In the order in which
the Qualifiers are held, with the winners going to the UK:
Scottish International
Singles, Nov. 2010: Abe Kaplan def. Neil Furman, 2-1 (Won the Tiebreaker)
(Semifinals:
Furman def. Charlie Herbert 2-0, and Kaplan def. Richard Broad 2-1)
Welsh International
Singles, Feb. 2011: Furman def. Herbert 2-0
(Semis:
Furman def. Phil Dunn 2-0, and Herbert def. John Luster 2-1)
World Indoor Singles at
Potters, Jan., 2011: Furman def. Frank Souza 2-0
(Semis:
Furman def. Dee McSparran 2-0, and Souza def. Aaron Zangl 1.5-0.5/
World Indoor Pairs at
Potters, Jan., 2011: Ed Quo & Dan Christensen def. Larry Murphy and
Dee McSparran 2-0
As newcomers to the
PBA/USA, Abe and Aaron both found the artificial green at Santa Cruz to their
liking. No stranger to the PBA while in South Africa, Abe, now a citizen
of the USA, lives in Atlanta, GA, far from any green to practice on,
but his game travels well. Aaron adapted quickly to the first artificial
green he has ever played on, and to the Sets and Tiebreaker format used by the
PBA/WBT.
Not many bowlers in the US can perform well with
only two bowls per end, but Dan elevated his game to lead his team to 4
consecutive wins. Our first match v. Rob Humphrey and Greg Fyvie went to
tiebreakers. On both Dan lay shot, and I threw blocks both ends, which
were enough to claim the match. Our second match v. Charlie Herbert
and Aaron was similar, again going to tiebreakers, again Dan lay shot both
ends, again my 4 bowls were blocks, for the win. These were the first
tiebreakers that either of us had won all week, having gone a combined 0 for 5,
and my contribution to the 4 tiebreaker ends that we won, was to deliver all of
my 8 bowls as blocks. The second day of Pairs saw us to a semifinal round
win over Richard Broad and Mary Ann Beath in two sets, no tiebreaker
needed. A similar result occurred in the Final, where earlier Larry and
Dee had defeated last year's Pairs Qualifier, Frank Souza and Grant
Summers. The great artificial surface at the Santa Cruz club ran a
consistent ~14 seconds pace, and the hospitality and support provided by
club Pres. Jerry Louis and his crews, including Greg Fyvie, were second to
none.
