AURORA, Ill. – The Professional Bowlers Association returns to Parkside Lanes for a week-long, three-event series in late August, the finale to the FloBowling PBA Summer Tour that will award three PBA Tour titles and decide three important competition points races.

The FloBowling PBA Summer Swing, presented by the Brands of Ebonite International, will be livestreamed in its entirety by the PBA’s online streaming partner, FloBowling, which made its debut in Aurora in 2018. The tournament program has again been orchestrated by 13-time PBA Tour champion Sean Rash, an Aurora area resident.

The Summer Swing – a part of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour – will include the PBA Wolf, Bear and Illinois Open title events, each presenting a distinct lane conditioning challenge.

The Wolf Open will be contested on the PBA Wolf 32 oiling pattern featuring a 32-foot application of oil. The Wolf Open will include 14 qualifying games Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 26-27, plus a six-game cashers round for the top 18 cashers. The top five after 20 games will advance to the stepladder finals on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. CT. Two-hander Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, is defending champion.

The same format will apply to the PBA Bear Open Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 28-29, except the players will bowl on the PBA Bear 41 oiling pattern. The FloBowling stepladder finals will be held on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, won the 2018 Bear Open title.

The Summer Swing concludes with the PBA Illinois Open on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30-31, featuring the top 24 players based on 28 combined games of Wolf and Bear qualifying totals. Those 24 will bowl three eight-game round-robin match play rounds with 52-game pinfall totals deciding the top five for the Illinois Open stepladder finals at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The challenge in the Illinois Open involves coping with the Wolf 32 pattern on one lane and the Bear 41 on the other. England’s Stuart Williams won the 2018 Tulsa Open, an almost identical event held in Oklahoma.

In addition to titles in each event, the Wolf, Bear and Illinois Open tournaments – the seventh, eighth and final events in the nine-event Summer Tour – will award competition points that will decide the five players who will earn bonus cash in the USBC Cup series ($20,000 first place), the eight players who will receive invitations to participate in the inaugural FloBowling ATX Invite at Dart Bowl in FloBowling’s home city, Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 21 ($25,000 first prize) , and the eight bowlers who will win expenses-paid trips to participate in the PBA China Tiger Cup, Nov. 19-21, in Shanghai ($20,000 first prize). Fans can follow the points races throughout the summer at this link: https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/PointsLists/132.

If titles, points and prize money aren’t enough, don’t forget the Aurora series may also play a key role in the 2019 PBA Player and Rookie of the Year races.

As expected, the FloBowling PBA Summer Swing has attracted a world-class field of PBA stars from around the world, including PBA Hall of Famers, PBA Tour champions and rising stars who are beginning to build their careers.

The event will also include special features such as a golf day for PBA players (Aug. 24) plus a free youth instructional clinic involving many of the PBA stars (noon on Aug. 25).

For continuing information about these and other PBA events, follow the PBA on pba.com and PBA’s home pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For FloBowling subscriptions, visit FloBowling.com. Additional Summer Swing information can also be obtained by calling Parkside Lanes at (630) 898-5678

FLOBOWLING PBA SUMMER SWING

presented by the Brands of Ebonite International

(A 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour event)

Parkside Lanes, Aurora, Ill., Aug. 24-31 (All times Central)

 

Saturday, Aug. 24

8 a.m. – Golf outing

1 p.m. – Pre-Tournament Qualifier (PTQ), 8 games

6 p.m. - Pro-am

Sunday, Aug. 25

Noon – Free youth clinic

5 p.m. – Official tournament practice session

Monday, Aug. 26

3:30 p.m. – PBA Wolf Open qualifying, 8 games

Tuesday, Aug. 27

Noon – PBA Wolf Open qualifying, 6 games

            Top 18 after 14 games advance to Wolf Open cashers round

5 p.m. – PBA Wolf Open cashers round, 6 games

            Top 5 after 20 games advance to Wolf Open stepladder finals

8:30 p.m. – PBA Wolf Open stepladder finals

Wednesday, Aug. 28

3:30 p.m. – PBA Bear Open qualifying, 8 games

Thursday, Aug. 29

Noon – PBA Bear Open qualifying, 6 games

            Top 18 after 14 games advance to Bear Open cashers round; top 24 after 28 games of Wolf and Bear Open qualifying advance to Illinois Open match play

5 p.m. – PBA Bear Open cashers round, 6 games

            Top 5 after 20 games advance to Bear Open stepladder finals

8:30 p.m. – PBA Bear Open stepladder finals

Friday, Aug. 30

11 a.m. – Illinois Open round robin match play, 8 games

5 p.m. – Illinois Open round robin match play, 8 games

Saturday, Aug. 31

11 a.m. – Illinois Open round robin match play, 8 games

            Top 5 after 52 games of qualifying and match play advance to stepladder finals

3:30 p.m. – Illinois Open stepladder finals

6 p.m. – Champions dinner