‘Amateur’ bowls over competition

Rick Minier is an amateur bowler by Professional Bowlers Association standards.

In the PBA Senior U.S. Open championship game Friday at the Suncoast, Minier "the amateur" figured to be a major underdog against David Ozio, a PBA Hall of Famer with 11 titles on the premier tour and $1.4 million in earnings.

But Minier, 55, was a PBA member for nearly 30 years before his membership expired five years ago, which makes him an "amateur" by PBA rules.

So Ozio knew Minier was a veteran at playing for pay.

Minier showed it in the final game of the weeklong tournament when he beat Ozio 240-223 to win one of the senior tour's major titles and $20,000.

"You work your whole life to win something like this," Minier said.

He opened the game with a spare and followed with six consecutive strikes. Although Ozio struck in five of his first six frames, a missed 10 pin in the fourth doomed him.

Ozio, of Beaumont, Texas, seemed to catch a break when Minier left a 4-6-7-9 split and safely covered two on his second roll. Minier rallied to strike in the ninth and on his first ball of the 10th to seal the title.

"It's hard to top this," Minier said, noting he became confident he could win his first major PBA title after Thursday night's match-play block.

He won five of his eight matches, but more important to him was posting the highest pinfall in the session. It propelled him from 16th to second heading into Friday morning's final match-play session.

"My ball reacts well here no matter what type of oil pattern they put down," Minier said of the Suncoast, where he finished fifth in the 2004 ABC Masters and 20th in the Open a year ago.

It's the second time in three weeks Minier, who lives in Houston, has beaten Ozio, who won $11,000. The Texans met in the championship game of their state's Senior All-Star Bowling Association.

Minier was one of the top bowlers in his native Akron, Ohio, in the early 1970s before moving to Oregon, where he won 12 PBA regional titles. He's lived in Texas the past 19 years.

Minier, who works full time as a controller for a box manufacturing company, hasn't competed in many PBA senior events because of his work schedule.

Ozio advanced to the final game by defeating two-time reigning event champion Tom Baker, 226-196.

Baker, who received $7,000, won the opening match 239-215 over Floridian Bob Handley, who earned $5,000.

Kerry Painter of Henderson took 15th for the best finish among four Southern Nevadans. Ron Winger, who rolled a 300 during the event, placed 17th, Joe Salvemini 19th and amateur Vaughan Doody 24th.