The Professional Bowlers Association returned to Parkside Lanes in Aurora in a week-long, three-event series later this week, the finale to the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing that will award three PBA Tour championships and decide three important competition points races.
The Summer Swing, presented by the Brands of Ebonite International, is livestreamed in its entirety by the PBA’s online streaming partner, FloBowling, which made its debut in Aurora in 2018. The tournament program has been orchestrated by PBA Tour champion Sean Rash, an Aurora area resident, and includes special features such as a golf day for PBA players, plus a free youth instructional clinic involving many of the tournament participants.
The FloBowling PBA Summer Swing, a part of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour, includes the PBA Wolf, Bear, and Illinois Open championship events, each presenting a distinct lane conditioning challenge.
The Wolf Open is contested on the PBA Wolf 32 oiling pattern and feature a 32-foot application of oil. The Wolf Open includes 14 qualifying games Monday and Tuesday, plus a six-game cashers round for the top 18 cashers. The top five after 20 games advanced to the stepladder finals Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.. Two-hander Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, is defending champion.
The PBA Bear Open are Wednesday and Thursday, except the players bowl on the PBA Bear 41 oiling pattern. The FloBowling stepladder finals will be held Thursday, Aug. 29 at 8:30 p.m.. EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Ind., won the 2018 Bear Open championship.
The Summer Swing will conclude with the PBA Illinois Open Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31, and will feature the top 24 players based on 28 combined games of Wolf and Bear qualifying totals. Those 24 will bowl three eight-game round-robin match play rounds with 52-game pinfall totals deciding the top five for the Illinois Open stepladder finals at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31. The challenge in the Illinois Open involves coping with the Wolf 32 pattern on one lane and the Bear 41 on the other. England’s Stuart Williams won the 2018 Tulsa Open, an almost identical event held in Oklahoma.
— Professional Bowlers Association