Pictured Is: Tucson Open Champion Shannon O' Keefe. Photo Courtesy Of PWBA.Com.
Scheduled To Close At The End Of June, PWBA Tour Visits Golden Pin Lanes As It Hosted Its Last Major Bowling Tournament.
Shannon O' Keefe Wins Her Second Title in 2019, And 10th Overall. While Three Perfect Games Also Highlighted The Event.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor the tenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Tucson - - - It was almost a year ago, (June 18, 2018), that Golden Pin Lanes owner Don Allen. Caught the Tucson bowling community by well, surprise. By announcing that Golden Pin Lanes was sold, and that the bowling center would be closing for good at the end of June 2019.
So, with a year to figure out how the 59 year old establishment could go out with a bang. There were various ideas that were kicked around until center management came up with this obvious one. Why not bring the PWBA tour to Tucson for its very first visit to this eastern Arizona city. As it turned out, it was the right choice for management to make. And from June 6-8, the top touring pros put on quite a show for the Tucson bowling community.
Shannon O' Keefe, of Shiloh, Il. Took over the lead of the PWBA Tucson Open after the second round of qualifying ended on Friday. And from then on, she was the model of consistency the rest of the way to the stepladder finals. In the stepladder finals, she defeated Maria Jose Rodriquez, of Columbia, 259-195, for her second win of 2019. It was her 10th title overall. Earlier this season, she won the PWBA Twins Cities Open also as the top seed, for her 9th career title.
"This was really incredible to get to my 10th title," O' Keefe told those in attendance afterwards. "Right now, I am feeling so grateful, and so blessed. God is good."
She didn't need to watch the scoreboard in this particular title match. She struck on five of her first six shots. And left a solid 10 in both the second and seventh frames. She picked up both of her spares. And struck on her last five shots, that helped her earn her 10th overall title. The closest Rodriquez could come to challenging O'Keefe, was when she struck on three of her last four shots to close out with the 195.
"I try to stay patient and I am not a scoreboard watcher," said O Keefe, of her mind set during a match. "I try to stay in control of the pocket at all times, and focus on picking up the spares."
Katelyn Simpson, of Emmett, ID. Led all qualifiers after the first round with a total pin fall of 1,850. She held a 13 pin lead over Josie Barnes of Nashville, at the conclusion of the round. Bryanna Cote of Red Rock, and Liz Kuhlkin, of Schenectady, NY. Were tied for third at 1,795.
"My goal for this season was getting back to playing the game. And loving it like when I was a 13-year-old girl. Running around the softball field with hair on fire, and just doing it because I love the pure competition side of it," she said, of her goals for 2019. "That's my goal for this season, to be able to do that. It's a lot more fun bowling that way than with putting pressure on yourself."
After Friday's second round concluded, O' Keefe found herself leading the field and never looked back. She increased her total pin fall to 3,593 and averaged 224 for the block heading into Saturday's third round. O' Keefe's second block on Friday included games of: 258, 243, and 237 to put her at +393. She held a 72 pin lead over Diana Zavjalova, of Latvia, who closed her 16 game total at 3,521.
In the opening match, Kuhlkin, defeated Danielle McEwan, of Stony Point, NY. 299-226. It was a solid 9 pin on lane 16, on Kuhlkin's last ball that would cost her the perfect game. In the semi-final game against Rodriquez, Kuhlkin would open up with four more strikes in-a-row to strike on 15 of her first 16 shots. But, it was Rodriquez who would prevail over Kuhlkin, 247-216.
With the Tucson Open being the last major tournament at Golden Pin, the other question among the observers was: who if anybody on the PWBA tour would roll the last 300 game at the bowling center?
Sydney Brummett, of Wichita,. KS., would get one in game four of the Round of 32. And Kelly Kulick, of Union, NJ., got one in the opening game of the Round of 12. Valerie Bercier, of Spring Lake, MI. Rolled her very first 300 game in Round one. But, it was HOF Kulick, who would eventually roll the last 300 game in the center on lanes 25 and 26.
