2006–07 PBA Tour season
| PBA Bowling Tour: 2006–07 Season | |
|---|---|
| League | Professional Bowlers Association |
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling |
| Duration | September 26, 2006 – April 1, 2007 |
| PBA Tour | |
| Season MVP | Doug Kent |
This is the 2006–07 season in review for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour.[1] It was the Tour's 48th season and consisted of 21 events.
Season highlights
- Walter Ray Williams Jr. broke Earl Anthony's PBA record for career standard titles with his 42nd win in the opening Dydo Japan Cup.[2] This win also gave him a title in 14 consecutive seasons, one short of Anthony's 1970–84 run.
- The PBA's 17th and 18th televised 300 games were bowled this season: Tony Reyes rolled the first at the Motor City Classic; Ryan Shafer rolled the second at the Pepsi Championship.[3][4] Shafer's string of strikes was eventually snapped at 18, besting Paul Koehler's previous record of 15 consecutive strikes on TV over two matches (1995 U.S. Open).
- Sean Rash became just the second bowler (Hugh Miller was the other) to win titles in his first three televised appearances.[5]
- Doug Kent became just the sixth PBA player in history to win two major titles in a season, capturing the USBC Masters and Denny's World Championship en route to PBA Player of the Year honors.
- In winning the 64th U.S. Open, Pete Weber tied Anthony's then-record of eight majors won (not counting ABC Masters titles before 2003) and, along with his father Dick Weber, became the only bowler to win four U.S. Open/BPAA All-Star titles since the inception of the PBA in 1958.[6]
- In winning the season-ending PBA Tournament of Champions, Tommy Jones broke Dick Weber's 45-year-old record for the shortest time span between his 1st and 10th career titles (2 years, 6 months, 7 days).[7]
- Norm Duke posted a 228.47 average, the highest ever for a PBA season.
- The Motel 6 Roll To Riches event marked announcer Dave Ryan's final PBA event. Ryan would be replaced the following season by Rob Stone.
Awards and Leaders
- Player Of The Year: Doug Kent
- Rookie Of The Year: Billy Oatman
- Money Leader: Doug Kent ($200,530)[8]
- High Average Award: Norm Duke (228.47)
Tournament results
- Majors are noted in boldface.
| Date | Event | City | Oil pattern | Winner (title #) | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | Dydo Japan Cup | Tokyo, Japan | Standard | Walter Ray Williams Jr. (42) | Pete Weber | 289–236 |
| Oct 28 | USBC Masters | Milwaukee, WI | Standard | Doug Kent (8) | Jack Jurek | 277–230 |
| Nov 5 | Motor City Classic | Taylor, MI | Cheetah | Tony Reyes (1) | Wes Malott | 255–238 |
| Nov 12 | Etonic Championship | Cheektowaga, NY | Shark | Pete Weber (33) | Doug Kent | 247–196 |
| Nov 19 | Lake County Indiana Classic | Hammond, IN | Chameleon | Norm Duke (24) | Mika Koivuniemi | 236–233 |
| Nov 25 | Discover Windy City Classic | Vernon Hills, IL | Scorpion | Wes Malott (2) | Chris Barnes | 269–239 |
| Dec 3 | Ace Hardware Championship | Wickliffe, OH | Viper | Tommy Jones (9) | Wes Malott | 222–221 |
| Dec 10 | Beltway Classic | Baltimore, MD | Cheetah | Sean Rash (2) | Parker Bohn III | 279–225 |
| Dec 17 | Columbia 300 Classic | West Babylon, NY | Shark | Norm Duke (25) | Ryan Shafer | 218–179 |
| Jan 7 | H&R Block Classic | Reno, NV | Chameleon | Patrick Allen (8) | Walter Ray Williams Jr. | 255–247 |
| Jan 14 | Earl Anthony Medford Classic | Medford, OR | Scorpion | Sean Rash (3) | Brian Himmler | 262–190 |
| Jan 21 | Dick Weber Open | Fountain Valley | Standard | Jason Couch (14) | Patrick Allen | 258–236 |
| Jan 28 | Motel 6 Classic | Henderson, NV | Viper | Jason Couch (15) | Billy Oatman | 236–228 |
| Feb 4 | Sun City Classic | El Paso, TX | Scorpion | Mika Koivuniemi (7) | Chris Barnes | 214–185 |
| Feb 11 | GEICO Classic | Irving, TX | Shark | Chris Barnes (8) | John May | 235–216 |
| Feb 18 | Go RV'ing Classic | Council Bluffs, IA | Chameleon | Patrick Allen (9) | Parker Bohn III | 218–169 |
| Feb 25 | Bayer Classic | Parkersburg, WV | Cheetah | Mike Mineman (1) | Mike Machuga | 223–202 |
| Mar 4 | 64th U.S. Open | North Brunswick, NJ | U.S. Open | Pete Weber (34) | Wes Malott | 210–204 |
| Mar 18 | Pepsi Championship | Indianapolis, IN | Viper | Norm Duke (26) | Ryan Shafer | 235–219 |
| Mar 25 | Denny's World Championship | Wyoming, MI | World Champ. | Doug Kent (9) | Chris Barnes | 237–216 |
| Apr 1 | PBA Tournament of Champions | Uncasville, CT | T of C | Tommy Jones (10) | Tony Reyes | 257–222 |
Other events
Motel 6 Roll To Riches
Doug Kent capped his Player of the Year honors with a defeat of Norm Duke, six strikes to three.[9] Kent previously survived a sudden-death rolloff against Walter Ray Williams Jr. to advance to the final.
GEICO All-Star Shootout
Norm Duke & Walter Ray Williams Jr. won this event, held outdoors in Eureka, MO, defeating Tony Reyes and Robert Smith as they posted a 6-1 tournament record. This was the PBA's first outdoor event since 2001.[10]
References
- ^ "2006–2007 Season Schedule". PBA.
- ^ "A New Standard". PBA. September 25, 2006.
- ^ "Tony the Tiger". PBA. November 4, 2006.
- ^ "Duke Does it Again". PBA. March 17, 2007.
- ^ "Three-for-Three". PBA. January 13, 2007.
- ^ "Like Father, Like Son". PBA. March 3, 2007.
- ^ "Tommy Jones bio". PBA.
- ^ "Earnings: 2006–2007 Season". PBA.
- ^ "Kent Rolls to Riches". PBA. April 14, 2007.
- ^ "Duke, Williams Win Shootout". PBA. July 21, 2007.