Pro Tour Results - Orleans Casino Open, competitions

Bowling Digest, June, 2001

PBA: Orleans Casino Open

Shafer hits the jackpot at Vegas for the second consecutive year

It may be Sin City to many, but as far as Ryan Shafer is concerned Las Vegas is heaven on Earth after he successfully defended his Orleans Casino Open title. The victory, Shafer's third in the past year, lifted him to the No. 1 spot in the PBA's World Power Rankings for the first time in his career.

Orleans Casino Open

January 25, 2001
Orleans Bowling Center, Las Vegas

Name                            Avg./Games          Winnings

1. Ryan Shafer                     210/1             $25,000
2. Jeff Lizzi                      443/2              12,000
3. Michael Haugen Jr.              398/2               7,000
4. John May, LincoInton            409/2               5,000
5. Walter Ray Williams Jr.         214/1               4,000

                           Championship Finals

Match 1                     May def. Williams        216-214
Match 2                      Haugen def. May         228-193
Match 3                     Lizzi def. Haugen        243-170

Final                       Shafer def. Lizzi        210-200

Shafer, who earned $25,000 after defeating Jeff Lizzi in the title match, 210-200, found himself in a familiar position as he entered the finals as the tournament leader for the second consecutive year. "Being the defending champion made me excited to bowl," Shafer said. "I obviously bowl great at this center, and this second title here is just as special as the first."

Lizzi, who was going for his second PBA title, started the title match with a trio of strikes, giving him the early lead.

Shafer, whose win here last year was his first career PBA title, picked up a single pin spare (10-pin)in the 1st frame. Already behind Lizzi, Shafer came up light in the 2nd frame, leaving the 4-8 combination, which he was able to convert. To get back into the game, Shafer managed to string together three strikes (in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th frames).

In the 4th frame, Lizzi was unable to pick up the 3-10 split, breaking his string and leaving his first open frame of the game. Although he recouped with a strike in the 5th frame, Lizzi left his second open frame in the 6th when he left the 3-6-7-10 split and picked up only the 3, 6, and 10-pins.

"When Lizzi left the split, I really felt that I would be able to come back and put this one away," said Shafer. "I was pumped." With the door wide open, Shafer spared in the 6th frame and then put together a double in the 7th and 8th frames to pull ahead for good.

PBA: National Championship

Two crown jewels down, one to go for Williams

Walter Ray Williams Jr. defeated Jeff Lizzi, 258-204, in the finals of the PBA National Championship to move within one jewel of claiming the Triple Crown. Williams earned $25,000 for the victory, the 33rd of his PBA career, which pulled him one win behind Mark Roth for second on the all-time list.

PBA National Championship

February 4, 2001
Southwyck Lanes, Toledo

Name                            Avg./Games              Winnings

1. Walter Ray Williams Jr.         258/1                 $25,000
2. Jeff Lizzi                      667/3                  13,000
3. Tommy Delutz Jr.                239/1                   7,000
4. Dave Arnold                     438/2                   5,000
5. Chris Hayden                    214/1                   4,000

                           Championship Finals

Match 1                     Arnold def. Hayden           235-214
Match 2                     Lizzi def. Arnold            224-203
Match 3                     Lizzi def. Delutz    239-239 (30-29)

Final                      Williams def. Lizzi           258-204

To his credit, however, Williams was no more excited about this victory than any of his previous 32. "My goal is to win every week, regardless of how much importance is placed on each tournament," Williams said. "Many people have criticized me for not having more majors. Now I have three. That's not too bad."

Williams, a PBA Hall-of-Famer, needs only the Tournament of Champions title to become the fifth player in PBA history to complete the Triple Crown (in addition to this PBA National Championship, he had already won the U.S. Open). The victory also gave Williams his third career major title (along with the 1998 U.S. Open and the 1998 and 1994 Touring Players Championships).

The key to the final match was the tough right lane. Lizzi, who earned $13,000 for placing second, started with a strike on the left lane followed by two straight spares and two strikes in the 4th and 5th frames. Williams started the match with a spare before reeling off five consecutive strikes to take a 44-pin lead after the 6th frame.

Lizzi's fate began to slip out of his own hands when he was unable to convert the 810 split, his third shot on the difficult right lane. "The right lane was the key to the match," Lizzi said after losing a title match for the second consecutive week. "It got tighter as we bowled, and we were forced to make some pretty good shots. Unfortunately, I didn't adjust fast enough."