Not only did Walter Ray Williams Jr. capture his 47th career PBA title... not only did he nab his eighth career major championship... and not only did he take over the lead in the 2009-10 Player of the Year race... but in winning the USBC Masters today at the National Bowling Stadium, he also earned an 11-in-a-row award from the USBC.
The impressive string of strikes came when it counted the most -- in the championship match.
Williams began the game with what he described as a "horrible shot," one that came in very high but left only the 7-pin standing. He converted the spare, then tossed nothing but strikes the rest of the way for a 290-217 victory over top-seeded Chris Barnes.
The stepladder rolloff began with a battle of southpaws that saw Ryan Ciminelli defeat Mike Scroggins, 246-229. Ciminelli then took on Williams, and a 4-6-10 split in the 6th frame cost Ciminelli dearly. Williams went around him at that point and never looked back, rolling to a 258-224 win.
That set up the title match against Barnes, who was bowling for the title in a major for the second consecutive time. And for the second straight time, he got steamrolled. Barnes bowled a very good game, but Williams bowled a great one.
Full coverage of the Masters will appear in the April issue of Bowlers Journal International. Meanwhile, you can read more about the event in "Bob's Blog," which may be accessed under the "100 Years" heading on the homepage.
