PWBA Tour Championship

The PWBA Tour Championship is one of the four major events on the PWBA (Professional Women's Bowling Association) Tour. The tournament has been the final event of the PWBA Tour season since the Tour's rebirth in 2015. It has been held in Arlington, Texas (2015), Midlothian, Virginia (2016) and Richmond, Virginia (2017 and 2018).[1]

Background

The original PWBA Tour (1960–2003) had three major events: The U.S. Women's Open (since inception), USBC Queens (since 1961), and the PWBA Players Championship (began as the PWBA Championships in 1960, and has been held on and off under similar names since). When the Tour was restarted in 2015, the PWBA Tour Championship was added to serve as a season-ending playoffs.

The PWBA Tour Championship is an invitational event with a starting field of 16 players. Any full-fledged PWBA member who wins one of the prior events in the current season automatically makes the field of 16, regardless of her season point total. The remaining spots in the field are filled with the women holding the highest point totals among non-winners. (Because a given player could win more than one tournament during the season, the number of at-large invitations can vary.) Invited players are then re-seeded 1 through 16 based on season point totals.

The tournament is set up in four bracketed elimination rounds. The #5 through #16 seeds bowl in the first round, consisting of six head-to-head, best three-of-five matches. The six winners join the #3 and #4 seeds (who earned first-round byes) in the second round, which consists of four head-to-head, best three-of-five matches. The four winners of those matches bowl head-to-head, best three-of-five matches in the third round to determine the two bowlers who will join the #1 and #2 seeds in the televised finals. The televised final round features two head-to-head, single-elimination semifinal matches, with the #1 and #2 seeds each facing one of the survivors from the third round. The two winners of those matches then square off in a single-game final match to determine the champion.[1]

Despite being automatically placed into the televised finals, the #1 and #2 seeds have never won this tournament (through 2018).[2]

Champions

2018 Event

The 2018 PWBA Tour Championship was held September 16–19 on four specially-built lanes inside the Old Dominion Building at Richmond Raceway. Total prize fund was $70,000, with a $20,000 top prize.[3] Ten of the season’s eleven tournament winners participated, along with six at-large invitees who were the point leaders among non-winners. (Shayna Ng, who won the season-opening PWBA Las Vegas Open, had to withdraw due to other commitments.) Colombia’s Maria Jose Rodríguez, an at-large participant and #13 seed, won her first PWBA title, defeating American Kelly Kulick who finished runner-up for the second straight season. Rodríguez earned her first major tournament win on the PWBA Tour, and second major overall. (She previously won the 2014 USBC Queens tournament, which was prior to the 2015 renewal of the PWBA Tour.[2])

Semifinal 1: (13) Maria Jose Rodríguez defeated (2) Danielle McEwan, 237–224
Semifinal 2: (12) Kelly Kulick defeated (1) Shannon O'Keefe, 243–210
Final match: Maria Jose Rodríguez defeated Kelly Kulick, 236–228

  • Prize Pool:
1. Maria Jose Rodríguez (Colombia, lives in Austin, TX) – $20,000
2. Kelly Kulick, (Union Township, NJ) – $10,000
T3. Danielle McEwan, (Stony Point, NY) – $6,000
T3. Shannon O'Keefe, (Shiloh, IL) – $6,000

Past winners

SeasonWinnerRunner-upChampionship match score
2015Danielle McEwanStefanie Johnson233–205[4]
2016New Hui FenCherie Tan258–235[5]
2017Shannon O'KeefeKelly Kulick222–203[6]
2018Maria Jose RodríguezKelly Kulick236–228[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "A Look at the History and Facts of the PWBA Tour Championship". PWBA.com. September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Maria Jose Rodríguez Wins 2018 PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 19, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Tour Championship Prize Fund" (PDF). pwba.com. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ "McEwan wins Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". bowl.com. September 13, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ "New Hui Fen wins 2016 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Shannon O'Keefe wins 2017 Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship". pwba.com. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
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