Weber finds groove, wins PBA Senior U.S. Open
When it comes to pressure, there’s little Pete Weber hasn’t been able to handle during his Hall of Fame bowling career.
The 52-year-old son of the late Dick Weber, also a Hall of Famer, was in that situation Friday at the Suncoast. And with his championship match with Eric Forkel up for grabs in the PBA Senior U.S. Open, Weber threw four straight strikes and went on to win 224-212.
With the victory, Weber became only the second bowler to win the regular PBA U.S. Open and the Senior U.S. Open, joining Norm Duke. Duke defeated Weber in last year’s Senior U.S. Open finals.
“I threw about 90 percent good shots, so I felt good about that,” said Weber, who defeated Chris Warren 224-202 in the stepladder quarterfinals and Duke 247-190 in the semifinals. “I threw a couple of bad shots, but I was able to make the spares. That’s the key to winning this tournament — you have to make your spares and take advantage of the pins you can hit.”
Forkel, who lives in Henderson and runs the pro shop at Texas Station’s bowling center, carried a 212.76 average through 50 games into the finals. He was third in this event in 2013 and was looking to win the $12,000 first prize.
But Forkel, 54, couldn’t come up with the strike in the 10th frame when he needed it. He left the 7-pin up and settled for spare. And with Weber throwing strikes, it wasn’t enough to overtake him.
“It was a good week,” said Forkel, who made $7,000. “I just wish it were a little bit better. But I don’t bowl with these guys regularly, so I’m pretty proud of what I did out here.”
Weber, who is from St. Ann, Mo., made a key adjustment on one of the lanes, moving to his right to keep the ball in the pocket.
“Lane 13 had a pretty good bounce to it, so I had to play it a little further to the right to keep the ball on line,” he said. “The other lane (Lane 14) played fine.”
The victory was Weber’s first this year, his fourth PBA50 Tour title and the 41st championship of his career. He came to Las Vegas with the mindset that he needed to bowl well enough in match play and make the stepladder finals. From there, anything can happen.
“This is a tournament where 70 percent of the field is eliminated before you start,” said Weber, one of 206 competitors who began play Monday. “But the remaining 30 percent is pretty stout, and you can’t make many mistakes and expect to win.
“Every title means a lot, and it’s nice to join Norm. That’s pretty cool. But what I’d like to do is add that regular (PBA) Masters to my list. I have a few more years, so don’t count me out yet.” Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL