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Peterson pulls out first title

BOWLING

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Winter Haven's Vernon Peterson captured the Spring Hill Open Sunday at Spring Hill Lanes.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: August 2, 2009

SPRING HILL - Vernon Peterson had a chance, and he figured that's all he could ask for.

Not even a card-carrying PBA Tour member, the 36-year-old Winter Haven resident was a clutch performance in the 10th frame away from his first regional championship Sunday afternoon.

Tangling with Coconut Creek's Richard McDaniel in the final of the 21st annual Spring Hill Open, a PBA South Region event, Peterson needed two strikes and a decent count to capture the crown.

After a solid first ball, his second one hit the pocket a little light, causing Peterson to twist his body as if trying to will the pins down.

Peterson would go off the sheet with three strikes for a thrilling victory, 239-236.

"To win a PBA title, it's up there," Peterson said. "It's pretty exciting. The adrenaline was definitely rushing in the 10th frame. I just wanted to make good shots and it worked out."

Finding time

Peterson admitted that he only bowls in one or two regional tournaments a year, as it's hard to find time to tear away from his job running a pro shop for Kegel out of Cypress Lanes in Winter Haven.

Kegel is considered the industry leader in producing lane-maintenance equipment and also runs a respected training center in Lake Wales.

"I moved down from Detroit to do it," said Peterson, who has worked there six years. "It's the best thing I ever did."

Though not a regular touring pro, he does have some major victories on the amateur circuit.

In 1996, he beat out Chris Barnes, currently the PBA's top-ranked bowler, for the national amateur title. He also has two gold medals won with Team USA in 1997.

That experience came in handy on Sunday as he made his way through the 16-man playoff bracket as the eighth seed. He shot 3097 through 13 games of qualifying, averaging 238.

After sweeping ninth-seeded Ron Jacobson in the best-of-5 round of 16, he went the distance against 16th-seeded Jeffrey Mersch in the best-of-3 quarterfinals.

Facing Brandon's Andrew Shultz in the one-game semis, Peterson committed a critical and stunning error early, completely missing on a 3-6-10 spare attempt.

"I knew I had to figure it out quick," Peterson said. "I had to slow down, make better shots and find my footing. The main thing was I knew I had to make strikes."

He strung together five strikes in a row to make up for his gaff, good enough to push him past Shultz into the final.

McDaniel put the pressure on recording a triple across the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. Peterson didn't blink, knocking down four strikes in a row before leaving a 7-pin in the ninth.

That gave McDaniel a chance to close it out, but he too left a 7-pin on his second ball of the 10th. That provided Peterson just enough of an opening.

"Relief and excitement, pure adrenaline," Peterson said of what he felt following his second strike of the 10th. "Winning never gets old. The day winning gets old, you need to quit."

Pro-am results

Friday's pro-am tournament had a record 312 entries. Michael Brookins won the regular division and $200 with a 1,506 total. Ruth Hickman won the senior division and $115 with a 1,623.

In the junior 'A' division (131 average and over), Mike Greco took first with a 1,568 and Brandon Cruz took the junior 'B' division (130 and under) with a 1,540.

21st annual PBA South Spring Hill Open
Name, Hometown Record Pins Average
1. Vernon Peterson, Winter Haven 7-1 5082 242.00
2. Richard McDaniel, Coconut Creek 6-1 4863 243.15
3. Chris Watson, Winston-Salem, N.C. 5-3 4888 232.76
4. Andrew Shultz, Brandon 5-2 4780 239.00
5. Doug Becker, Clermont 4-2 4328 227.79
6. Jeffrey Mersch, Orlando 4-3 4745 237.25
7. Richard Langton, Alpharetta, Ga. 3-2 4387 243.72
8. Craig Hanson, Orlando 3-2 4293 238.50
9. Emilio Mora Jr., Defiance, Ohio 1-3 4114 242.00
10. Christopher Collins, Savannah, Ga. 1-3 3946 232.12
11. Jason Hurd, St. Petersburg 1-3 3907 229.82
12. John Donovan, Melbourne 0-3 3723 232.69
13. Ron Jacobson, Jupiter 0-3 3683 230.19
14. Roger Kossert, Brandon 0-3 3769 235.56
15. Todd Minotti, Oviedo 0-3 3683 230.19
16. Peter Dohan Jr., Tampa 0-3 3702 231.38
17. Jason Mahr, Spring Hill n/a 2989 229.92
31. Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill n/a 2918 224.46
41. Anthony Oliver, Spring Hill n/a 1594 199.25
72. Brandon Curley, Spring Hill n/a 1585 198.12
88. Anthony Caso, Spring Hill n/a 1452 181.50
96. Jay Tinkham, Spring Hill n/a 1363 170.37

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at 352-544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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