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BowlingHandegard climbs ladder, is champion of champions
By PHIL GULICK © St. Petersburg Times, published September 26, 1998 Handegard came from the fifth seed to capture the Tournament of Champions, $10,000 and a five-year exemption into the event. He beat Gene Stus, Mike Durbin and Gary Dickinson to gain the championship match against Titusville's Pete Couture. Handegard stopped Couture, this year's hottest senior bowler, 269-245. It was only the fourth tour appearance for Handegard this year, after moving to Nacogdoches, Texas, to take over a center. Steve Neff of Homosassa Springs, returning to the tour after nearly 14 years, finished 15th and Bradenton's Dave Soutar was 17th. Barnes, a four-year tour veteran, also earned a Tournament of Champions exemption and won $7,000 for his victory in the Senior Open, run concurrently with the champions-only event. He defeated Roger Tramp of Deltona 225-213 in a match that went down to the final ball. Ron Woods, owner of Hudson Bowl in Pasco County, tied for 13th with Vince Range. Tampa's Shell Wilson finished 16th and Palm Harbor's Patsy Della Penna was 23rd. This week's senior tour stop would have been at Seminole Lanes in Pinellas County, but that was canceled because of renovations to the center and a lack of sponsorship. The tour moved on to Sebring, where Ron Winger finally broke into the winner's circle after three previous final appearances. Winger won his last title five years ago when he rolled a 300 in a championship final. He defeated Johnny Petraglia 246-193 to earn an $8,000 paycheck. Petraglia stopped Durbin, John Hricsina and Dickinson in the three-man semifinal showdown. The seniors made their final Florida stop at Naples this week, and the threat of Hurricane Georges made it the first PBA event to be cut short. Couture was declared winner after 27 games. The final stops of the season are Oct. 4-8 at Jackson, Tenn., and Oct. 11-15 at Davenport, Iowa. Fox Sports and Sunshine Network are scheduled to show the final of each on a tape-delayed basis. NEW EVENT: The inaugural Brunswick World Women's Open, expected to draw 200 of the world's best, is Oct. 17-22 at Lake Zurich, Ill. The $175,000 tournament will feature players from the Professional Women's Bowling Association, amateur U.S. qualifiers and top international players from around the world. The winner earns $25,000. ESPN will air the final 11 p.m. Oct. 29. Aleta Sill, the season's top money winner, will enter the Open after competing in the AMF Gold Cup Oct. 10-15 at Richmond, Va. ESPN airs the final at 11 p.m. Oct. 22. Sill tied Bradenton's Lisa Wagner for all-time career victories at 30 in July and leads the tour with $101,285. She is $31,778 shy of becoming the first woman to reach $1-million in career earnings. Mariann DiRupo won the Visionary Bowling Products Classic Sept. 17 at Lancaster, Ohio, for her second title this year. DiRupo defeated Australia's Carol Gianotti-Block 245-212 to gain the championship match against Liz Johnson. Johnson had a one-pin victory in hand if she struck out in the final frame. But she left a 10-pin on her second ball, and DiRupo picked up the $10,000 winner's check. Wendy Macpherson won this week's stop, the Track Triton Open in Rossford, Ohio. She defeated Carolyn Dorin-Ballard in Thursday's final 227-193. ESPN shows the final at 11 p.m. Thursday. The tour has five more events and ends Nov. 21 with the Sam's Town Invitational in Las Vegas. BOHN SCORES: Parker Bohn III won the Oronamin C Japan Cup Sept. 20 in Tokyo for his fourth title this year, boosting his earnings to $116,805. Bohn beat Steve Jaros 238-226 as American players filled the top six spots. Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Melbourne was third, defending champion Doug Kent was fourth and Brian Himmler fifth. Steve Hoskins of Tarpon Springs, a seven-time tour winner, finished 27th. Bohn is leading Tim Criss in the money race, followed by Williams, Mike Aulby and Hoskins. The PBA Tour opens its seven-stop fall schedule Oct. 3 with the National Finance Championship at Virginia Beach, Va. ESPN is scheduled to broadcast the final live at 7:30 p.m. for all but the Brunswick World Tournament of Champions at Overland Park, Kan., which is at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 22.
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ohn Handegard won his 14th career senior title and Phil Barnes gained his first victory as the twin PBA Senior Tour events ended last week at The Villages in Lady Lake, south of Ocala.
