Alabama's Williams becomes first-time PBA champ

Mike Williams II nearly didn't get a chance to bowl Sunday in the 23rd annual Spring Hill Open at Spring Hill Lanes.

By end of the Professional Bowlers Association South Region event, the Montgomery, Ala. product claimed victory over Hernando County.

During match play Williams knocked out two local bowlers en route to his initial pro championship.

"I can't even explain how it feels. It hasn't set in yet," Williams said. "As a kid you dream of winning your first professional title and for it to happen here in front of a lot of people I know, it feels real good."

The victorious final over High Springs' Dale Coleman ended up being one of Williams' least-pressurized games over the two days of action.

Already in front, Williams switched balls off a spare in the sixth frame and went off the sheet for six strikes in a row to finish off the 234-174 triumph.

"I was getting good ball reaction, but off the break point (the first ball) wasn't giving me any back end," Williams said. "I thought (the second ball) was going to be too much ball, but I thought about it for a minute and decided to run with it."

Advancing by a pin

It wasn't the first time Williams, who averaged 204 in the tournament, had to make a change in order to advance. After shooting eight qualifying games Saturday, Williams survived by one pin.

"I went home and did a little bit of research on this lane surface," said Williams, referring to the Chameleon oil pattern. "I adjusted my equipment and came in today and as it turned out I bowl really, really well."

He would end up in the top 16, making match play as the eighth seed, and faced Spring Hill's Chris Polizzi, the ninth seed, in the opening round.

Polizzi, who reached the same point last year, shot 217, 232 and 204 across the best-of-5. However, Williams posted scores of 245, 235 and 266.

Coming into the match, Polizzi had shot 2,700 over 13 games. He got into the field by winning a sweeper at Spring Hill Lanes the previous week.

"I wouldn't say it was hard, but I bowled good. Mike just bowled way better. There's nothing I can do," Polizzi said.

"I made the round of 16 last year, too. But I normally don't fare well on this condition. But this tournament I tried to match up and it worked out well."

Next up for Mike Williams was Brooksville resident Kevin Williams, the operator of Kevin's Pro Shop in Spring Hill Lanes.

Kevin Williams came into match play as the 16th seed, yet knocked off top seed Widmar Vargas of Riverview in five games, 237-189, 182-249, 248-195, 185-224, 275-185.

Against Mike Williams in the best-of-3 quarterfinals, Kevin Williams started off with a dominating 259-202 win. However, Mike Williams bounced back to take the next two contests, 202-180, 214-178.

Thus Kevin Williams settled for seventh placed, which he believed to be his best showing at this tournament. He shot 4,356 over his 21 games, averaging 207.

"It was a lot of fun," Kevin Williams said. "I was hanging by a thread. I barely made the first cut. I barely made the top 16 and to beat Vargas is pretty amazing in itself because he's one of the hottest bowlers in our area."

Another tight squeeze

That left Mike Williams to face fifth seed Doug Becker from Clermont in the one-game semifinal. Williams trailed most of the way, but tallied three strikes in the 10th frame to put pressure on Becker.

Needing two strikes to start his 10th, Becker got one then left the 2-4-7 on the second ball, allowing Williams to slink away with a 203-200 win.

Coleman had eliminated defending champ Richard Langton in the other semi, 204-192, but couldn't carry over that momentum.

That led Williams, in his first full season on the tour, to do something he never had before: Hoist a PBA championship trophy.

"That'll be a fun ride home," Williams said.

Pro-am results

On Friday, Spring Hill Lanes drew 211 entries into its annual pro-am preceding the Spring Hill Open, considered a solid turnout in a slumping economy.

Lawrence Walsh won $180 by taking first in the Regular Division, combining with his pros for a 1,631 three-game total.

In the Senior Division (55 and older), Carlton Jones took home $100 for his winning 1,504 series.

Kyle Keelan earned top honors in the Junior Division A (13 and under) with a 1,482 and Zack Trezise captured the Junior Division B (13 and over) at 1,546.

23rd annual PBA South Spring Hill Open
Name, Hometown Record Pins Average
1. Mike Williams II, Montgomery, Ala. 8-1 4506 204.82
2. Dale Coleman, High Springs 6-3 4846 220.27
3. Doug Becker, Clermont 5-2 4283 214.15
4. Richard Langton, Tallahassee 5-2 4273 213.65
5. Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C. 4-2 4091 215.32
6. Craig Auerbach, Sunrise 4-2 3966 208.74
7. Kevin Williams, Brooksville 4-4 4356 207.43
8. Mark Booke, Boca Raton 3-2 3771 209.50
9. Widmar Vargas, Riverview 2-3 3958 219.89
10. Anthony Colosimo, Timbrooke Pines 1-3 3475 204.41
11. Ken Fishman, Lutz 1-3 3427 201.59
12. Jason Hurd, St. Petersburg 0-3 3387 211.69
13. Mike Moore, Orlando 0-3 3398 212.38
14. Chris Polizzi, Spring Hill 0-3 3353 209.56
15. John Baskett, Palm Coast 0-3 3201 200.06
16. David O'Sullivan, Apopka 0-3 3309 206.81
28. Eric Martins, Spring Hill n/a 1579 197.38
34. Tom Bosquez Jr., Spring Hill n/a 1552 194.00
45. Matt Slaga, Spring Hill n/a 1490 186.25
56. Phil Ciaccio, Spring Hill n/a 1423 177.88
62. Shay Weeks, Spring Hill n/a 1387 173.38