Tournament Scheduled For February 5 - 10 at Country Club Lanes West
Seattle, WA (November 15) - The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) announced today the addition of the PBA Columbia 300 Tar Heel Open to the 2001-2002 schedule. The event will replace the PBA Florida Open that was recently canceled. The tournament will take place at Country Club Lanes West in Burlington, North Carolina from February 5 - 10.
The finals of the tournament will be televised on ESPN on Sunday, February 10 at 12:30 p.m. ET.
The PBA Tour has gone through some noticeable changes since the Tour was last in Burlington. Two of the most recent changes with the 2001-2002 PBA season are the new tournament format and the drastically increased prize fund. The format, which now includes single-elimination match play, was changed to create compelling competition that is exciting and dramatic for fans throughout the week.
To begin the tournament, all bowlers will compete in nine games of qualifying. Only the top 64 bowlers advance to the second nine-game round of qualifying, after which a cut to the top 32 will be made.
Beginning with the final 32, single-elimination competition will commence. The bowlers must win best-three-out-of-five game matches to stay alive in the tournament. After three complete rounds of head-to-head matches, four athletes will remain and will advance to the ESPN finals along with the athlete who owned the best individual record in the tournament without advancing to the final four. This athlete will be deemed the wild card and will face the athlete among the final four who lost the most matches during head-to-head competition in match one of the live ESPN finals. Match two of the finals will consist of the two qualifiers from the other half of the bracket. The winner of match one will then face the remaining four qualifier in match three. Winners from match two and three will then meet in the title match to vie for the title and the top prize of $40,000.
The first-place prize is not the only dramatically increased money. The entire prize fund has been increased 140% and pays out to 64th place.
The overall look of a PBA tournament has also been revamped. The bowling center will be transformed into an arena-type setting prior to the final 16. Fans will be able to watch the compelling single-elimination matches from bleachers on both sides of the lanes. The live ESPN finals will have added excitement with a new facelift to the set and more in-depth player profiles, allowing fans across the country to learn more about the everyday lives of their favorite PBA stars.
Fans can attend the professional’s practice session on Wednesday, February 6, and can participate in the Pro-Am competition that follows. This is an excellent opportunity for fans to compete alongside the pros, as well as get autographs and photographs with the stars of the PBA Tour. Anyone interested in attending Pro-Ams or the event during tournament week should contact Country Club Lanes West at (336) 524-9990.
