Henderson’s Macpherson glad to be back in frame

Wendy Macpherson soon will be back where she belongs.

In October, she will be bowling professionally in a U.S. series for the first time since 2003.

The Henderson resident is one of 16 women who last week earned spots on the new PBA Women's Series, which will be part of four PBA Tour events this year.

It will be the first major pro series for women bowlers since the Ladies Pro Bowlers Tour folded in 2003.

"I'm looking forward to it and seeing what's it's about," said Macpherson, who will also travel to the Far East to compete in six Japanese Professional Bowlers Association tournaments over the next five months.

Macpherson, 39, has won 20 professional women's titles, captured the prestigious WIBC Queens twice and was named women's Bowler of the Decade for the 1990s.

Her most impressive title came a year ago when she topped a field of about 63,000 bowlers -- nearly all men -- to become the first female champion of the USBC Open (formerly the ABC Open). Macpherson is the only woman to win the coveted title in the tournament's 103-year history.

She'll begin a new chapter in her career when the PBA mini-series opens Oct. 31 in Taylor, Mich.

The PBA women's series will guarantee each of the 16 participants $1,800 and the event winner $10,000. The field was set after four days of qualifying at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno.

"It's not a living, but it's a start," Macpherson said Thursday from Reno after finishing sixth, 62 pins behind winner Michelle Feldman, in the 65-woman field. "I don't know the whole format for the series, but it will be great to be getting out there again."

Macpherson, a 16-year resident of Southern Nevada, said players in the new series will have to adjust to the PBA lane-dressing patterns, which will be the same for men and women.

She bowled in such conditions during tour trials, which ran concurrently with USBC U.S. Open qualifying.

"In the long term, this is a potential first step to bringing women's professional bowling back into the spotlight," Kirk von Krueger, director of the PBA Tour, said of the women's series. "In the short term, the series provides a guaranteed payday in four professional events, each with a televised championship (game) live on ESPN."

The women's championship match will be included in the nationally televised finals of the PBA Tour finals.

"If the rebirth of women's professional bowling has any chance of succeeding, we've got to rally the troops," von Krueger said. "That means supporting this initiative at all levels to demonstrate its viability within the industry."

He said the success of the women's series this year will determine if it is added next year and expanded to more events, possibly the Jan. 23-27 PBA Tour Tournament of Champions at Red Rock Resort.

The women's series will play Oct. 31-Nov. 4 in Taylor, Mich.; Nov. 7-11 in Cheektowaga, N.Y.; Nov. 14-18 in Merrillville, Ind.; and Nov. 28-Dec. 2 in Wyoming, Mich.