Foundation Games VII

October 2001  PBA Northwest Regional  Keizer, OR  ( At Town and Country )

1.  Hugh Miller, Centralia, Washington
2.  Bob Davidson, Seattle, Washington
3.  David Husted, Milwaukie, Oregon

KEIZER , OREGON: Further proof that The Foundation Games "concept" was once again fortified and evident, as the "cream" once again rose to the top in Foundation Games VII at Town and Country Lanes this past weekend. Hugh Miller, Bob Davidson and David Husted (not necessarily in that order) are recognized by all in the Northwest Region as their 3-top players. So, what happened? They finished in the top-3, with Miller savoring this hard fought victory. Shawn Copeland, who actually had the high average in the event at 218, finished in 4th place. Dennis Bailey, a 20-year PBA veteran, finished in 5th position. Bailey, had led the 1st round (short pattern), the 2nd round (long pattern) and the 1st round of match play on the final day, before being overtaken in the final few games by his talented foes.

Day One: Friday October 26, 2001.  Pre-Tournament Meeting and Practice Session.

At 9:00am , Foundation official Len Nicholson met with General Manager John Preston, Head Mechanic Billy (2 and 1/2) Bowman, PBA Northwest Director Gary Mage and Northwest lane man and Tournament Director, Bruce Russell to go over all of the details regarding the lane conditions for this unique event. The patterns to be used were developed by James Richenburg and Jon Binger from Kegel. There were to be 2-patterns used: short and long. This "multiple-condition" concept would be once again put in place in an attempt to challenge the players and test their versatility, as it has in all previous Foundation Games tournaments. The patterns would be put out for the practice session which would be held from 1:00pm-3:00pm that afternoon.  Boyd Puckett from the local ABC association would bring in the Pick-Up Device and the Lane Reader to verify the different conditions, as these patterns were to properly fall-in-line with the ABC Sport Bowling parameters.

Day Two: Saturday October 27, 2001.  First Day Of Qualifying.

At 5:30am , the above mentioned crew arrived at the bowling center. The lanes were thoroughly stripped and oiled, using the short pattern which was to a distance of 32 feet, using 24.24mL of oil. The field of 46-contestants then rolled their 1st , 5-games of the 10-game qualifier. Twenty lanes were used, thus the bowlers would bowl on each pair once throughout the qualifying, thus further ensuring as much equity as possible. At the end of these first 5-games, Bailey was the leader at +160; 2nd: Blaise Bedolla,+151; 3rd: Dan Orazio, +147; 4th: Husted, +128; 5th: Miller,+91; 6th: Nick Powell, +75.  Only 53-pins separated the next 10-players, as 16th place was a score of: +22. A two-hour break was taken by the players so the "lane-crew" could clean the lanes and put down the "long-pattern".  After bowling tapes were taken and the lane machine was re-programmed with the second pattern. The "long" pattern was to a distance of 41-feet and the volume was slightly higher at: 25.72 mL. The bowlers came back from lunch and bowled their 2 nd , 5-game block of qualifying. The scoring pace on this longer pattern was slightly higher, which was expected as the players were able to use more aggressive equipment.

Bailey was the qualifying leader at: +229 (a 222.90-average). Craig Tuholski was 2nd: +191; Tony Dixon, 3rd: +173; Bedolla, 4th: +163; Husted and Davidson were tied for 5th , at: +150. Just 79-pins separated the top-5 players. The cut (16th place) was at: +63.

Day Three: Sunday October 28, 2001.  Finals Day.

The lane crew arrived at 5:30am to strip the lanes. Half of the house was oiled with the "short" pattern and the other half was dressed with the "long" pattern. Sixteen lanes would be used for the 16-bowlers. Match play would be a 16-team league schedule with the bowlers bowling each of the other finalist once, and the last match (#16) being a "position" round match. Throughout the entire 16-games of finals competition, less than 100-pins separated the top-5, making it very exciting throughout.

Once the top-5 were decided, The Foundation format dictated that the highest qualifier could choose the pair that he wanted for his step-ladder finals match. Match #1 saw Copeland choose the long pattern to play against Bailey. Copeland won that match: 225-215. When asked how he liked this tournament, Bailey was quick to reply, "This really rewarded ball choices, proper hand and body position and shot-making. I really liked it."  Match #2 was between Copeland and #3 qualifier Husted. Husted marched Shawn to the low-end of the house and the "short" pattern. Husted, a PBA Hall Of Famer and youngest player to ever earn over a million dollars on Tour, won the match easily, 268-205.

This set up a tremendous rematch between the two most prolific champions in the Northwest Region. Both had amassed 22-Regional titles. Both have won on the National Tour (Husted 14-times and Miller 6-times). Both had been in the title match the previous year in this same bowling center, with Husted prevailing the last time in sudden-death overtime. Miller had the choice of lanes and selected the "short" pattern. The match see-sawed back and forth early on, until Miller tripled in the 6 th , 7th and 8th frames. Miller could have put Husted away with a mark in the 10th , but left the almost impossible, 4-6-7-10 split. Husted needed a double to win, but left a 10-pin to lose, 196-192. Disappointment showed in Husteds' face as he knew that he didn't "catch" all of it on his last shot. Conversely Miller, inhaled a sigh of relief by defeating the great Husted for the first time in quite a while.

Fourteen-time Regional Champion Davidson, now had the choice and decided to bowl against Miller on the "long" pattern. Being the tournament leader (and also the defending National Resident Pro Champion, which he had won in Reno last year), Davidson knew that he would be in for a tough match against the veteran Miller. And, he was, as Miller won the final match: 214-202.

Closing ceremonies were the traditional Foundation "style" with the top-3 being presented medals while standing on Gold, Silver and Bronze Olympic style podiums and the promise of a trip to the International Foundation Games Championships to be held in 2003. Mage presented the checks and thanked Town and Country Lanes for their wonderful hospitality. Proprietor Don Lebold and General Manager John Preston (who did his usual great job), once again committed to having another Foundation Games tournament next year. All in all, this was as close to being a perfect tournament as you can have.