The Denny’s PBA Tour rolls into Columbus, Ohio, this week for the 2008 Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic, Feb. 26-March 2 at Sequoia Pro Bowl. This week’s event marks the first time Sequoia Pro Bowl has hosted a Denny’s PBA Tour event although the center did play host to last season’s Motel 6 Roll to Riches special event won by Doug Kent. The last time a Denny’s PBA Tour event was held in the Columbus area was the 1990 Columbus Pro Bowling Classic won by Amleto Monacelli.

The event is named after the late Don Johnson, who was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1977, finishing his career with 26 Denny’s PBA Tour titles. The former Columbus resident was the PBA Player of the Year in 1971 and ’72, but is best know for his 299 game in the 1970 PBA Tournament of Champions finals.

Johnson’s son, Jimmy (pictured right), who won a Denny’s PBA Tour title in 1990, has been awarded the Commissioner’s Exemption for the event, granting him an automatic spot in the Round of 64. Johnson is the second bowler in the 2007-08 season to be granted the special exemption.

Norm Duke was one bad week away from being in serious jeopardy of losing his exemption for the 2008-09 season. Now, he’s $50,000 richer, automatically entered in the Motel 6 Roll to Riches and, most importantly, has job security through at least 2009-10.

Duke captured his third career Major title, defeating Ryan Shafer, 202-165, last Sunday to win the 2008 Denny’s World Championship at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis. It was the second consecutive season Duke beat Shafer for the title in Indianapolis and the fifth time in his career Duke has denied Shafer a spot in the winner’s circle.

With his career on the line and battling the flu, Duke proved once again to be one of the most clutch performers under pressure the game has seen. In a low scoring championship round, Duke avoided the big mistake unlike his opponents, who made life a little easier for Duke.

Duke started both his semifinal match against Walter Ray Williams Jr. and the title match against Shafer with three strikes, the only time any of the four finalists managed so much as a turkey. The cushion allowed Duke to overcome an early open against Williams to survive, 208-180, while Shafer suffered three consecutive splits late in the title match to allow Duke to cruise, 202-165.

The 2008 Don Johnson Buckeye State Classic at Sequoia Pro Bowl in Columbus, Ohio, features a single elimination match play format with four bowlers battling it out for the title Sunday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m. EST live on ESPN.

This week’s format has been modified slightly, with the Denny’s PBA Tour Qualifying Round taking place Tuesday with the top 10 PBA members and top amateur advancing to Thursday’s Round of 64. Official PBA Pro-Ams take place Tuesday evening at 2:30, 5 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday morning features the official PBA Practice Session, followed by more Pro-Ams at 2:30, 5 and 7:30.

Thursday’s Round of 64 features two seven-game qualifying blocks, after which the field will be cut to the top 32 for match play Friday. The Round of 32 and 16 take place Friday, with the Round of 8 taking place Saturday from 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

The final four advance to the live ESPN-televised finals Sunday, March 2 from 12:30-2 p.m. EST. The winner will take home $25,000 and an exemption for the 2008-09 season.

Norm Duke has an 11-1 record in his last six TV appearances. Duke went 2-0 in capturing the 2006 Ace Hardware Championship at the end of the 2005-06 season then won his next seven matches in winning last season’s Lake County Indiana Classic, Columbia 300 Classic and Pepsi Championship.

Duke’s nine-game winning streak was broken when he fell to Tony Reyes in the 2007 Tournament of Champions semifinal but in his first TV appearance since then, Duke got back on track with two wins in last week’s Denny’s World Championship.

This weekend’s Denny’s World Championship was one of the lowest-scoring Majors in recent history, with Norm Duke’s 202 one of the lowest-Major winning scores of all time.

Duke’s 202 in the title match against Ryan Shafer was the lowest score to win a Major since the 2000 U.S. Open when Duke was also involved, falling to Robert Smith, 202-201. It was the fourth-lowest winning score in Denny’s World Championship history and the 12th-lowest in a Major all time.

The lowest score to win a National/World Championship was a 190 by Tom Crites, who defeated Mike Aulby, 190-184, in the 1986 PBA National Championship. Paul Colwell defeated Dave Davis with a 191 in 1976 while David Traber defeated his brother Dale, 196-187, to win the 1994 PBA National Championship.