"I did not put that together," said Kulick, when informed her perfect game may have been the last one rolled at Golden Pin Lanes. "Three perfect games were the highlight of the event. "It was nice that we were able to bring the PWBA Tour to Tucson."
Kulick, of Union, NJ. Is a USBC HOF, and has done color commentating on television when not bowling in the finals of a PWBA event.
"Physically sound, and mentally strong," she said, of what she hopes other color commentators say about her game.
She was physically sound, and mentally strong after her 30 games of qualifying ended on Saturday afternoon. She would end up finishing eighth in the event with a total pin fall of 6,467 and + 467.
Arizona was well represented in the Tucson Open. Those who participated from the Cactus State were: Brandi Calderon, Mesa; who was 34th after 16 games of qualifying, and just missed the cut into the top 32 at +7. Jennifer Dovers, Sierra Vista; Mandy Etem, Cave Creek; Annie Hurley, Peoria; Kalyn Arthurs, Tucson; Amanda Falk, Tucson; Shawna Strause, Tucson; Kyndle Farrell, Tucson; Stacey Dault, Chandler; Brooke Carroll, Scottsdale; Amber Harvey, Vail; Shannon Pluhowsky, Phoenix (now Dayton, OH); Bryanna Cote, Red Rock; and Erica Lockhart, of Tucson.
Cote who had grown up bowling in Golden Pin Lanes, was no doubt bowling with a lot of emotion there during the course of the event. Knowing that this was the last major tournament that the center would host in its history, She also had the support of the home crowd behind her, which helped ease the emotion a little bit.
After 16 games of qualifying ended on Friday, she would be tied in 21st place. With Nina Flack of Sweden, with a total pin fall of 3,341 (+141) after two rounds. In round three on Saturday morning when the field was cut from the top 32 to the top 12, she leaped frog 11 places into ninth increasing her pin fall to 5,148 (+348). And after the final round on Saturday afternoon when the field was cut to the top four was made, finished in 11th place for the tournament at 6,452 (+452).
"It was a pretty emotional week for me heading into the start of the PWBA Tucson Open," said Cote, who set a new Arizona State scoring record for women. With an 879 series at Golden Pin Lanes. The old state scoring record was an 847. She also tied a national scoring record in the process. "I took away from each round with another memory to cherish.
"I tried to bowl with my heart, and tried to get into the finals for the Tucson bowling community," she continued. "I loved the support that I got from them the whole week. If I had a chance to do a re do, I would not re do anything. To come back from where I was at the end of round two, and to finish the tournament the way I did. I am really proud of what I accomplished. I wanted to make the Tucson bowling community proud also."
Another local favorite, Shannon Pluhowsky, grew up in Arizona bowling in the junior bowling programs in Phoenix. She went on to bowl in college, at the University of Nebraska. Shannon finished seventh in the tournament at +489.
"I bowled at Golden Pin Lanes a lot," said Pluhowsky, of her memories of Golden Pin Lanes. "It is sad that another bowling center is closing. The bowling center, provided a lot of good memories for our sport."
Shannon, who is herself, a general manager of a bowling center in Ohio. Always appreciates the opportunity to get back home and bowl in a couple of tour stops when her schedule permits.
"Its not the first time I have been able to bowl in front of family members," she says, of bowling in front of family and friends. "It is much better to do it in person, than on the internet."
Jim Kinciki built and originally opened Golden Pin Lanes during the 1959-60 season. Don Allen then bought the bowling center in 1974, and then expanded it from 32 to 48 lanes. Besides hosting the Arizona State Open the last two years, and its very first PWBA event this year. It has also hosted other major events, such as the 1979 and 1995 WIBC Nationals, and PBA tour stops.
The bowling center is scheduled to close at the end of June.
Bowlers who bowled in the Tucson Open, bowled two eight-game qualifying blocks on Friday, and the field was cut to the top 32. Another eight game block on Saturday morning, cut the field to the top 12 players. The top 12 players bowled six more games with the 30 games pin fall total, determining the stepladder finals.
Tucson Bowling News - June 10, 2019