Hooper strikes for title defence
Gary Hooper Jr. survived a late scare to defend his open division title Saturday at the 63rd Molson Masters Open Division at Revs Rose Bowl.
Hooper Jr. had to wait for Rob Ladanchuk to finish in the 10th frame with a chance to strike out and steal the victory.
“I was a little nervous,” the 44-year-old Hooper said. “He struck out in the 10th to beat Darren (Alexander in the second match). He’d already done it and it was on the same lane.”
But Ladanchuk could not do it a second time as Hooper escaped with a 190-160 win to claim his third title overall and the $2,000 top prize. Marc Pouget beat top-seeded Mike Snow 266-167 in the Senior Division final to claim the $1,000 top prize.
“The final shots, I didn’t want to watch,” Hooper said of Ladanchuk. “I just looked for the crowd reaction.”
After winning the title a year ago, the top-seeded Hooper took a more relaxed approach to Saturday’s stepladder play.
“Last year, I sat there for five hours waiting,” Hooper said. “This year, I went home and relaxed, did some house work and didn’t think about it. I wasn’t necessarily happy with my performance, but I did enough to win.”
Alexander opened the stepladder final with a 202-153 win over Joseph Petinato. Alexander then fell 178-172 to Ladanchuk, who went on to beat seven-time champ Todd Sim 178-117 to reach the final.
Pouget was the lone bowler able handle the tough lane conditions. Former champ Charlie Yott opened with a 194-161 win over Jim Hussey. Pouget beat Yott 229-178 in the semis before rolling to the title over Snow.
“Windsor has so many great bowlers,” said the 55-year-old Pouget, who has battled back from a heart attack and wrist problems. “I’m still kind of shocked about it.”