The lowest score to ever win any Major was a 186. Joe Berardi defeated Henry Gonzalez, 186-179, to win the 1983 Tournament of Champions.

Norm Duke won last week’s Denny’s World Championship at the age of 43, the sixth time in the last eight years a bowler 40 years or older captured the PBA World Championship.

It wasn’t always the case that the seasoned veterans came through to win the PBA National Championship crown. The first 21 PBA National Championships were won by bowlers younger than 40. In fact, 33 of the first 36 winners of the event were under the age of 40 and the other three were all won by Earl Anthony, who won the last three of his six PBA National Championships after he had turned 40 from 1981-83.

The first bowler other than Earl Anthony to win the PBA National Championship who was 40 or over was Butch Soper, who captured the 1996 PBA National Championship at the age of 46. Walter Ray Williams Jr. has won it three times since turning 40 (2001, 2003 and 2006) while Tom Baker made history in 2004 by winning the event at age 49. Last year’s champion, Doug Kent, won the event just 45 days after his 40th birthday.

Norm Duke’s win in last week’s Denny’s World Championship came eight years after his last Major title, which came in the 2000 PBA National Championship. That marks stands as the third-longest stretch between Major victories in PBA history.

Mike Durbin holds the record, having gone a little more than 10 years between his victories in the 1972 and 1982 Tournament of Champions events. Dave Husted, meanwhile went nine years and four months between winning the 1985 Touring Players Championship and the 1995 U.S. Open.

The victory also gave Duke at least one title in six consecutive seasons, the longest streak of his career.

Going into the Denny’s World Championship title match Sunday, it seemed like the perfect time for Ryan Shafer to finally break through with his first career Major.

It was the classic case of being “due” as Shafer came into the match 0-9 in Major finals, 0-7 on TV against Norm Duke and 0-4 in title matches against his nemesis.

Unfortunately for Shafer, things only got worse. He hung around in the match until the sixth frame when he went on a string of three consecutive splits - leaving the 4-9, 4-10 and 2-10 - all of which resulted in open frames. It was the fourth time in his career Shafer has finished second in a Major and it was the fifth time Duke has cost him a title, including three times in the last two seasons.

Duke beat Shafer for the title in the 2006 Columbia 300 Classic as well as the 2007 Pepsi Championship, which was also held at Woodland Bowl.

With his seventh championship round appearance of the season and second in a Major, Walter Ray Williams Jr. opened up a 12-point lead over Chris Barnes in the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year race with four events remaining.

Thanks to his win last week, Norm Duke jumped from a non-factor to tied for 10th. Read on later for full standings.

With Norm Duke earning a spot in his fourth consecutive Motel 6 Roll to Riches event by winning last week’s Denny’s World Championship, just two more spots are available in the season-ending special event.

The six-bowler event with a winner-take-all $150,000 top-prize includes USBC Masters winner Sean Rash, H&R Block Tournament of Champions winner Michael Haugen Jr. and Duke along with the season-ending 65th Denny’s U.S. Open champion. Additionally, Doug Kent will return as the defending champion. This weekend, the fifth bowler will be announced as fans will choose between Patrick Allen, Parker Bohn III, Chris Barnes and Rhino Page, who each won their pods as voted by fans.

Two weeks ago, Mike Scroggins captured his fifth career Denny’s PBA Tour title with a win over Walter Ray Williams Jr. in the Pepsi Championship at Thunder-Alley in Omaha, Neb.

The win was big for Scroggins as it marked the first time in his career he captured multiple titles in a season. The victory also came 16 years and 23 days after his first title, the second-longest time between first and fifth titles in PBA history.

Butch Soper, who won his first title in 1978, didn’t win his fifth singles title until the 1996 PBA National Championship, 18 years and 54 days after his 1978 Fair Lanes Open victory.

Scroggins also became the fourth-oldest bowler to reach five titles. At the age of 43, Scroggins sits just behind Soper (46), Ernie Schlegel (45) and Roger Bowker (44) who also waited until later in their careers to capture title No. 5.

The 2007-08 season marks the final season exemptions will be awarded to bowlers strictly based on their standings in the each of the seven PBA Regions and those final seven exemptions are close to being wrapped up.

