PBA Announces Title Sponsor
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JANUARY 28, 2021 CALIFORNIA 7502B Florence Ave, Downey,OWLING CA 90240 • Website: CaliforniaBowlingNews.com • Email: [email protected] N • Office:EWS (626) 252-2985 Fax: (562) 807-2288 PBA Announces Title Sponsor Return Of $1 Million 300 Bonus For 2021 by Jill Laufer - FloBowling The Professional Bowl- ers Association (PBA) an- nounced today that Guaran- teed Rate, one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the country, has signed on as the title sponsor of the 2021 PBA Tour season when it returned to FOX Sports on Sunday, Jan. 24. Shannon O’Keefe “We’re thrilled to ex- pand our partnership with Guaranteed Rate and wel- Rallies To Win 2021 PWBA come them as the Title Sponsor of the 2021 PBA Tour,” said Colie Edison, Bowlers Journal Classic Chief Executive Officer of The expanded agree- The 2021 Guaranteed ing with the Championship ARLINGTON, TX - In It also was fitting that the the PBA. “Guaranteed Rate ment provides Guaranteed Rate PBA Tour on FOX Finals on FOX (full sched- case anyone had questions title match Thursday night has proven to be a great Rate with an array of exclu- began Sunday, Jan. 24 with ule below), where the win- about how the events of the at the International Train- partner of the Tour and sive marketing rights and the PBA Players Champi- ner from each Regional will last year affected Shannon ing and Research Center our players, and we look opportunities to connect the onship on FS1 (U.S.) and battle it out for a $250,000 O’Keefe and her momen- featured the tour’s top two forward to continuing the brand even further with the FloBowling (international), grand prize. tum on the Professional players - O’Keefe and top momentum into the new PBA Tour, its fans, and its featuring five Regional Fi- But that’s not the only Women’s Bowling Asso- seed Danielle McEwan of season.” events. nals telecasts and culminat- continued on page 5 ciation Tour, the two-time Stony Point, New York - in reigning PWBA Player of another epic showdown. the Year offered a quick O’Keefe, of Shiloh, Il- reminder that she’s still the linois, bounced back from Simonsen Ends Koeltzow’s Cinderella player to beat by winning a second-frame split and the 2021 Bowlers Journal closed the title tilt with Classic, the first event of eight consecutive strikes to the new season. continued on page 6 Run At 2021 PBA Players Championship by Lucas Wiseman JUPITER, Fla. – After the 10 pin. Otherwise, it sitting backstage watching was a perfect day for the Former ABTA Bowler Kris Koeltzow make his 2019 PBA Players Champi- Cinderella run to the final onship winner. George Marquez Passes match in the West Region On Saturday, Koelt- stepladder finals of the zow told FloBowling he by Bob Smith formerly of the ABTA 2021 PBA Players Champi- had “nowhere to go but George Marquez, a well- onship, Anthony Simonsen up” heading into the show. known Southland bowler stepped in and put an end Playing with nothing to succumbed to a lengthy Ill- to it. lose, he looked strong early ness, finally passing away Simonsen posted the on and surely gained some January 8th 2021. highest game of the day as Anthony Simonson fans along the way. George, always a gentle- he defeated Koeltzow, 279- story of the show up until playing the lanes straighter, Koeltzow started his man, was well-liked by all 205, and will bowl in the that point as the Colorado essentially playing the hold run with a 269-245 open- who knew him, he was one Players Championship fi- bowler put up big score af- to near perfection, to come ing-match win over Dar- of the most respectful men nals on Feb. 21 at Bowlero ter big score in climbing the away with the victory. ren Tang before taking on I have known, on or off the Jupiter. The winner of the ladder from the fifth seed. The only miss Simonsen a pair of left-handers. He lanes. event gets $250,000. Simonsen, however, had was in the third frame took down Jakob Butturff, continued on page 5 George Marquez Koeltzow’s run was the came in with a game plan of when he left and converted continued on page 5 PAGE 2 CALIFORNIABOWLINGNEWS.COM January 28, 2021 The Education of a Professional Bowler – Part 6 by Frank Weiler Recently I received a bowling instructional pamphlet from a dear friend and member of the California Bowling Hall of Fame. The pamphlet was written by a PBA Champion from the past. While the pamphlet was written nearly fifty years ago there are pearls of wisdom worth sharing with today’s bowlers. I will do that in a series of