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Pressure strikes pro bowlers at Municipal
By DAVID BOYCEThe Kansas City Star
Giant pictures of the 16 participants in bowling’s Clash of the Champions hung above the four bowling lanes.
And Chiefs cheerleaders, dressed in striking red, danced and waved their gold pompoms in front of 1,500 fans, who ranged from teenagers from Kansas City to bowlers of all ages in town for the United States Bowling Congress convention.
With bright lights for a CBS telecast, the setting Thursday evening at Municipal Auditorium had the feel of a boxing match.
Instead, big-time bowling invaded the venerable arena known much more for college basketball.
At stake for the 16 bowlers was a $50,000 prize for the winner.
Lynda Barnes finished with four straight strikes, beating Sean Rash 258-239 and taking home that grand prize, plus the honor of being the first winner of the Clash of the Champions.
“I just tried to make good shots,” said Barnes, who has earned $80,000 in prize money in the last two weeks. “I don’t know whether to keep going or stop. I’m mentally exhausted.
“This was awesome. The crowd was fantastic. You could tell it was filled with people who love bowling.”
Barnes earned her spot in the championship match by beating Liz Johnson 225-204. And in the men’s final, Rash beat Tim Pfeifer 226-191.
“This was a win for bowling,” said Rash, who is from Wichita.
“You want to finish the match first to put pressure on the other person. She bowled great. She bowled great against the women. She bowled great against me. She’s one of the best bowlers ever, male or female.”
The shocker of the night came when bowling legend Pete Weber knocked down six pins with his first ball and was eliminated. And that’s the beauty and the pitfall of the single-ball elimination style.
Fans could see a superstar bowler like Weber throw just one ball in competition.
The USBC hopes the sudden-death format in the opening rounds will generate excitement that will encourage more people to participate in the sport.
“It’s beautiful. I love it,” said Lloyd Denny, a USBC member from Schenectady, N.Y. “I hope they do it more often. One ball and you could be done.
“I’d like to tell you I wouldn’t feel the pressure with one ball, but I would.”
The unique format was enough to interest CBS, which will televise Thursday night’s event Saturday and Sunday afternoon. It’s the first time since 1999 that a bowling tournament will be on network television.
The pressure was on immediately. The bowlers were broken up in groups of four. Each bowler had one ball and the lowest score in each group was eliminated until one bowler was left.
Wendy Macpherson had the honor of being the first bowler to roll a ball in this format, and she knocked down six pins. She had the lowest score in her group and was done.
“I didn’t feel any more pressure than anybody else,” Macpherson said. “Unfortunately, 12 of us didn’t advance. It makes your heart beat. It’s fun. Whether I was the first or the last you never want to be eliminated. I’m OK with it.”
Ten frames of bowling didn’t take place until the tournament was reduced to two men and two women and the championship match between the man and the woman.
Andrew Hammans, a junior at Lee’s Summit West, enjoyed watching the event, especially seeing some of the bowlers who are his age.
“It makes me feel good that there are bowlers out there my age competing in pro tournaments,” he said. “One-ball elimination round is different from the traditional way of bowling. I like it. It gets the audience hyped up.”