PBA Players Championship
The PBA Players Championship is one of five major tournaments on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. Unlike the U.S. Open and USBC Masters, which allow qualifying amateurs to participate, the PBA Players Championship is open to PBA members only.
Tournament history
The tournament began as the PBA Touring Players Championship in 1983 and ran every PBA Tour season through 2000. There were no Players Championship events under any name from 2001 to 2011. After the tournament returned to major status in the 2016 season, the PBA voted to retroactively award major titles to the winners of the three previous Players Championship events that decade (2012, 2013, 2015), stating the tournament "is a members-only event, and includes all of the elements of a major."[1]
The current tournament includes a maximum starting field of 120 PBA players. The top 75 PBA members in earnings from the previous season have entry priority over the general membership. The tournament consists of six rounds of five games each, for a total of 30 qualifying games. All scores carry over from one round to the next. There are no match play rounds. The field is then cut to five players, who are seeded for the televised finals based on total score.
PWBA Players Championship winners
2018 Event
The 2018 Barbasol PBA Players Championship was held February 19–25 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio. The tournament had 120 total entries and a $166,750 prize fund, with a $40,000 top prize. A five-player stepladder format was used for the live televised finals on February 25. Tom Smallwood climbed from the #5 seed position, survived two 1-pin victories in his second and third matches, and eventually defeated #1 seed and defending champion Jason Belmonte in the final match. This marked Smallwood's second major tournament win and his third PBA title overall.[2]
| Match #1 | Match #2 | Match #3 | Championship Match | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jason Belmonte | 239 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Marshall Kent | 224 | 5 | Tom Smallwood | 259 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Kristopher Prather | 235 | 5 | Tom Smallwood | 225 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Patrick Girard | 206 | 5 | Tom Smallwood | 236 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Tom Smallwood | 237 | ||||||||||||||||
Final Standings:
1. Tom Smallwood (Saginaw, Michigan) – $40,000
2. Jason Belmonte (Orange, New South Wales, Australia) – $20,100
3. Marshall Kent (Yakima, Washington) – $12,100
4. Kristopher Prather (Plainfield, Illinois) – $11,000
5. Patrick Girard (Jonquière, Quebec, Canada) – $10,100
Past Champions
Listing of all champions dating back to the inaugural 1983 Touring Players Championship.
- 2018: Tom Smallwood, USA
- 2017: Jason Belmonte, Australia
- 2016: Graham Fach, Canada
- 2015: Parker Bohn III, USA
- 2014: Not held
- 2013: Scott Norton, USA
- 2012: Jason Belmonte, Australia
- Not held 2001–2011
- 2000: Dennis Horan Jr., USA
- 1999: Steve Hoskins, USA
- 1998: Dennis Horan Jr., USA
- 1997: Steve Hoskins, USA
- 1996: Mike Aulby, USA
- 1995: Ernie Schlegel, USA
- 1994: Walter Ray Williams Jr., USA
- 1993: Jason Couch, USA
- 1992: Pete Weber, USA
- 1991: Dave Ferraro, USA
- 1990: Duane Fisher, USA
- 1989: Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela
- 1988: Dave Ferraro, USA
- 1987: Tom Crites, USA
- 1986: Mark Williams, USA
- 1985: Dave Husted, USA
- 1984: Mark Roth, USA
- 1983: Steve Cook, USA
References
- ^ Vint, Bill (15 February 2016). "Barbasol PBA Players Championship Returns to Major Title Status; Belmonte, Norton, Bohn Earn Retroactive Majors". PBA.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Stefanie Johnson Wins 2018 QubicaAMF PWBA Players Championship". pwba.com. August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.