Scores were on the lower side nearly all day Saturday at HiLine Lanes with a Cut Line of 901 but 115 entries paved the way for 23 Bowlers to make another competitive Cash List. Just three Bowlers Topped the 1000 mark, beating the rest of the field by a fairly wide margin and the #1 Finisher was WAY out in front at the end of the day, separating himself by 53 sticks! 

Without anyone making a significant run at the 9-Tap Jackpot, SIX bowlers claimed $25.00 each by hitting the front 3 taps for the consolation.  Good News!  The Jackpot is now over$4,000.00 which opens up the 7-Middle Taps for next week atBowlero Lanes.  This means that bowlers could claim $1,000.00by hitting any 7 Taps in the middle of a game.  Unfortunately forHuyen Thai, this comes a week late as he actually hit the Middle-7 on Saturday.  Read on as you shouldn't feel too sorry for Huyen... 

At $490.00, the Scratch Pot was the largest we've seen in quite some time and paid out the Top Three Scratch Series & Game instead of the normal Two as Cal Fisher's 927 Sctratch Series ($145.00) & Dale Coleman's 300 Scratch Game ($145.00) topped the respective lists. 

3rd Place - 81 year-old Stu Gallagher opened the day in the 1st Squad by firing off a stellar 1019 series which was thought to be potentially an insurmountable target.  You'll recall that just a short two months ago Gallagher, the 3-Time Tour Champ, hit the Jackpot for $5,914.00. 

2nd Place - He lined himself up earlier in the day and then on a Re-Entry Ron Campos fired off his Personal Best series 1020, edging out Gallagher by ONE pin for 2nd Place.  Ron's come VERY close to his 1st Title several times, this was his Second 2nd Place finish along TWO 3rd Place's.  Hopefully, the $805.00 pay day will soften the blow a bit! 

Huyen Thai is quietly having one of the Top performance yearsthat we've ever seen on The Tour.  In the same house that he earned his 1st Title back in January, Huyen tossed an INCREDIBLE 1073 set earning his 3rd Title in just SIX Months!  Still fairly new to the game, Thai is a straight ball thrower and uses a plastic Track 'Spare Plus' ball he had drilled by Pat Johns from HiLine Lanes.  The secret to his success seems to be the consistency of working very hard on concentration during his games, cutting out distractions and to nearly NEVER miss the headpin.  Obviously, Thai has pushed his potential to an Elite level, having entered the week with the highest average that he's ever had.  Thai PEAKED on Saturday with an awesome 1025Scratch series which is 98 pins higher than the next highest scratch score (he wasn't in the scratch pot) AND 77 pins higher than his Personal Best.  Prior to the Saturday's Tournament, Huyen, who has a comfortable lead in the 'Bowler Of The Year'standings, voiced some concern for his lead because he will miss nearly 4 weeks due to a family vacation to Vietnam.  This concern is valid for him but opens an opportunity for his pursuers to the challenge of potentially close the gap in his absence. 

After Huyen shot his winning score in the 3rd Squad, Robpresented him with a Target and placed it on his back for motivation for all of the pursuers.  Finally, Huyen wanted to thank his brother, Thang Duc Thai and his biggest fan & son, Terry (photo left, taking aim at the target) for supporting him this week and says that his $1,763.00 check is great and will help pay for his family trip to Vietnam.  Congratulations, Huyen and best wishes to you and your family for a safe and fun trip to your homeland!