With his mental game still a work in progress, Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, Amleto Monacelli, was able to keep his emotions in check enough to win the PBA50 Northern California Classic presented by MOTIV at Harvest Park Bowl in Brentwood, Calif., Wednesday for his fourth career PBA50 Tour title.

The Venezuelan defeated last week’s Fountain Valley Open winner Brian LeClair of Delmar, N.Y., 237-225, in the championship match for his first title of the season.

With his physical game and his equipment choices in good shape, the 53-year-old Monacelli admits he needs to work on his emotions during the course of a tournament if he wants to be a consistent winner on the PBA50 Tour.

“I still have the tendency to get down on myself and get mad when things aren’t going my way,” said the 19-time PBA Tour winner. “It’s something that I have to keep working on and don’t let it get to me.

“I think I have too much expectation and just need to relax. Sometimes before each squad I will do a little meditation which helps, but sometimes I just need to tell myself to let it go when I throw a bad shot or get a bad break.”

Monacelli, who qualified for the top spot in the stepladder final, said that he was very focused in the championship match which translated into good shot-making.

“I had a game plan for what I wanted to do because I could see how the lanes were changing in the previous matches,” he said. “I basically took a guess at what ball I thought would work best and it all came together very well.”

Previous to his win, Monacelli had four top-10 finishes this season including two sixth-place finishes as his best.

Two-time major league all-star pitcher John Burkett of Southlake, Texas, established himself as a force to be reckoned with in his new career as a professional bowler finishing fourth for his best finish of the season. He started the stepladder final with a come-from-behind, 226-216, win over Bob Spaulding of McKinney, Texas, but then lost to LeClair in the second match 212-196.

In the five tournaments Burkett has competed in this season he has made the cut to match play in four of them with a previous best finish of 15th in the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open.

LeClair went on to beat PBA50 Tour newcomer Jimmy Hansen of Anchorage, Alaska, 214-202, in the semifinal to advance to the title match against Monacelli.

The 2015 PBA50 Tour season will take a month-long break before returning to action July 19-22 for the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino Open presented by Roto Grip at Island Xtreme Bowl in Welch, Minn.

PBA50 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CLASSIC PRESENTED BY MOTIV

Harvest Park Bowl, Brentwood, Calif., Wednesday

Final Standings

1, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, $8,000.

2, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., $4,000.

3, Jimmy Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, $2,500.

4, John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, $2,000

5, Bob Spaulding, McKinney, Texas, $1,750.

Stepladder Results

Match One – Burkett def. Spaulding, 226-216.

Match Two – LeClair def. Burkett, 212-196.

Semifinal Match – LeClair def. Hansen, 214-202.

Championship – Monacelli def. LeClair, 237-225.

Modified Match Play Round 2 (after six games, including match play bonus pins. Top five advanced to stepladder finals)

1, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 4-2, 1,559.
2, Jimmy Hansen, Anchorage, Alaska, 4-2, 1,532.
3, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 5-1, 1,525.
4, John Burkett, Southlake, Texas, 3-3, and
Bob Spaulding, McKinney, Texas, 4-2, 1,512.
6, Joe Goldstein Sr., San Bruno, Calif., 4-2, 1,489, $1,500.
7, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 4-2, 1,477, $1,500.
8, Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3-3, 1,453, $1,500.
9, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3-3, 1,452, $1,350.
10, Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 3-3, 1,436, $1,350.
11, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2-4, 1,417, $1,350.
12, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1-4-1, 1,412, $1,350.
13, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2-4, 1,381, $1,350.
14, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1-5, 1,371, $1,350.
15, Dave Arnold, Elk Grove, Calif., 1-4-1, 1,311, $1,350.
16, Rob Rice, Sunnyside, Wash., 3-3, 1,290, $1,350.

Modified Match Play Round 1 (after five games, including match play bonus pins)

17, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 2-3, 1,237, $1,200.
18, Darron Peters, Temecula, Calif., 2-3, 1,220, $1,200.
19, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3-2, 1,209, $1,200.
20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3-2, 1,208, $1,200.
21, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 2-3, 1,204, $1,200.
22, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2-3, 1,196, $1,200.
23, a-Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 2-3, 1,166, $1,200.
24, Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., 4-1, 1,139, $1,200.
25, Dale Eagle, Laguna Niguel, Calif., 2-3, 1,135, $1,100.
26, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 2-3, 1,127, $1,100.
27, Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 2-3, 1,106, $1,100.
28, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1-3-1, 1,101, $1,100.
29, Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 2-3, 1,082, $1,100.
30, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1-4, 1,074, $1,100.
31, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1-3-1, 1,026, $1,100.
32, Tony Majcher, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 0-5, 930, $1,100.

Other Cashers (after five-game cashers’ round)

33, (tie) Warren Nelson, Middleburg, Fla., 1,090, and a-Terry Leong, Las Vegas, 1,090, $1,000.
35, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 1,060, $1,000.
36, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,038, $1,000.
37, Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,019, $1,000.
38, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,006, $1,000.
39, Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 968, $1,000.
40, Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 957, $1,000.

41, a-John Dorsett, Concord, Calif., 919, $1,000.

a-denotes amateur