28
- July 2017
Mohr Finds Redemption With Win At
2017 Super Senior Classic
By Aaron Smith
LAS VEGAS -
As the top seed for the finals at the
2017
Ron Mohr of North Las
Vegas, Nevada, found himself one win away from re-
demption and his first national victory in nearly five
years, and he refused to be denied either Sunday at
the Sam's Town Bowling Center.
In a rematch of the 2016 title tilt in the same venue,
Mohr was able to best defending champion Junichi
Yajima of Japan, 230-188, to record the win and claim
the $7,000 top prize.
Yajima, who was looking to become the first player to
successfully defend a title at the Super Senior Classic,
earned $5,500 for the second-place finish. Yajima de-
feated Mohr in the 2016 final, 248-218.
Mohr earned the top seed for the stepladder finals for
the second consecutive year and started the title
match with three consecutive strikes, before leaving a
washout in the fourth frame, which he was unable to
convert. Yajima returned the open in the fourth frame
with a 7-10 split, giving Mohr a 16-pin advantage half-
way through the game.
Yajima opened for a second time in the eighth frame,
allowing Mohr to mark in the ninth and 10th frames to
lock up the title. Mohr, a 61-year-old right-hander,
sealed the win with strikes on both attempts.
"I liked the right lane, since it hooked a little more, so
I knew I could go away with it a little bit and be OK,"
said Mohr, an eight-time Professional Bowlers Asso-
ciation 50 Tour champion. "I threw it well in the ninth,
but stepping up in the 10th on the left lane, I had the
fourth frame in the back of my mind. I told myself I just
needed to stay slow and let the ball read and get
there. I didn't need to make it get there. When the ball
picked up in the midlane and turned over, I knew it
was going to be a good shot. To get the ball off my
hand that well, especially in that situation, is as good
as it gets."
The win ended a recent run of 12 championship-
round appearances without a victory for Mohr, who
collected his last PBA50 Tour title in 2012.
"After winning eight titles in a little over four years, I
thought I could start getting pretty used to this," Mohr
said. "When you go winless for a couple of years, you
start to wonder if you're ever going to experience the
winner's circle again. The talent keeps getting better
and better, and I'm not getting any younger, so you
never know if it's the last time. I don't know if I've ever
teared up for a victory before, but I started to today.
It's pretty special, especially with my wife here and in
front of my hometown fans."
The semifinal match Sunday also featured a rematch
from the 2016 event as Yajima met United States
Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer John
Petraglia of Jackson, New Jersey. Yajima again pre-
vailed, this time by a score of 256-235.
Petraglia, down by a pin to start the 10th frame, left a
5-10 split on his first offering, which he was able to
convert, but Yajima sealed the win with a strike on his
first delivery..
In the opening match of the stepladder, Yajima
started with six consecutive strikes on his way to a 241
-192 victory against Kevin Croucher of Grants Pass,
Oregon.
Croucher and Yajima earned their spots in the finals
after winning their respective group stepladders Sun-
day morning.
Croucher made his way out of the Group A steplad-
der by defeating Bill Nichols of Bella Vista, Arkansas,
246-202. Nichols won the opening match against Dick
Baker of Henderson, Nevada, 234-183.
Yajima won the Group B stepladder by besting Paul
McCordic of Sugar Land, Texas, 225-183. Yajima de-
feated USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Tom Baker of
King, North Carolina, in the opening match, 200-158.
The 2017 Super Senior Classic featured a sold-out
field of 140 competitors, and the field was cut to the
top 35 players after 12 games of qualifying. The field
was reduced from 35 to 12 after six additional games
for round-robin match play.
Match play featured two groups simultaneously bowl-
ing an additional six games, including a position round.
The top seeds from each group automatically were
seeded into the stepladder finals, with total pinfall,
including bonus pins, determining the top seed.
The second, third and fourth qualifiers in each group
were placed into a group stepladder to determine the
No. 3 and No. 4 seeds for the main championship
round.
Continued on page 30
55 AND HOLDING
By Correen Edgerly
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK
PAGE FOR UPCOMING EVENTS AND COUPONS
The July 4
th
Handicap Doubles Eliminator is gone
now and the Scratch one has its Entries already
out. We were a full 36 teams for the tournament.
Now to take a peek at some of these great scores
rolled by your fellow bowlers.
In the week of June 3
rd
, in the Monday Senior A’s
Anita Ballesteros rolled a 212 game, also in this
league was Errol Crumpton 267, George Arm-
strong 245, and Helena Nunes 214. Chuck Hatler
rolled his 202 in the B’s and Karl Nielsen rolled his
215 also in this league. The Lucky Seniors had
Roe Maghoney with a 237, Mary Wickham, and
Keith Cobb 237. The Thursday A’s had Al Duncan
with a 279 and Frank Klo with a 254 and in the B’s
it was Jr. Buligon with a 235, Gloria Stoffel 182,
George Lawrence.
The week of June 10
th
had Larry Robinson with a
279, Norma Brown 219 and Kathleen Lau-
tenschlager 221 all in the Monday Senior A’s, in
the B’s is where Pearl Martin rolled a 164, Shuji
Tisujimoto 229 and Steve Stoffel with a 257.
Danny Godoy rolled his 279 in the Lucky Seniors,
also in this league was Gil Maghoney 266, and
Ray Honey 206. Carolyn Carlson rolled her 207 in
the Thursday Sr. A’s and in the B’s it was John
Carroll 279 707, James Green 214, and Rene Or-
nelas 214.
In the week of June 17
th
, George Armstrong
rolled a 244 in the Monday Senior A’s, and in the
B’s it was Shuji Tisujimoto with a 246. The Lucky
Seniors had Ray Honey with a 211 and Connie
Chiccone with a 140 game. The Thursday A’s and
B’s had Bruce Turner with a 231, Fred Campbell
268 707, John Carroll 277 741, Dave Cutler 235,
John Demshar 246, Chuck Hatler 212, Shuji Tisuji-
moto.
The week of June 24
th
in the Monday Senior A’s
we had Errol Crumpton with a 276 game and a 700
series, tony Manrique rolled a 255, Carmen Lewter
222, and Bruce Turner 214. Ernesto Vallejo
posted a 204 and Charles Carr a 217 both in the
Monday Senior B’s. In the Lucky Seniors we had
Gil Maghoney with a 246, and Steve Stoffel with a
244. Bill Lautenschlager rolled a 279 in the Thurs-
day Senior A’s also in this league was Angel Marie
Thomas 224, Bruce Turner 236, and in the B’s we
had Gloria Stoffel with a 181, Benjamin Bautista
215, Dave cutler 256, Tony Novaresi 200 and Mike
Withrow 219.
Wonderful bowling to all of you and until next
month may the pin fall be with
you.
