even more. He was in the field at last week’s ELITE East Region tournament but finished in 46th place. He was proactive in making sure that didn’t happen again on the same oil pattern.

 

“I am not by any means your power player. I am not two-handed and I don’t really have those kind of tricks, so I know I have to be smarter. Last week was a more humbling thing,” Leong said. “I work for Brunswick and I called a tour rep and he gave me some ideas of some bowling balls to drill. Fortunately, those two or three I drilled for the pattern worked really well. It kept me in the hunt.”

Leong was in the top three Saturday and Sunday, yet when it came down to the final game, he needed to make up 73 pins. He was able to battle his way back with a 255-188 win over Nickolaus Freiberg, who had been the overall leader.

“Realistically, I was so far behind. I kind of wrote it off and said, ‘Take a swing. If it works, it works and if it doesn’t, you are still second,’” said Leong, who had a 6-2 match play record. “It worked out fortunately for me. They fell in my direction. I really tricked the last two strikes because I was running out of lane.”

This is Leong’s fourth regional title, which comes with $7,500 and another big moment in his professional career.

“Growing up being an aspiring kid that wanted to bowl on the PBA, every PBA win is awesome. Definitely ranks up there with a really good field of good bowlers,” he said. “Every time I walk in, so fortunate to see your name on a banner. That is what I wanted when I was a kid. Now that I get another one in the Northwest now, that is one of my career goals to have a banner in each region with different colors.”

In the senior division, Weninger’s goal was to earn his spot in the RPI. He was able to do just that by bowling good, getting a couple of breaks and having a good time. He believes when you are having fun, you don’t get nervous and you are enjoying the moment. He clearly had fun winning his 11th regional title.

“You always want to win. You don’t come not hoping to win, but it is hard to win,” Weninger said. “I made a lot of good decisions. When I got a good pair, I turned it into a good game, which adds pins. Tom Daughtery and I were 200 pins clear of third, so it was kind of a two-man race going to the end.”

Weninger is a big supporter of the new PBA ELITE Regional Tour, which includes elevated tournaments, increased prize funds and an enhanced experience.

“Trying to inject some new life, get people excited about it; it is fantastic,” he said. “I like the fact it is back to the old school. The guy that bowls the best wins. I think it is great and hopefully we get more people to bowl and it grows; it is awesome.”

The top 5 non-PBA Tour priority finishers in every PBA ELITE Regional Tour event earn an automatic berth into the PBA Regional Players Invitational in December. At that prestigious tournament, three priority status positions on the 2027 PBA Tour will be rewarded.

The next PBA ELITE events are Sept. 26 & 27 in Shawnee, OK., and Ventura, CA. For more details on this tour, click here.