BRENTWOOD, Calif.  (May 28, 2019) – Mike Dias of Lafayette, Colorado, defeated PBA Hall of Famer and fellow left-hander Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, 227-217, in the title match to win the PBA50 Northern California Classic presented by MOTIV at Harvest Park Bowl Tuesday for his third career PBA50 Tour title.

Dias, who was the top qualifier for the stepladder finals, had trouble with pin carry in the first half of the match leaving four nine counts in the first five frames, but after making what he called a minor adjustment, struck on the next four shots.

“I was getting to the pocket fine but needed to make a small adjustment with my hand position,” said the 62-year-old Dias. “I started getting a little more aggressive by getting my hand around the ball more at release and just moved one board to the left to get a better angle and that helped solve the carry problem.”

After striking on his first shot of the 10th frame, Bohn, trying for his fifth career PBA50 Tour title, had an opportunity to win the match with another strike on the second shot of the frame but left a solid 7 pin which gave Dias the victory.

Bohn, who qualified second for the finals, beat No. 3 qualifier Skip Pavone of San Jose, California, 280-256, in the semifinal to advance to the title match.

“You know you’re going to have your hands full trying to beat a great bowler like Parker,” said Dias, who advanced all the way from the cashers round earlier in the day to take the top qualifying spot. “Even though he was coming off a big game, I knew he was going to have to adjust to some transition. I thought it might take something like 220 or 230 to win and it turned out to be close to that.”

Dias’ last PBA50 Tour win came in the 2014 PBA50 Grants Pass Open but he did win the USBC Super Senior Classic for players 60 and over in 2018 for his first PBA60 title.

“I always thought I could win on the PBA50 Tour again,” Dias added. “You just never know how many opportunities you’ll get but you try to make the most of every opportunity like I was able to do today.”

In a match between two hall of famers, five-time PBA50 Tour winner Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida, beat 2017 PBA50 Miller Lite Players Championship winner Bryan Goebel of Shawnee, Kansas, in the opening stepladder match 268-212.  In the second match, Pavone, making his first championship round appearance, beat Duke 245-228 to advance to the semifinal against Bohn.

The PBA50 Tour heads to Las Vegas for the USBC Super Senior Classic May 29-June 2, where Dias will defend his title, to be followed by the USBC Senior Masters June 3-9. Both events are hosted by Sam’s Town and will be streamed live on bowltv.com.

The Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by Storm, the season’s third major, follows the Senior Masters June 10-14 and will be streamed live by FloBowling. Visit www.flobowling.com for subscription and schedule information.

PBA50 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CLASSIC

Presented by MOTIV

Harvest Park Bowl, Brentwood, Calif., Tuesday

Final standings:

1, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., $7,500.

2, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., $4,000

3, Skip Pavone, San Jose, Calif., $3,000.

4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., $2,500.

5, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., $2,000.

Stepladder Results:

Match One – Duke def. Goebel, 268-212.

Match Two – Pavone def. Duke, 245-228.

Semifinal – Bohn def. Pavone, 280-256.

Championship – Dias def. Bohn, 227-217.

Match Play Round 2 (after six games, including match play record and total pinfall including bonus pins. Top five advance to stepladder finals)

1, ss-Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 5-1, 1,663.
2, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 5-1, 1,651.
3, ss-Skip Pavone, San Jose, Calif., 3-3, 1,635.
4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-2, 1,590.
5, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 4-2, 1,565.
6, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 4-2, 1,544, $1,500.
7, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3-3, 1,509, $1,600.
8, n-George Aboud, San Jose, Calif., 4-2, 1,500, $1,500.
9, John Burkett, Fort Worth, Texas, 3-3, 1,479, $1,400.
10, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 3-2-1, 1,436, $1,300.
11, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 2-3-1, 1,424, $1,300.
12, Scott Greiner, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 2-4, 1,405, $1,300.
13, Don Herrington, Ballston Lake, N.Y., 2-4, 1,372, $1,300.
14, Bob Rosenau, Redding, Calif., 1-5, 1,315, $1,300.
15, ss-Paul Herrera, San Jose, Calif., 2-4, 1,221, $1,300.
16, Bob Newman, Pacifica, Calif., 0-6, 1,094, $1,300.

Match Play Round 1 (after five games, including match play record and total pinfall including bonus pins)

17, Tony Rodriguez Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 3-2, 1,157, $1,100.
18, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2-3, 1,141, $1,100.
19, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-2, 1,139, $1,100.
20, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 1-4, 1,114, $1,100.
21, ss-Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1-3-1, 1,108, $1,100.
22, Michael Smith, Centenniel, Colo., 3-2, 1,089, $1,100.
23, ss-Hugh Miller, Mercer Island, Wash., 0-5, 1,063, $1,100.
24, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 1-4, 1,056, $1,100.

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers round)

25, (tie)  Ricky Schissler, Brighton, Colo., and John Marsala, St. Louis, Mo., 1,119, $1,050.
26, ss-Mike Mineman, St Louis, 1,112, $1,050.
27, Mark Mazzulla, Brentwood, Calif., 1,111, $1,050.
28, ss-Henry Dawson, Elma, Wash., 1,106, $1,050.
29, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,095, $1,050.
30, ss-Joe Salvemini, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,085, $1,000.
31, ss-Marty Deh, San Jose, Calif., 1,084, $1,000.
32, ss-Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 1,083, $1,000.
33, ss-Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 1,071, $1,000.
34, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,069, $1,000.
35, ss-Alan Sabin, Winston, Ore, 1,044, $1,000.
37 (tie) ss-Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 993 and ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 974, $1,000.

n-non-member

ss-PBA60 players ages 60 and over