2019 Bowlers Journal Championships sees new leaders in three divisions
April 02, 2019
By Matt Cannizzaro and Daniel Farish
USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - A last-minute decision following their team event at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships paid off for Warren Crawford of McKinleyville, California, and Robby Callan of Vacaville, California, who now are the Open Doubles leaders at the nearby Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
Their surge to the top of the standings was one of three lead changes over two days at the South Point Bowling Center, which also include new leaders in Senior Doubles and Senior Singles
After their three games of team competition Monday at the USBC Open Championships, being held at the South Point Bowling Plaza, the Crawford and Callan contemplated making the short walk to the Bowling Center, and they went on to combine for a 1,475 doubles total.
Crawford shot 258, 246 and 250 for a 754 series, and Callan added a 721 set with games of 246, 255 and 220. A double in the final frame from Crawford help them edge AJ Rice of Columbus, Georgia, and Cory Misura of Clearwater, Florida, who previously held the lead with 1,469.
"It was funny the way it worked out, since we had just gotten done with team event and we weren't sure if we were even going to bowl at the Bowlers Journal," Crawford said. "I coaxed him into it. We decided last minute, and we ran over there and bowled."
Crawford had bowled one previous squad at the 2019 Bowlers Journal Championships and shot 279 his first game, but he quickly lost his look.
"The first shift I bowled, there was a lot of urethane in front of me, and the transition really got me," Crawford said. "The fronts were chewed up, and the backends had tightened up. We didn't hit any urethane today until the last game, and we were able to take advantage of the look we had."
The two were able to work together and make small adjustments during the final frames to maintain their pace.
Callan finished the set first and left a split, putting the moment squarely in the hands of his teammate. Callan did the math after he'd completed his game, while Crawford was aware of the situation, having looked at the leaderboard prior to taking the lanes.
"It was probably the only ball of the night that went high, and it just hooked off my hand," Callan said. "I added up the scores and knew we still had a chance, but I wasn't sure if he knew what he needed or not. He threw some really good shots, and we were able to get there."
Having previously finished as a runner-up in Open Doubles at the Bowlers Journal Championships, Crawford said a win in 2019 would mean a lot.
Callan also experienced a near-miss on one of the biggest stages in bowling when he and his Sack Toe teammates were part of one of the most memorable squads in USBC Open Championships history.
In 2009, also in Las Vegas, Sack Toe and Linds Limited of Milwaukee got into a see-saw battle for the lead in Regular Team. The two teams were a few lanes apart on the same squad of the longest tournament in history (154 days).
Linds Limited edged Sack Toe by 22 pins, and the teams finished first and second in the standings. Linds Limited went on to claim the 2009 Team All-Events title as well, while Sack Toe finished seventh.
"A win this year would be huge for me," Callan said. "Back in 2009, that was probably the end of me really bowling a lot competitively. Priorities in life change, you know, and for this to hold up, would be awesome. Just awesome."
Their set at the Bowlers Journal also offered a bit of redemption for Crawford, who also bowled in last week's 2019 USBC Masters at the Gold Coast Bowling Center.
Crawford finished tied for 128th place, only 14 pins out of cashing, despite missing an uncharacteristic amount of makeable spares.
During their team event Monday morning at the Open Championships, Crawford shot 659, and Callan had 601, helping their Nu-Fusion Bowling team to a 3,029 series.
Their hope was that their success at the Bowlers Journal, contested on the same oil pattern they'd see during doubles and singles at the Open Championships, would carry over.
That wasn't quite the case, as both bowlers were up and down Tuesday morning in doubles and singles.
Crawford struggled in doubles with a 577 series but rebounded with 704 in singles for a 1,940 all-events total. Callan reversed that, bowling well in doubles with 691, then struggled throughout singles on the way to a 615 series and 1,907 all-events total. The two did not bowl doubles together at the Open Championships.
Earlier in the day Monday at the Bowlers Journal Championships, Robert Harvey of Boise, Idaho, rolled scores of 287, 196 and 210 for a 693 series, which propelled him into the lead in Senior Singles.
"The first game really carried me, but I stayed clean and threw the ball right," Harvey said. "This would be a nice little feather in my cap. Any national title is a great honor to have. I haven't been bowling as competitively as I used to, so this would be great."
Harvey is no stranger to national success, having won the 2008 Professional Bowlers Association Columbia 300 Ladies and Legends, a PBA50 Tour event, with soon-to-be USBC Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick. Harvey also owns three PBA50 regional titles.
Defending champion Warren Eales of Chandler, Arizona, previously held the lead in Senior Singles this year with 670.
In Senior Doubles on Tuesday, Terry Leong of Henderson of Nevada, and Phillip Spruill of San Francisco combined for a 1,353 total, beating the previous leading score by two pins.
Spruill led the pair with scores of 236, 209 and 265 for a 710 series, while Leong shot 643 on games of 236, 225 and 182. It wasn't until afterward their set that the duo found out they had taken the lead.
There is quite the contrast between the two bowlers who have known each other for 45 years.
Leong, an annual competitor at the premier side event at the Open Championships, won the Bowlers Journal Senior Doubles championship with Sam Carter in Reno, Nevada, in 2007. Spruill, however, only has bowled in the Bowlers Journal twice.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, and Bill Orlikowski of Grand Rapids, Michigan, previously held this year's Senior Doubles lead with 1,351.
