Ever since Pete Weber burst onto the scene of the PBA Tour in 1980 at the age of 17, he has been considered one of the most talented players on tour. But lately, the 34-year-old from St. Ann, Mo., hadn't looked the part.

After winning two tiles in 1993, Weber had gone three years without winning a title, including a year in 1995 when he didn't even make a championship round appearance. At Golden Pin Lanes in Tucson, Ariz., Weber exercised a few demons and walked away with his 22nd title by defeating Brian Himmler in the title match of the Tucson Open, 208-191, which was televised on ESPN.

"This title means everything to me," said Weber, who collected $16,000 for the victory. "It tells me I'm not a loser and that I can still win and that I will win more often."

Himmler, who had qualified fifth and made his second consecutive telecast and third of his career, had built a 26-pin lead through seven frames. The lead would have been more, but Weber made a clutch conversion of the 3-6-7-10 split in frame six. That conversion proved critical as a 2-4-8-10 split in the eighth frame by Himmler resulted in an open frame and gave Weber an opportunity.

After Himmler converted a spare in frame nine, Weber (finishing first) promptly threw a strike in the ninth, then stepped to lane 16, where he struck only once in the entire match, and struck out in the 10th. Himmler needed a double and six pins in frame 10 to claim the win.

"I wasn't nervous at all in the 10th frame," said Himmler. "I thought there was no doubt I was going to double."

There was no doubt he threw a good ball on his first ball, but a stubborn 7-pin would not fall and Himmler was lett with the second-place check of $8,500.

The win for Weber evened his career record as the top seed at 10-10.

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

PLAYOFF RESULTS-Himmler defeated Hoskins, 204-201; Himmler defeated Aulby, 245-235: Himmler defeated Shafer. 227221; and in the championship game, Weber defeated Himmler, 208-191.

42-GAME TOTALS

		Name, City		Pins		Avg		WLT		+		Tot		Amt
1		Pete Weber, St. Ann. MO		9643		229.6		15-8-1		465		10108
2		Ryan Shafer, Elmira, NY		9280		220.9		18-6-0		540		9820
3		Mike Aulby, Indianapolis		9334		222.2		15-9-0		450		9784
4		Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, FL		9301		221.4		15-8-1		465		9766
5		Brian Himmler, Cincinnati		9252		220.3		15-8-1		465		9717
6		Eugene McCune, Munster, IN		9403		223.9		10-14-0		300		9703		$2,600
7		Rick Steelsmith, Wichita. KS		9282		221.0		14-10-0		420		9702		2,500
8		Paul Koehler, Mechanicsburg, PA		9137		217.5		14-9-1		435		9572		2,400
9		Steve Jaros, Bolingbrook, IL		9098		216.4		15-9-0		450		9538		2,300
10		Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela		9212		219.3		9-14-1		285		9497		2,200
11		Brian Voss. Atlanta		9178		218.5		9-15-0		270		9448		2,100
12		Mark Williams, Beaumont, TX		9040		215.2		13-10-1		405		9445		2,000
13		Dave Arnold, Gilbert. AZ		8933		212.7		14-10-0		420		9353		1,900
14		Mike Edwards. Oklahoma City		8993		214.1		11-13-0		330		9323		1,800
15		Curtis Odom, Coldwater, MI		9012		214.6		10-14-0		300		9312		1,700
16		Parker Bohn III, Jackson. NJ		9039		215.2		9-15-0		270		9309		1,650
17		Tim Criss, Bel Air, MD		9010		214.5		9-15-0		270		9280		1,600
#18		Kelly Coffman, Topeka, KS		8944		212.9		11-13-0		330		9274		1,550
19		Bryan Goebel, Shawnee. KS		8901		211.9		11-13-0		330		9231		1,500
20		Brian LeClair, Hudson, NY		8829		210.2		12-11-1		375		9204		1,450
21		Jess Stayrook, Tempe, AZ		8945		212.9		8-15-1		255		9200		1,400
#22		Norm Duke, Clermont, FL		8884		211.5		10-14-0		300		9184		1,350
23		Don Moser, Murrieta, CA		8913		212.2		8-16-0		240		9153		1,300
24		George Branham III, Indianapolis		8828		210.2		9-15-0		270		9098		1,250

Pos.		Name, City/State	Amount
25		Bob Learn Jr., Erie, PA	$1,000
26		W.R. William Jr., Stockton, CA	970
*27		John Bauerle, Indianapolis	1,060
28		Wayne Webb, Las Vegas	920
29		Bob Spaulding. Greenville, SC	900
30		Ron William,. Fort Worth. TX	880
31		Tom Baker, Buffalo, NY	860
32		Doug Kent, Canandaigua, NY	840
33		Len Blakey, Tacoma, WA	830
34		Tommy Delutz Jr., Jamaica. NY	820
35		Paul Colwell, Tucson, AZ	810
36		Bob Belmont Dunedin, FL	267
		Bob Benoit, Topeka. KS	267
		Philip Ringener, Big Spring. TX	267