short articles. In this final installment I will share our champions TIPS for becoming a better bowler. Then I will share his “TOP SECRET” for bowling your best. Before proceeding to our champions TIPS, I remind you of his O’Neill Tests Positive For “SIX KEYS” to successful bowling as discussed in my five previous articles: • Maximize Your Natural Ability • Physical Conditioning Coronavirus, Out Of PBA • Knowing Your Game • Knowledge of The Sport of Bowling Players Championship • Confidence by Lucas Wiseman • Mental Attitude JUPITER, Fla. – After testing positive for the coronavi- rus Sunday morning, Bill O’Neill, the defending champi- I am a lifelong bowler who has developed into a good league bowler. I have done so by studying and on at the PBA Players Championship, will not participate learning from better bowlers. I have also taken lessons from USBC certified silver coaches.The road to in the regional stepladders currently being held at Bowlero bowling success is a journey. It is all about work and maximizing your talents. It is up to you, the individual Jupiter. bowler, to make yourself a better bowler. You are responsible for your own game. In addition to the “SIX Like the rest of the field, O’Neill participated in region- KEYS” to better bowling listed above and discussed in my prior installments our PBA champion of the past al qualifying last weekend and Saturday began exhibiting provided “NINE TIPS” for becoming a better bowler: symptoms consistent with the coronavirus. He was tested Sunday morning and told FloBowling the test came back 1. There is no substitute for practice. Most professional bowlers practice up to six hours daily to perfect positive. their bowling game. Success in any profession demands hard work. Bowling is no exception. “I was getting congested and then right before I went to bed I got really cold,” O’Neill said of the symptoms 2. Control your emotions. Getting angry with yourself, the pins or the lanes serves no purpose. Anger he experienced Saturday night. “I developed a fever over only leads to blowing pins, missing spares and a loss of concentration. The result may be several bad the night and never could get rid of the chills. Luckily my frames or even a bad game. fever broke a little bit ago so hopefully it stays that way.” O’Neill’s flight to Florida had been scheduled for 7:30 3. Many bowlers stop bearing down when they are eliminated from any chance of winning or cashing. a.m. on Sunday but instead of heading to the airport, he That’s bad. It leads to bad habits and affects your confidence in the future. Use those moments to went and received a rapid test. That test came back posi- learn and explore other options that may lead to success on similar conditions in the future. Experi- tive, forcing him to officially cancel his plans to compete ment while you’re doing your best. in the event. “I’m obviously disappointed in the timing but many 4. So many bowlers have an “A” Game but no Plan “B”. You should develop a diversified bowling game people have lost way more because of this pandemic,” where you are comfortable playing several different angles to the pocket. O’Neill said. “So, hopefully I’m OK, and if that’s the worst thing to happen to me then I’m good. I’m just con- 5. Stay loose during competition. Learn techniques that help you relax when the pressure is on. Some cerned about my family being OK at the moment.” bowlers continually stretch while competing. Others practice deep breathing. Some close eyes be- At the East Region qualifying event in Richmond, Vir- tween shots and visualize their next shot. Do whatever helps you to stay loose, relaxed and comfort- ginia, last weekend, O’Neill said he took precautions to able. avoid contracting the coronavirus. He said he could not specifically pinpoint that he contracted it at the event but 6. Don’t waste time on the approach. Once your feet are set and your hand is in the ball there is no rea- said he hasn’t gone many places since. son to wait. Standing longer on the approach only increases your chance for a bad shot. Waiting only Asked if he wore his mask the entire time at the re- increases your chance to get nervous, to lose concentration, to make mistakes. gional qualifying site, O’Neill said he did. “I recently got contacts specifically so I could bowl 7. When I on the approach you should clear your mind and focus on hitting your target. At that point you without having to remove it at any point,” O’Neill said. should depend on muscle memory to ensure your form is good and that you make a good shot.