Walter Ray Williams Jr. eyes another milestone at PBA Senior Jackson Open
08/19/10
With a strong finish in the final Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour event of the year, Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured left) could do something no one has ever done in the history of the sport – and probably any other sport: win the PBA Player of the Year and PBA Senior Player of the Year award in the same season.
While the odds heavily favor Wayne Webb (right) winning 2010 PBA Player of the Year honors heading into the Jackson Senior Open, which begins Sunday at Airport Lanes, the race isn't over.
Lurking in the shadows, eyeing an opportunity for an unprecedented sweep of PBA Player of the Year honors for 2010, is the 50-year-old PBA Senior Tour "rookie" from Ocala, Fla.
Heading into the Senior Tour's final three tournaments of the year – Hammond, Ind., Decatur, Ill., and Jackson – Webb appeared to be a lock for the honor with a total of 48 points and a 16-point lead over Mark Williams (left) of Beaumont, Texas. Walter Ray was another four points behind Mark (no relation).
In the Player of the Year points race, only the top four players in each event earn points. First place is worth 16 points, second 8 points, third 4 and fourth 2.
But after the first two events, only Walter Ray improved his position with third-place finishes in both Hammond and Decatur. Webb remains at 48 points heading into Jackson, but Walter Ray is now second with 36 and Mark is third with 32.
For Walter Ray, it's a similar situation to the final event of the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, where he entered the final event of the season – the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open – tied with Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., for the PBA Tour Player of the Year points lead. Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, was a distant third, but when Williams and O'Neill both failed to make the Marathon Open TV finals, Scroggins had a chance to win the title and pass both players.
As it turned out, Pete Weber defeated Scroggins in the Marathon Open title match, and on the virtue of a higher total on the overall PBA World Points Ranking list, Williams won the tiebreaker with O'Neill. At age 50, Williams won a record seventh PBA Player of the Year title and became the oldest player ever to accomplish the feat.
Now, despite the long odds, Williams has the possibility of becoming the first bowler to win PBA Player of the Year, PBA Senior Player of the Year and – depending upon how his peers vote – PBA Senior Rookie of the Year.
The Jackson Senior Open has the potential to be one of the most dramatic Senior Tour events in years. And like the Marathon Open, fans will be able to follow the final day of action live on pba.com's Xtra Frame, the PBA's online video streaming service (to subscribe, go to pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo).
Here's the Senior Player of the Year scenario:
Webb will win the Senior Player of the Year title if:
Walter Ray will win Senior Player of the Year if:
Mark Williams will win Senior Player of the Year if:
The Jackson Senior Open gets underway with eight-game qualifying squads Sunday and Monday at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern. The top 32 players will then advance to single-elimination match play Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. The best-of-three-game Round of 8 will start at 6:30 p.m., followed immediately by the single-game semifinal and championship rounds. All match play competition on Tuesday will be covered live on Xtra Frame.
2010 PBA Senior Tour #9
PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year race heads into final event
With a strong finish in the final Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour event of the year, Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured left) could do something no one has ever done in the history of the sport – and probably any other sport: win the PBA Player of the Year and PBA Senior Player of the Year award in the same season.While the odds heavily favor Wayne Webb (right) winning 2010 PBA Player of the Year honors heading into the Jackson Senior Open, which begins Sunday at Airport Lanes, the race isn't over.
Lurking in the shadows, eyeing an opportunity for an unprecedented sweep of PBA Player of the Year honors for 2010, is the 50-year-old PBA Senior Tour "rookie" from Ocala, Fla.
Heading into the Senior Tour's final three tournaments of the year – Hammond, Ind., Decatur, Ill., and Jackson – Webb appeared to be a lock for the honor with a total of 48 points and a 16-point lead over Mark Williams (left) of Beaumont, Texas. Walter Ray was another four points behind Mark (no relation).In the Player of the Year points race, only the top four players in each event earn points. First place is worth 16 points, second 8 points, third 4 and fourth 2.
But after the first two events, only Walter Ray improved his position with third-place finishes in both Hammond and Decatur. Webb remains at 48 points heading into Jackson, but Walter Ray is now second with 36 and Mark is third with 32.
For Walter Ray, it's a similar situation to the final event of the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour, where he entered the final event of the season – the Lumber Liquidators Marathon Open – tied with Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., for the PBA Tour Player of the Year points lead. Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, was a distant third, but when Williams and O'Neill both failed to make the Marathon Open TV finals, Scroggins had a chance to win the title and pass both players.
As it turned out, Pete Weber defeated Scroggins in the Marathon Open title match, and on the virtue of a higher total on the overall PBA World Points Ranking list, Williams won the tiebreaker with O'Neill. At age 50, Williams won a record seventh PBA Player of the Year title and became the oldest player ever to accomplish the feat.
Now, despite the long odds, Williams has the possibility of becoming the first bowler to win PBA Player of the Year, PBA Senior Player of the Year and – depending upon how his peers vote – PBA Senior Rookie of the Year.
The Jackson Senior Open has the potential to be one of the most dramatic Senior Tour events in years. And like the Marathon Open, fans will be able to follow the final day of action live on pba.com's Xtra Frame, the PBA's online video streaming service (to subscribe, go to pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame logo).
Here's the Senior Player of the Year scenario:
Webb will win the Senior Player of the Year title if:
- He finishes third or higher if Walter Ray wins the Jackson title.
- Neither Walter Ray or Mark Williams win the event.
- He finishes 13th or higher if Mark wins.
Walter Ray will win Senior Player of the Year if:
- He wins the Jackson title and Webb finishes fourth or lower.
Mark Williams will win Senior Player of the Year if:
- He wins the Jackson title and Webb finishes 13th or lower, depending on Webb's qualifying position.
The Jackson Senior Open gets underway with eight-game qualifying squads Sunday and Monday at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern. The top 32 players will then advance to single-elimination match play Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. The best-of-three-game Round of 8 will start at 6:30 p.m., followed immediately by the single-game semifinal and championship rounds. All match play competition on Tuesday will be covered live on Xtra Frame.
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