The PBA’s plastic ball tournament appears to be going off without a hitch despite a lot of controversy leading up to it. The tournament calls for players to shelve their high-tech balls for the old plastic version that doesn’t grab the lanes. The balls are also identical, so the only uncommon denominator between the players is the players themselves.
There was much talk when the tournament was announced that it required a different skill set and delivery than is used in all the other weeks on tour, so players would have to change their game in midseason, perhaps mucking up their rhythm. Wes Malott, the Medford champion, was among the outspoken, and he is not in the field. But most of the other big names did not skip it. The field has been cut to the top 32, and Pete Weber, Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones and Sean Rash are all in the top 11 as match play begins today. Mike DeVaney leads and two-handed sensation Jason Belmonte of Australia is second.
The finals are at 10 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.