The only bowler who has outright clinched an exemption for 2008-09 is Nathan Bohr, who has wrapped up the Southwest Region. This marks Bohr’s second career exemption as he also won the PBA Southwest Region back in 2004-05.

The East Region has been settled as well, however leader Ray Edwards has decided not to take the exemption meaning the spot will go back to this summer’s Tour Trials.

Two other bowlers haven’t mathematically wrapped up the exemption but will clinch just by showing up to the final event in each region. In the Central Region, Ken Abner will lead the points for the third consecutive season but this season will be the first time he accepts his spot on Tour. David Traber, meanwhile, has a slim lead over his brother, Dale, and Jeff Richgels with two events to go in the Midwest, but both Dale Traber and Richgels have said they will turn down the exemption should they pass David.

The other three races are up in the air. In the Northwest, Chet Rogers leads Corey Husted by 10,787 with just one event remaining, with Craig Tuholski also still in the running heading into the final event. In the West, Dave Arnold leads the pack, but just 4,800 points separate him, Andrew Cain and Ben Laughlin with three events remaining.

Finally, the South region has just two events remaining and three bowlers all very close in the standings. Jason Sterner leads the pack, with Kip Roberts a little more than 2,000 points behind and Jason Hurd roughly 11,000 behind Sterner.

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Point Leaders
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 219,572.5
2. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 196,690.2
3. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 163,746.5
4. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 156,779
5. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 146,808.5
6. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 141,716.5
7. Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 138,379
8. Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 137,292.5
9. Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 131,396
10. Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 129,752

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Earnings Leaders
1. Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan. $143,100
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla. $131,400
3. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, $111,300
4. Michael Haugen Jr. Cave Creek, Ariz. $101,820
5. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla. $99,050
6. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. $97,680
7. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, $86,600
8. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, $86,200
9. Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind. $83,036
10. Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill. $81,305

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Average Leaders
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 228.80
2. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 226.23
3. Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan., 225.96
4. Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 224.21
5. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 223.46
6. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 223.29
7. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 222.29
8. Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 221.20
9. Michael Haugen Jr. Cave Creek, Ariz., 220.89
10. Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 220.79

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Match Play Appearances
1. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 16
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla., 15
3. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 13
(tie) Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 13
5. Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 12
(tie) Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 12
(tie) Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 12
(tie) Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 12
(tie) Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 12
(tie) Tommy Delutz Jr. Flushing, N.Y., 12
(tie) Mitch Beasley, Arlington, Texas, 12

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Championship Round Appearances
1. Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 8
2. Walter Ray Williams Jr. Ocala, Fla. 7
3. Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla. 5
(tie) Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 5
(tie) Wes Malott, Argyle, Texas, 5
6. Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich. 4
(tie) Rhino Page, Topeka, Kan. 4
8. Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3
(tie) Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3
(tie) Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3
(tie) Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3
(tie) Mike DeVaney, San Diego, Calif., 3

2007-08 Denny's PBA Tour Player of the Year Rankings
1. Walter Ray Williams Jr. 60
2. Chris Barnes, 48
3. Michael Haugen Jr. 40
4. Mike Scroggins, 39
5. Patrick Allen, 38
6. Wes Malott, 34
7. Mike Wolfe, 26
(tie) Parker Bohn III, 26
(tie) Mika Koivuniemi, 26
10. Sean Rash, 24
(tie) Tommy Jones, 24
(tie) Norm Duke, 24
13. Ryan Shafer, 22
14. Rhino Page, 21
15. Danny Wiseman, 20
16. Robert Smith, 16
(tie) Michael Fagan, 16
18. Steve Jaros, 12
19. Mike DeVaney, 10
20. Eugene McCune, 8
(tie) Brad Angelo, 8
(tie) Chris Loschetter, 8
(tie) Joe Ciccone, 8
(tie) Ronnie Russell, 8
25. Pete Weber, 7
26. Jack Jurek, 4
(tie) Bill O'Neill, 4
28. Tommy Deultz Jr., 3
(tie) Billy Oatman, 3
30. Jeff Lizzi, 2
(tie) Todd Book, 2
32. Ritchie Allen, 1
(tie) Mike Edwards, 1