The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedianet

Richard Pyfrom, representing what he calls the new age bowlers, proved that consistency pays off as he finally emerged as the men’s champion of the Bahamas Bowling Federation’s National Bowling Championships. He joined Driskell Rolle, who regained her ladies’ title after relinquishing it last year.

At the end of the two-week nationals at Mario’s Bowing and Family Entertainment Center, Pyform came from the fourth spot in the step ladder final that was carried live on national television yesterday. Pyform prevailed with a 237-182 decision over top qualifier and regular league bowling team-mate David Slatter. Rolle, the top qualifier, clinched her second title with a 156-148 advantage over number two qualifier Janice Hoyte.

As a result their victories, Pyfrom and Rolle will represent the Bahamas at the World Tenpin Bowling Association’s Senior Championships, scheduled for Sam’s Town, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 23-30.

For the fourth qualifier Pyfrom, it was a gratifying performance after he cruised through the first round with a 266-213 win over No.5 qualifier Mario Brown. He then outlasted his older brother Johann Pyfrom, the No.3 qualifier, 190-182 before he took out No.2 qualifier and former champion Leonardo ‘Lee’ Davis 211-174.

“My competitors were bowling from the 1990s at the Village Bowling Lanes and I basically got started when Mario’s opened about four years ago,” Pyfrom said. “I remember the first Nationals here, I was the number one qualifier and lost to Sonny (Sonith Lockhart). The second one, I qualified number three and lost to Lee (Davis) and this time, I qualified and worked my way up from the bottom and won.

“It’s just amazing. I represent the new age bowlers. Guys like Lee and David are great bowlers. They have that experience, which I didn’t have. But now I have it and I have the trophy to show for it.”

Pyfrom, 38, said when he played his 40-year-old brother Johann, he knew it was going to be a tough battle.

“I thought he had a chance to win,” the younger Pyfrom said.

After getting into the final, Pyfrom knew that he was going to have his work cut out for him. But he managed to take advantage of an early break when he rolled two consecutive strikes, while Slatter got a strike and a spare. As Slatter struggled in the middle of the match, Pyfrom closed the door with four strikes, just missing a fifth in the final game when he got a nine-point spare that he converted.

It was just a matter of what the final score would be as Slatter wasn’t able to close the gap.

“In the previous game, I tried a different ball with Lee at the end and I was comfortable with it,” Pyfrom said. “It’s hard coming in with only two practice shots. I was already in a groove, so I won’t say David didn’t have a chance. I was already in my groove.”

For Slatter, it was a tough pill to swallow, considering the fact that he was bowling so well going into the final.

“I had a series of bad shots on lane 27. I was working on something new and I guess under pressure, you go back to old habits and unfortunately, what I was working on didn’t hold up, especially on lane 27,” Slatter said. “I only had one game and if you get off to a bad start, you put extra pressure on yourself.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to put it together on lane 27. I threw some good shots on lane 28. Everything was either a strike or a spare that I converted. So I had some horrible shots on lane 27 and some good shots on lane 28, which didn’t go that well when you have a guy like Richie, who was bowling so well. If you can’t strike on both lanes, you can’t get the double. If you can’t get the double, you can’t beat a guy bowling the way Ritchie did.”

As for the ladies’ final, it came right down to the wire as Rolle got a strike in the 10th game to seal the deal over Hoyte.

“It was a bit challenging for me all tournament long,” said Rolle, who had to battle from behind during the preliminary round to clinch the top spot. “I thought I rolled the ball well, but I had several single spares that I didn’t make, so it was a long night. I didn’t bowl my best, so after the first night, I went home and reflected on what I had to do.

“I did that and I was able to come from behind to lead the tournament. The final was not how I planned it, but I got the victory. It was not how I wanted to play. The lanes played tricky. They were not the best in the tournament in my perspective, but I made the adjustment and I was glad that I sneaked out with the win.”

Against Hoyte, Rolle said she once again had to dig down deep to pull it out after she opened it up in both the fifth and the ninth games. But unfortunately, Hoyte didn’t capitalise and Rolle was able to bounce back to win the title for the second time.

A disappointed Hoyte said the tournament went very well for her, but she struggled to get through the final.

“I was consistent with my sparing during the tournament. Today, I started out good, but I think I was more nervous in the second match than I was in the first one,” she said. “I couldn’t get my strike ball where I wanted it. I had to fight with it all day because the lanes wasn’t giving me what I wanted. I thought I had it at the end, but the struggle was real. I want to congratulate Driskell. She played very well when she needed to.”

To get into the final, Hoyte outdueled No.3 seed Jonice Lockhart 178-137. Lockhart won 178-137 over o.4 qualifier Tara Johnson. And in the first match of the step ladder final, Johnson had an impressive 202-151 decision over No.5 qualifier Carmille Burnside.

Federation president Joanne Powell said the tournament said was smooth sailing from day one.

“We had a lot of high scores and it was really a shoot out,” Powell said.

Also on hand for the event was Timothy Munnings, director of sports in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture.

“I’m usually here for the championship. This is probably the third time that I’m assisted,” said Munnings, who presented the awards to the various winners. “The competition this year certainly seemed to have stepped up to another level. I’ve been watching and getting an update on how the tournament was going daily and from what I understand, this has been the highest average that they have seen in quite some time.”

The federation is now preparing for three major international championships, including the World Championships, the PABCON men’s championships in Puerto Rico in September and the Women’s World Championship in Dubai in November.