287 CLOSER PUTS DEVANEY ON TOP

Mike DeVaney of San Diego would like to make his second career PBA Tour title a big one.

DeVaney, who won his only PBA Tour title six years ago in Tacoma, Wash., finished the second round of qualifying in the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Lanes on Wednesday with a 287 game for a 3,909 total and a 29-pin lead over first-round leader Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y.

Holding the 16-game lead wasn’t a big deal for Devaney.

“You can’t pay attention to the scoreboard when you’re bowling these guys,” he said. “I’m confident. I’m very happy to be bowling well, especially after the way I’ve bowled the first part of the season. I’ve been dealing with a couple of physical issues, but I think I have them under control.

“I feel good about where I am, but the position right now is irrelevant to where you want to be in the end.”

Shafer, a four-time PBA titlist who has advanced to the championship round in 11 major tournaments without winning a title, also didn't want to look too far ahead.

“It’s always nice to start well,” Shafer said. “In practice before the tournament, I figured it was going to be high scoring. Normally that’s not my thing, but I just wanted to keep up with the transition in lane conditions. If you miss a change, you’re liable to shoot 180, and that’s not what you want to do. Tonight, I hit one pair of lanes where I didn’t read the transition. I made one bad shot and shot 160. Basically that’s it.

“But I’m not thinking about a title. Maybe 20 years ago I’d have done that, but I’m too old to think like that now,” he said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll keep my eye on 24th place just to see what the cut number is, but that’s about all at this stage of the game.”

Speaking of the 24th and final spot in match play, that’s the target Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., has his sights set on heading into Thursday morning’s final eight qualifying games. Duke, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive PBA major title, was in 32nd place after 16 games with a 3,599 pinfall total, 48 pins shy of the match play cut number.

“I need to figure out how to make the subtle mistakes and still strike,” Duke said. “You have to be able to do that when the scores are as high as they are here. I haven’t found that magic yet, but I will.”

After Thursday’s final qualifying round, the field of 60 PBA champions will be cut to the top 24 who will bowl three eight-match rounds Thursday night, Friday afternoon and Friday night. The top four after 48 games will advance to Sunday’s stepladder finals, which will air at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN.

First prize in the tournament is $50,000 plus a two-year PBA Tour exemption.

(NOTE: This is a press release provided by the PBA.)

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Red Rock Lanes

THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Round 2 (after 16 games)
1, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 3,909
2, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,880
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,875
4, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 3,803
5, Michael Fagan, Patchogue, N.Y., 3,798
6, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,797
7, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 3,778
8, Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan, 3,756
9, Brian Voss, Kennesaw, Ga., 3,749
10, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 3,733
11, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,730
12, Rick Lawrence, Waxahachie, Texas, 3,719
13, Dave Husted, Milwaukie, Ore., 3,715
14, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,706
15, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,694
16, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,692
17, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 3,688
18, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3,686
19, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,679
20, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3,678
21, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,661
22, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 3,652
23, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 3,648
24, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 3,647
24, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 3,647
26, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,645
27, David Traber, Hebron, Ill., 3,632
28, Wayne Webb, Sacramento, Calif., 3,620
29, Dave Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3,612
30, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,606
31, Del Ballard Jr., N. Richland Hills, Texas, 3,603
32, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,599
33, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,580
34, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 3,559
35, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 3,549
36, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 3,516
37, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,505
38, Robert Smith, Columbus, Ohio, 3,493
39, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,492
40, Larry Laub, Lincoln, Calif., 3,486
41, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 3,478
42, John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., 3,469
43, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3,442
44, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,438
45, Mark Roth, Fulton, N.Y., 3,426
46, Roy Buckley, Westerville, Ohio, 3,421
47, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,417
48, Mike Aulby, Indianapolis, 3,403
49, Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, Wash., 3,366
50, Sean Swanson, Springfield, Mo., 3,359
51, Nelson Burton Jr., Stuart, Fla., 3,345
52, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 3,336
53, Mike Mineman, Collinsville, Ill., 3,334
54, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,331
55, Steve Cook, Granite Bay, Calif., 3,283
56, Jason Hurd, Titusville, Fla., 3,277
57, Teata Semiz, North Brunswick, N.J., 3,203
58, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 3,120
59, Carmen Salvino, Schaumburg, Ill., 3,061
60, Don McCune, Las Vegas, 3,053

EXECUTIVE CHANGE AT PBA

Tom Clark will become deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the PBA on May 1. The announcement was made Wednesday by PBA commissioner and chief executive Fred Schreyer.

Clark, who has served as PBA chief operating officer and vice president of marketing since May 2008 will assume primary responsibility for the PBA Tour, PBA Senior Tour and PBA Regional Tour competitions as well as television, marketing and communications.

Clark, a former sports assignment editor at USA Today from 2000 to 2005, was named the Bowlers Journal Person of the Year in 2005 and was the Billiards and Bowling Institute of America’s Industry Service Award recipient in 2008. Before coming to the PBA, Clark was the United States Bowling Congress vice president of marketing and communications from 2005 to 2008.

Clark, 39, grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., and bowled collegiately at Buffalo State College.