A nice sunny day outside, combined with some very balanced scoring inside, created a near perfect Tournament at HiLine. Six members cracked 1000, and low score to cash this week was a 906. This was the 8th straight Tournament with 100 or more entries, with the lowest in that period being 112. That's a Big Deal! 7 of those 8 Tournaments have paid in excess of $2,000.00 to the winners. That's a REALLY BIG DEAL!! Every squad had at least one 1000 score, with the lead changing hands in every squad. We even had a USBC "Honor Score" by Gus Ramos Jr, with 11 NATURAL Strikes in-a-row, for a natural 290 game.

The HiLine Champion was Tour Veteran, and Life Member, Del Wiggins. There are a number of stories that converged with this win. Del has admittedly struggled in his last year on the Tour, but his determination never wavered. He won his 1st 9-Tap Title in May 2003, the day he first joined the Tour. But this is where the story gets a little scary. Del told his wife Nancy that he was destined to win a Tournament this year, because he seems to win one every 5 years. He won a Senior Tournament in Oregon in 1998, then his 2003 9-Tap win, and now a 2008 Title makes Del's forecast seem clairvoyant. It doesn't stop there... Del never enters a Tournament 3 times and seldom enters the Progressive Pot because of his long drought. Saturday was no different, Del didn't get into the Pro Pot on his 1st entry, but when his stepson Jeff saw that he was re-entering, Jeff had his moment of clairvoyance and decided to put Del into the Pot. That inspired decision paid off after a great 1061 on his 3rd entry, and he collected an extra $1,037 from the Pot. There were extra hurdles to overcome, after Del took a fall on the approach, because he forgot to remove the "Bootie" from his shoe. He said that on Sunday morning he felt like he got run over by a truck, after 12 games, plus the tumble. Del's been an active bowler for 35 years, and for this win he used a Brunswick "Quantum Helix" he got from Vic Bardon at Secoma that he had redrilled by Dave Hanson at Pacific Lanes. With his winnings, Del was going to the last day at Sunset Bowl, this Sunday, to bid on some Pro Shop equipment. CONGRATULATIONS Del!!

Each squad Saturday saw the prior round leader get edged out by someone in the next group. The leader after the 2nd squad was Tom Shupe, who's fine 1052 held on for 2nd place, good for $915.00. This was Tom's first time cashing with the Tour since he first joined last June. In 3rd place, Gus Ramos Jr, the 1st Round Leader with a 1047, took home $477.00. This kept a "Hot Streak" going for Gus, after doing quite well at the card table in Vegas last week.

Next week: a BYE
2 weeks: April 26th "Throw-out your Worst Game" at Skyway Park Bowl & Casino
Squads: 12:00 & 2:00 re-oil 4:30 & 6:30