SEATTLE - The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) will visit the Bowler’s Club at Latham, N.Y., Wednesday, February 12 through Sunday, February 17, for the fourth consecutive year as the PBA Empire State Open rolls into town.
Since February 2001 when the PBA was last in Latham, the tour has gone through several changes including a new tournament format and increased prize fund. The new format, which now includes single-elimination match play, was changed to create compelling competition that is exciting and dramatic for fans.
To begin the tournament, all bowlers 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 is made. Single-elimination bracket competition commences with the round of 32 and bowlers must win best-of-five games matches to advance. After three rounds of head-to-head matches, the four remaining bowlers plus a wild card qualifier meet in the finals to vie for the title and $40,000 top prize (double from 2001 Empire State Open’s first-place prize of $20,000).
But, the first-place prize is not the only dramatically increased money. The entire prize fund has increased 140% and pays out to 64th place.
Additionally, the overall look of a PBA tournament has been revamped, too. The bowling center is transformed into an arena-type setting beginning with the round of 16. Fans can watch the 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.
Defending champion Parker Bohn III is scheduled to compete in the event and will be looking for his fifth win of the 2001-2002 PBA season. The PBA Hall of Famer has won the event in Latham in two of the three years the event has been held (1999, 2001). Heading into the event preceding the PBA Empire State Open, the PBA Columbia Tar Heel Open, Burlington, N.C., Bohn leads the tour in all statistical categories including season earnings ($197,450), average (220.82), cashed (23), match play appearances (21), wins (four), ties with championship round appearances (eight) and is ranked No. 1 in the PBA World Point Rankings.
Other professionals scheduled to compete include PBA Hall of Famers Walter Ray Williams Jr., Brian Voss, David Ozio and Pete Weber and PBA stars Jason Couch, Ricky Ward, Chris Barnes and Robert Smith and the PBA’s newest champion, 23-year-old Ritchie Allen who won his first title in Dallas on February 3.
Fans can bowl with the pros in the Pro-Am competition, Wednesday, Feb. 13. 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 Bowler’s Club at (518) 785-1598.
