Eddie Graham Wins PBA5O DeHayes Insurance Group Championship For First PBA5O Tour Title
9/7/2016FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Eddie Graham of
Centerville, Ohio, joined the PBA50 Tour in June and immediately made an impact by qualifying for match play in eight consecutive tournaments. He parlayed that success into a win in the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship presented by Pro Bowl West and Ebonite at Pro Bowl West.
In a title match where strikes were hard to come by and spares were good enough, Graham defeated three-time PBA50 Tour and five-time PBA Tour winner Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., 186-156, for his first career PBA50
Tour title.
"It was ugly out there for both of us," said Graham, who has won five PBA regional titles including the 2007 PBA Regional Players Invitational. "I was having problems reading the front part of the lane but eventually I found a place where I could throw the ball soft, let the lane do the work, and at least get the ball to the pocket."
Graham bowled on the PBA Tour part-time from 1994 to 1998 but didn't achieve the success he was hoping for. Like many bowlers who turn 50, he saw the PBA50 Tour as an opportunity to relive the dream.
"It was the right time to give it another shot," said Graham, whose previous best finishes this season were ninth in the recent PBA50 South Shore Open and 12th in the Suncoast PBA
Senior U.S. Open. "I've been a bowler my whole life so I looked at it as another chapter in my bowling career, and here I am."
In the opening stepladder match, PBA Hall of Famer Amleto Monacelli of Venezuela, trying for his second title of the season, defeated Fort Wayne native and two-time PBA50 Player of the Year Ron Mohr, 217-202, who notched his sixth top five finish of the season.
In the second match, Monacelli beat two- time PBA50 Tour winner Lennie Boresch Jr. of Kenosha, Wis., 195-179, to advance to the semifinal match against Graham. Boresch's fourth-place finish was his third consecutive finals appearance after coming off back-to- back runner-up finishes.
In the semifinal, Graham handily beat Monacelli 257-175 to advance to the title match against Learn who was the top qualifier for the finals.
Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com
