In the "Big D," wild card Barnes snaps his Lengthy Drought - PBA: Days Inn Open - Chris Barnes

Chris Barnes ended a 35-tournament winless streak by grabbing the PBA Days Inn Open title at Don Carter's All-Star Lanes-West. Barnes picked up his fourth PBA title with a 244-194 victory over Parker Bohn III. It marked only the fifth time a wild-card qualifier has won in the ESPN finals. "It's a big thrill to earn a victory in Dallas," Barnes said. "But I don't want to wait 18 months to win again."

Barnes survived the wild-card match against Pete Weber, 201-189, before topping fellow Dallas-area player Paul Fleming, 234-201.

Bohn entered the finals undefeated and beat Hugh Miller, 191-166, in the semifinals, but never got lined up on the championship pair. "I tried everything out there, and I never really found it," said Bohn, who was seeking his 30th title. "The first 190 game I bowled got me to the finals, but I knew 190 wasn't going to be good enough to beat Chris."

In the title match, Barnes started with a spare before stringing together three consecutive strikes. Bohn chopped the 2-pin off a 24 leave, and only had one strike through his first five frames. A 4-9 split in the 5th kept Bohn alive, but Barnes rebounded with strikes in the 6th through 10th frames to lock up the match, 244-194.

"I've been able to learn from my mistakes, and not get ahead of myself," said Barnes, who posted four second-place finishes this season. "When you bowl on TV, you don't have a lot of time to think about your game plan. I was able to make the right changes at the right time."

Days Inn Open
February 9, 2003
Don Carter's All-Star Lanes-West, Dallas

Rank, Name               Avg./Games        Earnings
1. Chris Barnes            226.3/3          $40,000
2. Parker Bohn III         192.5/2           20,000
3. Paul Fleming             201/1            10,000
3. Hugh Miller              166/1            10,000
5. Pete Weber               189/1             9,000

                     Championship Finals
Wild Card             Barnes def. Weber     201-189
Semifinal             Bohn def. Miller      191-166
Semifinal            Barnes def. Fleming    234-201
Final                 Barnes def. Bohn      244-194