For the 2nd time this year, we've had a Tournament end in a Tie for the Top Spot and this time we also had a Tie for the last spot on the Cash List, which added an extra bowler to the list.  All together, 9 of the 28 Members on the Cash List were involved in a Tie.  The scores were a little lower than usual, which was quite a switch from the huge scores we had in June.  THANKS to Skyway for the oil machine fix and the overall trouble-free afternoon.  The Cut-Line of 695 was the lowest this year (for '3 of 4' format), by about 15 to 20 pins, so we'll loosen up the shot a bit for our next Skyway visit.  The strings of 9-Taps also shrunk Saturday, with Emma Jarata taking home $100 with just 4-Taps.  That left the 9-Tap Jackpot, which was already the largest of 2012, to grow to an ENORMOUS $9,009.00 for Daffodil, September 1st & 2nd.  The BIG Progressive Pot also got BIGGER at $2,668.00, which will add to making the Labor Day weekend Tournament an interesting start to the Fall bowling season.  With the Jackpot crossing the $9,000.00 plateau, we are going to INCREASE THE BONUSES BY UP TO 50% (see below)!

 

Our Co-Champions at Skyway are both 1st time Winners with GREAT stories.  Marielyn Oriza & Jerry Hendrickson, each bowling in the 4:30 squad and even on the same pair, pushed each other to their winning 786 scores.  Marielyn was also bowling with her husband Alfredo (3 Titles) and son Aldrin also shot during that squad.  After joining the Tour in 2009 and bowling for 2+ years, Marielyn got frustrated, feeling that she wasn't being competitive enough, with a best finish of 5th Place.  So, in 2011, she stopped bowling on the Tour, while Alfredo & Aldrin continued.  After being reminded that, "You NEVER know when you're going to get HOT" and seeing several recent examples confirming that philosophy, she decided to try again.  SURPRISE... New Champion!!  Jerry also had an interesting road to his 1st Title.  2011 was his first year returning to bowling, after breaking his back 18 years ago.  He joined the Tour in January and came close to Cashing a few times, including the heartbreak of another Tie.  In July, he tied for the last spot to get into the Finals at Secoma, losing in the one game roll-off, and admitting to a lot of nerves in that extra game.  The most AMAZING story Saturday was that Jerry put ZERO in the Progressive Pot in his first entry, but while re-entering in the 4:30 squad, Tong told him he was crazy not to put anything into the Pot... so he added $20 to his re-entry, resulting in his collecting an extra $923.00 from the Pot, making his share of the Title worth$1,673.00.  GREAT MOVE!!  Marielyn was limited to $10 in the Pot because of the '6-Month Rule', so her share of the Title was$1,212.00.  Marielyn used a Storm ball drilled by Pat Johns at HiLine, while Jerry used a Hammer Infection drilled by Dan Sanchez at Kent Bowl.  Jerry asked us to thank Dan, along withCindy Watts (Kent Winner 2 weeks ago), for their Inspiration over the last year.  He plans to use his Winnings for a trip to Disneyland with his kids, while Marielyn plans to send some home to family in the Phillipines and the rest toward paying bills.  Marielyn also passed her Thanks to Alfredo & Aldin for cheering her on.  CONGRATS to both on Win #1.

 

The leader after the 2:00 squad, and ultimately our 3rd Place finisher, Bob Matlock, was within FIVE PINS of his 3rd Career Title.  He was also excited about having $20 in the Pot at the right time Saturday, since he sometimes doesn't put in the full amount.  That pushed his earnings to a strong $549.00 this week and also boosted his Career earnings to $5,450.00.  The next 5 places on the Cash List (4th to 8th) were all within 5 pins of each other.