Texan’s bowling drought halted

Participating in PBA Tour tournaments had become an up-and-down ride for Mike Scroggins.

Advancing to the elimination rounds meant an appearance on national television and guarantee of a good paycheck.

But every bowler's goal is to win once they get under the lights, and Scroggins had fallen from contention the last eight times he made it to the championship elimination round. On TV, no less.

That changed Sunday when Scroggins not only won his first match on ESPN in Fountain Valley, Calif., but won three to earn $25,000 and the Dick Weber Open title.

Scroggins said it helped him when Walter Ray Williams Jr., the all-time PBA money winner and 42-time titlist, recently told him he also endured a long losing streak on TV.

"I figured if Walter can go through it, then I can get out of mine," Scroggins said after a morning practice session for the PBA Tour's Tournament of Champions, which begins today with qualifying rounds at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Red Rock.

The hot streak for the left-hander from Amarillo, Texas, continued this week in Las Vegas when he placed second with partner Bill O'Neill in the PBA Tour Exempt Doubles Classic's preliminary rounds.

Scroggins, 43, is relieved to have broken his jinx. He became the first No. 5 seed in more than two years to run the TV field and win a tournament.

A four-time PBA champion, Scroggins struggled with lane conditions at the start of his first match Sunday against Pete Weber. When Weber, who was leading, left a 4-9 split on his first ball of the 10th frame and failed to convert, it opened the door. Scroggins slammed it with a double to start his final frame for the win.

Weber's split was the break he needed.

"I caught a few on Sunday against Pete," Scroggins said. "But the losing streak was (on) me, too. I'd start to think, 'How am I going to screw this game up?' I was getting pretty discouraged about it.

"I knew whoever survived that match would probably go a long way," said Scroggins, the only left-hander in the top five. "On my side, the lanes definitely got better."

• NOTES -- The field of former PBA event winners in the Tournament of Champions, one of the PBA's majors, will be cut to the top 32 after today's 14 games. Following nine match-play games at 10 a.m. Friday, the field will be cut to the top 16, with nine more games beginning at 5 p.m. to determine the top four who will compete at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPN (Cable 30).

Danny Wiseman and Michael Fagan took the top seed for Sunday's finals of the Exempt Doubles Classic. The finals will be at Red Rock about an hour after the Tournament of Champions has been completed.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0247.