Qualifying: Round 1 | Round 2
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, is bowling with confidence this season, and that again was on display Friday at the 2016 Professional Women's Bowling Association Rochester Open.
O'Keefe averaged 235 over 12 qualifying games for a 2,820 pinfall total at AMF Gates Lanes, edging Clara Guerrero of Pflugerville, Texas (2,794), for the lead.
O'Keefe, who also led after the first six-game block Friday, averaged 242.5 during the evening block to stay ahead of the charging Guerrero. Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York (2,708), Bryanna Cote of Red Rock, Arizona, (2,683) and Kristina Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, New York (2,647), round out the top five.
O'Keefe has been a different bowler this season and has said her time as head coach of the McKendree University women's bowling team has forced her to become confident in making, and committing to, on-lane moves or ball choices, because she expects her team members to do the same.
But, what also has allowed O'Keefe to bowl confidently, is knowing she is a PWBA singles title holder, a distinction she earned after winning the Nationwide PWBA Sonoma County Open earlier this season.
After also leading qualifying and match play at the recent Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open, O'Keefe will head into this week's cashers' round confident and experienced in leading tournaments.
"Getting that first individual win under my belt helped," said O'Keefe, who is the top seed for the Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open TV finals, scheduled to air July 12 at 11 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network. "I feel everything else is just gravy, I really do. Everything else is just bonus. We're so lucky we get to do this week in and week out, so keeping it in perspective is a lot of it, too. Tomorrow, I want to separate myself as much as possible from 13th place. And, if there is some separation between me and third, I'd like to make good shots and further separate myself from that position."
Shannon Sellens of Copiague, New York, earned the final spot in Saturday's cashers' round with a 2,467 total, a 205.58 average.
The PWBA Rochester Open continues Saturday with six additional games, with pinfall carrying over to determine the 12 players who will advance to round-robin match play. The match-play finalists will be split into two groups, each featuring six players. Each group will bowl six games, including a final position round.
At the end of match play, the top qualifier in each group will earn an automatic spot in the stepladder finals, with seeding being determined by total pins. The second, third and fourth qualifiers in each group will advance to a group stepladder final. The winner of each group stepladder will advance to the televised stepladder finals.
All qualifying and match-play rounds are being broadcast on Xtra Frame, the exclusive online bowling channel for the Professional Bowlers Association.
The finals of the PWBA Rochester Open will be taped Aug. 7 in conjunction with the U.S. Women's Open and air Tuesday, Aug. 23 on CBS Sports Network.
