Weber wins USBC Senior Masters after Boresch misses split

Two strikes in the 10th frame could have sealed the U.S. Bowling Congress Senior Masters tournament title for Lennie Boresch Jr. in a championship match showdown Friday with fellow Hall of Famer Pete Weber.

Instead, he left an open frame by failing to convert a 3-4-6-7-10 split, leaving the door wide open for Weber to strike out and take the title with a 229-205 win at the South Point Bowling Center.

“I expected Lennie to throw two strikes and win,” Weber said. “I let out a big sigh of relief, though, and just got up there, was aggressive and threw a strike.”

Boresch was just as surprised.

“I loved the shot off my hand,” he said. “I was ready to run it out. I must have gotten it a little slow or something. I probably needed to be tighter and firmer on that shot, because it just picked up and took off on me. Bummer.”

Weber became eligible for the PBA50 Tour when he turned 50 in August. He was happy to add the trophy to his lengthy list of accomplishments, which includes 10 major wins on the PBA’s national tour.

“Even though it’s a senior tournament, it ranks right up there with all my other wins,” Weber said. “I don’t care if it’s a senior major or a regular major. All majors are what make you great. I just can’t wait for the regular Masters to come along now.”

Along with the trophy, Weber picked up $16,000. He entered the stepladder finals as the No. 3 seed, but won three straight matches to capture the championship.

One of those victories was a 204-182 win over Henderson resident Kerry Painter in the semifinal.

Painter finished third and won $6,000.