JACKSON, Mich. – The last time Kevin Croucher put himself in a position to earn two byes in match play, he parlayed that advantage to his first career Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Senior Tour title.
Croucher will look to repeat the feat Tuesday as he earned the top seed for match play and byes through the Rounds of 32 and 24 by leading the field with a 3,727 18-game pinfall in the 2008 PBA Senior Jackson Open at Airport Lanes.
Last August, Croucher qualified seventh in the PBA Senior Decatur Open in Decatur, Ill., and was one of eight players to earn two byes. He won all four of his matches, including the title match in a one-ball sudden death roll-off after he and Gary Smith tied at 227. This time, Croucher earned the top seed by averaging 233.63 over his eight games on Monday.
“I started the day off well with a 279 and 235 and that got me up there quite a ways,” Croucher (Grants Pass, Ore.) said. “The shot was a little different from yesterday. You really had to stay further right. There were some tough pairs so you just had to hang in and shoot 200 on those and then got some big scores when you can. If you’re patient enough you could do well on what was out there.”
Croucher was trailing Sunday’s leader Rohn Morton (Vancouver, Wash.) heading into the final game of the night, but he shot 267 to take the overall lead. He’ll look to bounce back from a slow start to the season after finishing fifth in the 2007 PBA Senior Point Rankings.
“The first week the shot was very different than it was on that pattern last year and that was one of the first times where I didn’t even cash,” Croucher said of the season-opening PBA Senior Dayton Classic. “Last week I threw the ball well and cashed but didn’t make match play because I couldn’t carry. This week my bowling balls really like the condition and I’m just able to knock down more pins.”
Morton finished second with 3,700 while rookie Brian Brazeau (Ocala, Fla.) finished third with 3,681. Two-time PBA Senior Tour titlist Henry Gonzalez (Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished fourth with 3,665 while PBA Senior Dayton Classic champion<