Pete Weber Wins Record-Tying Third Straight PBA50 Tour Title in New York
6/15/2016FARMINGDALE, N. Y.- Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Pete Weber continued his torrid 2016 PBA50 Tour campaign, winning the Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick at Farmingdale Lanes for a record-tying third consecutive PBA50 Tour title.
Weber again dominated the field of 50-and-older players to earn the top berth in the stepladder finals, but he narrowly escaped with a 223-204 victory over Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., when LeClair left a pocket 7-10 split on his first shot in the 10th frame.
With his win, Weber tied the PBA50 Tour record for consecutive titles set by Tom Baker of King, N.C., in 2006. With his seventh career PBA50 Tour title, Weber also broke a personal tie with his late father, who won six PBA50 titles. Weber also noted he won the first Johnny Petraglia Open, held on the PBA Tour at Brunswick Zone Carolier in N. Brunswick, N.J., 25 years ago.
Thus far in 2016, Weber – the reigning PBA50 Player of the Year- has a fourth-place finish in the season-opening Pasco County Florida Open follo wed by
co nsecutiv e titles in the UnitedHealthcare Sun Bowl in The Villag es in F lo r id a and the Mooresville Ford Open in North Carolina. Weber will try for his f o ur th co nsecutiv e title in the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open at Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas, May 30-June 3, where Weber also is defending champion.
"I've won a couple titles in a row, maybe made a show the next week, but I've never won three in a row, so it's kinda cool," Weber said
Unlike many PBA players, Weber was watching when LeClair threw his ill-fated shot in the 10th frame. "I always watch," he said. "When Brian let it go, I thought, I just lost. But Dad always said I'd rather be lucky than good. I'd rather be both, but tonight I got lucky."
And Weber said his confidence will be soaring when he goes for a fourth consecutive title in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. "You know me and the majors. I love the majors," he said. "Having 17 days off before we bowl in Vegas is a big advantage to me. I'll be relaxedand ready to win again."
LeClair, in his second year of PBA50 competition, dominated the early matches, tripping PBA Hall of Famers Tom Baker of King, N.C.,
258-247, and Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Fla., 221-205, in the first two matches. LeClair then won a battle of New Yorkers in the semifinal contest, eliminating Ray Edwards of Middle Island, 238-184. The second Petraglia BVL Open, like its predecessor, raised nearly$50,000 in support of the nation's military veterans. "If we can keep raising that kind of money for the people who are protecting us every day, that's what it's all about," Petraglia said.
Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com