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USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - A last-minute decision following their team event at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships paid off for Warren Crawford of McKinleyville, California, and Robby Callan of Vacaville, California, who now are the Open Doubles leaders at the nearby Bowlers Journal Championships presented by USBC.
Their surge to the top of the standings was one of three lead changes over two days at the South Point Bowling Center, which also include new leaders in Senior Doubles and Senior Singles
After their three games of team competition Monday at the USBC Open Championships, being held at the South Point Bowling Plaza, the Crawford and Callan contemplated making the short walk to the Bowling Center, and they went on to combine for a 1,475 doubles total.
Crawford shot 258, 246 and 250 for a 754 series, and Callan added a 721 set with games of 246, 255 and 220. A double in the final frame from Crawford help them edge AJ Rice of Columbus, Georgia, and Cory Misura of Clearwater, Florida, who previously held the lead with 1,469.
"It was funny the way it worked out, since we had just gotten done with team event and we weren't sure if we were even going to bowl at the Bowlers Journal," Crawford said. "I coaxed him into it. We decided last minute, and we ran over there and bowled."
Crawford had bowled one previous squad at the 2019 Bowlers Journal Championships and shot 279 his first game, but he quickly lost his look.
"The first shift I bowled, there was a lot of urethane in front of me, and the transition really got me," Crawford said. "The fronts were chewed up, and the backends had tightened up. We didn't hit any urethane today until the last game, and we were able to take advantage of the look we had."
The two were able to work together and make small adjustments during the final frames to maintain their pace.
Callan finished the set first and left a split, putting the moment squarely in the hands of his teammate. Callan did the math after he'd completed his game, while Crawford was aware of the situation, having looked at the leaderboard prior to taking the lanes.
"It was probably the only ball of the night that went high, and it just hooked off my hand," Callan said. "I added up the scores and knew we still had a chance, but I wasn't sure if he knew what he needed or not. He threw some really good shots, and we were able to get there."
Having previously finished as a runner-up in Open Doubles at the Bowlers Journal Championships, Crawford said a win in 2019 would mean a lot.
Callan also experienced a near-miss on one of the biggest stages in bowling when he and his Sack Toe teammates were part of one of the most memorable squads in USBC Open Championships history.
In 2009, also in Las Vegas, Sack Toe and Linds Limited of Milwaukee got into a see-saw battle for the lead in Regular Team. The two teams were a few lanes apart on the same squad of the longest tournament in history (154 days).
Linds Limited edged Sack Toe by 22 pins, and the teams finished first and second in the standings. Linds Limited went on to claim the 2009 Team All-Events title as well, while Sack Toe finished seventh.
"A win this year would be huge for me," Callan said. "Back in 2009, that was probably the end of me really bowling a lot competitively. Priorities in life change, you know, and for this to hold up, would be awesome. Just awesome."
Their set at the Bowlers Journal also offered a bit of redemption for Crawford, who also bowled in last week's 2019 USBC Masters at the Gold Coast Bowling Center.
Crawford finished tied for 128th place, only 14 pins out of cashing, despite missing an uncharacteristic amount of makeable spares.
During their team event Monday morning at the Open Championships, Crawford shot 659, and Callan had 601, helping their Nu-Fusion Bowling team to a 3,029 series.
Their hope was that their success at the Bowlers Journal, contested on the same oil pattern they'd see during doubles and singles at the Open Championships, would carry over.
That wasn't quite the case, as both bowlers were up and down Tuesday morning in doubles and singles.
Crawford struggled in doubles with a 577 series but rebounded with 704 in singles for a 1,940 all-events total. Callan reversed that, bowling well in doubles with 691, then struggled throughout singles on the way to a 615 series and 1,907 all-events total. The two did not bowl doubles together at the Open Championships.
Earlier in the day Monday at the Bowlers Journal Championships, Robert Harvey of Boise, Idaho, rolled scores of 287, 196 and 210 for a 693 series, which propelled him into the lead in Senior Singles. "The first game really carried me, but I stayed clean and threw the ball right," Harvey said. "This would be a nice little feather in my cap. Any national title is a great honor to have. I haven't been bowling as competitively as I used to, so this would be great."
Harvey is no stranger to national success, having won the 2008 Professional Bowlers Association Columbia 300 Ladies and Legends, a PBA50 Tour event, with soon-to-be USBC Hall of Famer Kelly Kulick. Harvey also owns three PBA50 regional titles.
Defending champion Warren Eales of Chandler, Arizona, previously held the lead in Senior Singles this year with 670.
In Senior Doubles on Tuesday, Terry Leong of Henderson of Nevada, and Phillip Spruill of San Francisco combined for a 1,353 total, beating the previous leading score by two pins.Spruill led the pair with scores of 236, 209 and 265 for a 710 series, while Leong shot 643 on games of 236, 225 and 182. It wasn't until afterward their set that the duo found out they had taken the lead.
There is quite the contrast between the two bowlers who have known each other for 45 years.
Leong, an annual competitor at the premier side event at the Open Championships, won the Bowlers Journal Senior Doubles championship with Sam Carter in Reno, Nevada, in 2007. Spruill, however, only has bowled in the Bowlers Journal twice.
Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Oxford, Florida, and Bill Orlikowski of Grand Rapids, Michigan, previously held this year's Senior Doubles lead with 1,351.
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