WHEAT RIDGE — It’s never a bad thing for a Professional Bowlers Association tournament when a Hall of Famer is in the nationally televised finals. On Sunday, Brian Voss took that a step further by treating an enthusiastic crowd at the Brunswick Zone Wheat Ridge lanes to a historic event.
Teaming with Diandra Asbaty in the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles, Voss became the 10th bowler in PBA history to record 25 victories with a 234-212 decision in the championship match over the top-seeded duo of Jason Belmonte and Michelle Feldman.
Voss, 51, claimed his first PBA win in four years and split a $50,000 check with Asbaty. The format called for the members of each team to bowl alternate frames.
“It’s special because you don’t know if that will be the last one,” said Voss, who was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1994. “I don’t think it will be, but you never know.”
Also memorable was winning in the stepladder format as the No. 5 seed. That meant Voss and the 29-year-old Asbaty had to win four games — a feat that often is accomplished only two or three times during a PBA season.
Voss and Asbaty crushed their first three opponents on Sunday, getting off to a hot start each time and cruising to victories by an average margin of 41 pins. In each game, Voss-Asbaty combined for a string of at least five strikes in a row, including a nine-bagger in the second game for a second consecutive 276.
“It’s special when you did it for somebody else too,” Voss said, referring to the format. “Diandra bowled great. We helped each other out there. We won’t forget this day.”
Teams were set based on qualifying pin totals last week. Asbaty had never bowled with Voss before. This counts as the second PBA Women’s Series victory of her career.
“We just seemed to have chemistry out there with our bowling,” said Asbaty, a Chicagoan who bowled collegiately for Nebraska. “I was honored to bowl with a Hall of Famer.”
Their only real challenge came in the title match when Voss missed the 10-pin on what should have been a simple spare conversion in the eighth frame, one frame after Asbaty appeared to have saved the day by picking up the 4-7-10 split. But Asbaty came through again with a strike in the ninth frame. Voss then put it away with three strikes to finish out.
Belmonte, the amicable Aussie who bowls two-handed, and Feldman had dominated the qualifying rounds by a total margin of 406 pins. But in the title game, the pair combined for only two strikes in their first five frames.
Belmonte and Feldman throw the meanest hooks on their respective tours, but the slower rolls of Voss and Asbaty found the heart of the pocket more often on Sunday.
“Having just one game to bowl (as top seed) and then losing it — it’s the cruelest feeling in the world,” Belmonte said. “But that’s bowling.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
Top PBA Tour titlists
Brian Voss became the 10th bowler with 25 or more titles after Sunday’s victory in Wheat Ridge. Here’s a list of the number of titles and each man’s last win.
47: Walter Ray Williams Jr. (USBC Masters, Feb. 14, 2010)
43: Earl Anthony (USBC Masters, May 12, 1984)
34: Mark Roth (IOF Foresters Open, April 15, 1995) Pete Weber (64th U.S. Open, March 4, 2007)
33: Norm Duke (Cheetah Championship, Aug. 13, 2009)
32: Parker Bohn III (Cheetah Championship, Dec. 7, 2008)
30: Dick Weber (King Louie Open, Feb. 19, 1977)
29: Mike Aulby (Silicon Valley Open, Jan. 21, 2001)
26: Don Johnson (Midas Open, Feb. 12, 1977)
25: Brian Voss (Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles, Sunday)
22: Marshall Holman (Ebonite Classic, Oct. 15, 1996)
20: Dick Ritger (AMF Magicscore Open, Feb. 3, 1979) Wayne Webb (Bud Light Championship, April 12, 1997)
Source:
Results
PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles
At Brunswick Zone, Wheat Ridge
FINAL STANDINGS
1, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga./Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, $50,000.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia/Michelle Feldman, Auburn, N.Y., $26,000.
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas/Shannon O’Keefe, Arlington, Texas, $16,000.
4, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla./Shannon Pluhowsky, Kettering, Ohio, $12,000.
5, Tom Smallwood, Flushing, Mich./Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, $10,000.
STEPLADDER RESULTS
(BAKER FORMAT)
Match one — Voss/Asbaty def. Smallwood/ Woessner, 276-224.
Match two — Voss/Asbaty def. Page/Pluhow- sky, 276-227.
Semifinal — Voss/Asbaty def. Malott/O’Keefe, 224-202.
Championship — Voss/Asbaty def. Belmonte/ Feldman, 234-212.
