BOWLING ▶
Walter Ray Williams Jr. gives back to sport with three area instructional clinics.
In my long history of covering sports, bowlers have been at the top of the list as the most accommodating athletes. Walter Ray Williams Jr., the PBA Tour’s all-time leader with 47 tournament victories, confirmed that over the past few days in the Capital Region.
Williams, a native Californian who lives in Oxford, Fla., made a rare appearance in the Northeast over the weekend to bowl in the PBA50 East Region Crystal Lanes Open in Corning. Before and after the tournament, he made the three-hour trip to the Capital Region to conduct clinics at East Greenbush Bowling Center, Kingpin’s Alley in South Glens Falls, and Barbecue Recreation in Hoosick Falls.
This was far from a money grab. Clinics were three hours long and limited to eight people each to allow more individual instruction. The sessions included video sessions, during which Williams worked with bowlers on ways to improve their game.
Reports from all three centers were that Williams, who two weeks ago announced his retirement from the regular PBA Tour, couldn’t have been more obliging. When the tour was making regular Capital Region stops in the early 2000s, I found that to be true of nearly every pro bowler.
As for the PBA50 tournament, Williams finished 21st, missing match play by 32 pins and earning $440.
Local scene
Brian Leclair of Albany was runner-up to fellow former touring pro Ryan Shafer of Horseheads in the aforementioned PBA50 regional. Shafer won $2,000 for his 33rd regional title. Leclair pocketed $1,000. Don Herrington of Ballston Lake was ninth and earned $700. Dave Handlowich of Ancram finished 16th to take $600. Rich Strath of Schenectady failed to make match play but got the last cash spot at 26th, worth $275 . ... Flobowling has put out its power rankings for the PBA50 Tour, which begins April 11, and Leclair is fourth on the list, behind Williams, Ron Mohr and Pete Weber. Leclair was the 2017 PBA50 Player of the Year. Shafer is sixth.
New York State Masters champion Matt Fazzone of Rotterdam advanced to the semifinals of the New England Bowlers Association’s Bowl Winkles Pro Shop Open in East Hartford, Conn., earning $500. Jessica Aiezza of Mechanicville made it to the round of 16 to win $240 . ... Tom Reed of Mechanicville was tops among 18 bowlers in a six-game sweeper at Uncle Sam, rolling 1,268 (211.3 average) on a challenging lane condition for a $240 stipend. Andrew Pelton of Troy was second at 1,211 . ... The Albany USBC Trio Championships event has set its dates for May 4-6 and 8 at East Greenbush.
Nate Purches of Marlboro, Mass., became a back-to-back champion on the Capital District Youth Scholarship Tour. He rolled a 1,438 sixgame block (239.7 average), which included the ninth 300 game in CDYST history, to beat Zachary Bogholtz of Nassau by 99 pins at East Greenbush. There were 38 entered . ... Cory Weeden of Hoosick Falls captured the monthly Saturday night four-game sweeper at Barbecue, posting a 999 (with handicap) for the $375 top prize. Paul Davendonis of Hoosick Falls was second, 15 pins behind.
National news
The final two majors of the PBA Tour season are set for the next two weeks. The USBC Masters begins Tuesday at National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., where the finals will air at 2 p.m. Sunday on Fox Sports 1. The U.S. Open will be held at the same center beginning April 6, and the stepladder finals at 2 p.m. April 11, also on FS1 . ... Jason Belmonte, whose only TV exposure during the World Series of Bowling was as a sideline reporter, is amidst a four-month stay in the U.S. to bowl tour events. Returning to Australia would mean a 14-day hotel quarantine. He has a Pba-record 13 major titles.