A very Hot Day outside, became the Hottest Day inside that we've had this year & it all translated to some equally HOT scores.  One week after a 995 series was enough to Win, this week we had SIX bowlers top 1000, with a 999 close behind.  4 of those 1000 scores came from Members gunning for their 1st Tour Titles, including the Top 3 finishers, with 1000+ totals coming from every squad.  Even the Cut-Line was a 'shade' hotter this week at a still reasonable 932.   The individual game scores were blazing HOT also, with many bowlers (including our Champion) shooting their Personal Best high games.  We awarded THREE '300 Game' patches to bowlers throwing their first Tour 9-Tap 300's and a few others came close to their first 300 as well.  The 9-Tap Jackpot was the coolest feature of the day, with no one even reaching 4-Taps, leaving a large group of SIX bowlers collecting the Consolation money, tied with 3-Taps each.  That allowed the Jackpot to grow to $2,572.00 for next week at Skyway.

 

Posting a strong 1076 in the 1st squad and then holding on all afternoon, our newest 1st-Time Champion is Ron Rice who's been a regular on the Tour since 2011.  He and the 'Yakima Gang' have been making the trip over the mountains nearly every week since he joined.  His bowling buddy and 'gang member' Judy Buchanan was with him this week, but friends Mick & Denise Thrush have been sidelined for several months due to Mick's back issues.  Ron narrowly missed his first Title last year, also at Paradise, finishing in 2nd by just 5 pins.  We often talk about those 'mystery days' when we get inexplicably HOT.  Saturday, Ron not only shot his highest game on the Tour (287 scr), but his 3rd & 4th games (253-264 scr) were also very close to his Personal Best games. How Hot Was He?  If not for a bad 2nd game, Ron could have broken the Tour's all-time High Series (4-games) and if it had been a 'Best 3 of 4' format he would have broken the all-time Record by 3 pins!  Ron had maintained a consistent 168 average at Nob Hill Bowl in Yakima for 5 years, but over this last year, he's improved his league average by 8 pins and his Tour average has improved by the same amount... truly "Getting Better with Age" (68).  Ron used his Storm 'Fusion' drilled at the Secoma Pro Shop, to earn an impressive $2,290.00.  Ron bowled with Leon Bemis Saturday and offered him THANKS for his supportive encouragement and he also complimented ALL the "Great Members" of the Tour for their friendliness.  CONGRATS Ron on #1.

 

Shooting what would often be a Winning score (1048), on a re-entry in the 2nd squad, Willie Manning Jr got nearly as HOT as Ron.  Willie SHATTERED his Personal Best finish, as well as setting his high game & series marks, that included his first Tour 300 game, on his way to a sweet $1,016.00 payday.  In 3rd Place, Rick Marchu made it a Clean Sweep, by also setting Personal Bests in series & finish, with a strong 1035, earning him a nice $525.00 check.  The others reaching the 1000 mark were Cecil Abay-ABay 1012, Alex Jazbec 1010 & Larry Tibbetts 1007 with Leon's 999 close behind.