PBA News
Delutz Delights Hometown Crowd
West Babylon, NY - November 27, 2003
Tommy Delutz Jr., Flushing, N.Y., took the lead after early qualifying Thursday afternoon with a 2,226 nine-game pinfall in the PBA Geico Open at AMF Babylon Lanes.
Delutz’ 2,226 is the best nine-game qualifying score of the season, passing Danny Wiseman’s 2,180 pin count in the first round of the PBA Greater Philadelphia Open two weeks ago.
“I have a very strict practice routine, and if I’m not bowling well I work my way through slumps,†said Delutz, who failed to cash in last week’s PBA Empire State Open. “I’ve been bowling decent recently, but not really well.â€
Delutz, a two-time PBA Tour title winner, began the day with a 279 game, followed by scores of 244, 259 and 245. He tossed a game-high 280 in his 6th game, and closed out the afternoon with scores of 201, 246 and 256.
Steve Hoskins, Tarpon Springs, Fla., was 2nd with 2,133 while Tom Smallwood, Flushing, Mich., was 3rd with 2,126.
Last week’s PBA Empire State Open runner-up, Chris Barnes, Dallas, was 5th with 2,076. Randy Pedersen, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is expected to make his second consecutive cut after finishing the early qualifying session 8th with 2,057.
Robert Smith, Thousand Oaks, Calif., withdrew from qualifying after three games with a sore right hip.
The 173-man field will be cut to 64 after today’s competition. Tomorrow, the 64 bowlers will roll another nine-game set, after which the field will be trimmed to 32 for match play. Match play is a single elimination bracket format. Bowlers will be seeded based on point totals from the last 20 tournaments. ESPN will televise the five-man finals live Sunday, Nov. 30, from 1-2:30 p.m. ET. Top prize will be $40,000
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Roger Noordhoek
Technical & Customer
Services Manager
Roto Grip, Inc.