We appreciate the great support this week, producing our largest turnout at Kenmore Lanes to date, as 121 Entries created nearly $8K in payouts.  We said Wednesday that, "Something UNIQUE always seems to happen at Kenmore".  This one actually worked out very well... Before the first squad, we realized that the Oil Pattern, already laid down, was not our normal condition.  Apparently, our pattern had been overwritten in the machine, but since it wasn't a 'House Shot', we gave it a try.  The scores ended up perfectly 'On-Target' with a Cash List ranging from 1029/912.  Unique #2:We always are excited to see 1st Time Champions... this week that outcome was nearly guaranteed, when the Top 5 Finishers and 8 of the Top 9, were ALL chasing their first Tour Titles.  Unique #3: That Oil Pattern didn't give up any long strings of 9-Taps.  SIX bowlers managed 3-Taps, so with 'Ties Paid in Full', each earned $50.00 for their effort (Watts-Mackin-Ibale-Tappe-Green-Kleist), leaving the Jackpot to inch closer to returning to the $8k plateau for next week.  Unique #4: In each squad ONE bowler would step-up and a new Leader would emerge, nosing out the previous Leader by JUST A HAIR.  Andrei Weber (4th) lead the 12:00 squad with a nice 995... then at 2:00 Brad Diemert (3rd) edged him off the Top Spot by just TWO PINS with a 997... Dan Grass (2nd) then returned the favor in the 3rd squad squeezing ahead by 7 pins... finally, Ashley Kochel left no doubt about the outcome with a hefty 25 pin margin of Victory!

The Top 4 each shot their high games of the day in their final game and it was also the highest ever finish for ALL 5 of the Top 5... Kannha Tong's5th tied his best finish from last month, while Andrei (4th) and Brad (3rd) made it pretty high up the Cash List for their first time in the money.  In 2nd Place, Dan Grass also tied his Best finish, marking an impressiveTWENTY-FIFTH time Dan has made the Top 10 since joining in 2015.  This one was worth a hefty $931.00 for his great finish... when Dan reached his 4th game, he knew that it would take the front 11 strikes to catch the leader... he threw ALL TWELVE strikes for a 300 (317) to temporarily take the lead by just 7 pins.

BLASTING away the field, on the same day that 'Justify' ran away with the Triple Crown... Ashley Kochel charged down the stretch, finishing likea True Champion with her biggest game of the day.  Seeking her 1st Tour Win, Ashley was NOT going to be denied this time... after coming close several times since joining in 2015 and after coming close again last week (3rd Place), she commented to me at Narrows, "I'm getting SO close, I can feel I'm gonna do it soon"!  True to her word, SHE DID IT!!  Ashley's improved her game, upping her Tour average by 10 pins in just the last year.  She Won this one, by shooting her third highest game ever (250) in the final game, after tossing her highest game (264) just last week.  What made it extra exciting for all of us, was seeing how much it meant to Ashley after the Tournament!!  She said that she really wanted to make her Mom and Grandma proud, as both are fighting serious illnesses.  We're eager to hear of their reactions to the news!  She also thanked both Willie Manning Jr, for telling her to 'chill' and calm down the week before, as she reminded herself of that this week, and to her lane mates for all their encouragement.  Her primary ball was her STORM 'Intense' (also my favorite), drilled by Mike Bradley at Paradise Bowl.  Great Job Ashley on Win #1!!!