Saturday, the 9-Tap Tourstopped at Secoma Lanes for a very special tournament, honoring and celebrating Leon Bemis.  We set out to do something 'special' for a good friend and thanks to all those in attendance, the feeling was, "WE DID IT"!!  Leon didn't like funeral or memorials so we came up with the Leon Bemis Celebration Tournament, and Leon's family came from far and near to celebrate a great man with all of us.  We also had bowlers that came down from Vancouver, Canada to celebrate, while Lisa Ohm and Rob White, who joined the Tour back in 2006, showed up from Arizona for the event. 

The Tournament itself shattered records, with 294 total entries for the day.  That number even broke the 2-Day tournament record set at Secoma back in June, and clobbered the record set at Paradise Lanes for a 4 squad tournament in 2013.  The Tour paid out an awesome $19,986.00 for the day which was another record.  59 bowlers made the pay sheet with a reasonable cut line of 671 and four scores over 800. A BIG THANK YOU to Mike and his staff for hosting this event, and making it happen without a hitch, giving us extra lanes and using two oil machines to speed up the re-oil process.

 

'Friends & Family' of Leon pitched in to add extra money to the tournament.  A BIG SHOUT-OUT to STORM for providing prizes for the raffle that also contributed to the HUGE $2,120.00 of added-money to the tournament.  Charles Daughery won Pin Glasses, Paul Kelly won an Accessory Case, Bill Henry won a 3-Ball Bag, and Dale Roberts Jr, won a New Storm Ball and drilling by Somoff Pro Shop.  Each of the 4 also won an autographed shammy.  Thank you to everyone who bought tickets, of which 100% was added-money for the tournament. 

Leon's son, Mike bowled in the tournament.  Mike was unsure of himself, as he said it had been awhile since he last bowled.  Taking his Dad's (Leon's) ball that was Leon's 90th birthday present, he started off with 2 9-Taps.  I'm sure there was a little bit of help from somewhere with that.  We did joke with him when he dropped the ball once that Leon was saying don't drop my ball.  Good laughs and fun by all. 

Even though there was such a humongous turn out, the 9-Tap Jackpot was relatively unscathed throughout the day.  Kalym Henry (more on him later,) came the closest hitting the middle-6 Taps, but his 7th ball was a great ball ending in a natural strike.  Christine Terry, followed by Sa Ruong Tang each hit the Front 4 Taps to receive $150.00 each for their efforts.  The 9-Tap Jackpot will be at $10,331.00 for next week's tournament.  This is only the 2nd time in Tour history that the Jackpot has been over $10,000.00 and it's within just $116 of being the BIGGEST ever. 

 

This week's Tournament Champion, Kalym Henry won his 2nd career 9-Tap Championship, with a great score of 827.  Kalym won his 1st tournament last year at Secoma Lanes also.  Kalym wore his Dexter SST-6 shoes while rolling his Hammer Ocean Vibe.  Kalym helps out his dad, Bill, at Bowlero Lanes Lakewood.  Kalym said that he will be using his $2,724.00 on food and more bowling.  Congratulations Kalym! 

Sliding into 2nd place was longtime Tour veteran, Kenny Burnside shooting 814. Kenny had a shot for his 4th title, but one open frame denied him. Kenny's on the spot shooting made him a great $1,219.00 for the day. 

Rafe Barone came close on getting his 1st Title with his score of 809.  Rafe doubled his career earnings, with a  $735.00 check for his 3rd place score.