The PBA has announced a 13-tournament PBA50 Tour schedule for 2016 which includes a new PBA50 World Championship as a third major championship.

The Treasure Island Resort & Casino PBA50 World Championship presented by Storm and hosted by Island Xtreme Bowl in Welch, Minn., will join the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open and USBC Senior Masters as major championships for players 50 years of age and older.

Island Xtreme Bowl has hosted the Treasure Island Resort & Casino Open as a standard PBA50 Tour event the past three seasons, but has worked with the PBA in recent months to enhance the event to “major” status. The 2016 event will be conducted July 17-23.

The new PBA50 World Championship will be a scaled-down version of the PBA World Championship, providing a test of versatility and endurance by employing qualifying, match play and stepladder final stages on the PBA’s Viper, Chameleon and Scorpion lane conditions. Each of the three animal pattern stages also will award prize money and a PBA50 regional title. Combined qualifying pinfall totals for the three animal pattern stages will determine the match play finalists for the PBA50 World Championship, leading up to a five-player stepladder final.

The Senior U.S. Open presented by 900 Global will again be hosted by the Suncoast Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas May 29-June 3 and the USBC Senior Masters moves to Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas June 19-25.

PBA50 Tour events will again be webcast live on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. Details regarding the Xtra Frame schedule will be announced later.

For the fourth consecutive year, the season begins with the PBA50 Pasco County Florida Open at Lane Glo Bowl in New Port Richey, Fla., and concludes with the PBA50 Pro Bowl West Championship presented by Ebonite Aug. 6-9 and the PBA60 Dick Weber Championship Aug. 11-13 – both at Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, Ind. Only players 60 years of age and older will be eligible to enter the Dick Weber Championship.

Also returning to the 2016 schedule will be events in The Villages, Fla.; Mooresville, N.C.; Farmingdale, N.Y.; Fountain Valley, Calif.; Brentwood, Calif., and Hammond, Ind. New to the schedule will be the PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic in Anderson, Ind., in late summer.

Among the players who may debut as PBA50 rookies in 2016 are four-time Tour winner Dennis Horan Jr. and one-time winner Mike Shady. PBA Tour title-winners turning 50 later in 2016 who will be eligible in 2017 are five-time PBA Tour titlist Ryan Shafer, four-time Tour winner Michael Haugen Jr. and one-time Tour winner Brian Kretzer.

PBA will begin taking entries for PBA50 Tour events beginning Feb. 1, 2016.

2016 PBA50 TOUR SCHEDULE

April 16-19 – PBA50 Pasco County Open, Lane Glo Bowl, New Port Richey, Fla.

April 23-26 – PBA50 Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Radical, Spanish Springs Lanes, The Villages, Fla.

May 1-4 – PBA50 Mooresville Open presented by Columbia 300, George Pappas Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C.

May 7-10 – PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick, Farmingdale Lanes, Farmingdale, N.Y.

May 29-June 3 – Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by 900 Global, Suncoast Bowling Center, Las Vegas (major)

June 5-8 – PBA50 Fountain Valley Open presented by Track, Fountain Bowl, Fountain Valley, Calif.

June 12-15 – PBA Northern California Classic presented by MOTIV, Harvest Park Bowl, Brentwood, Calif.

June 19-25 – USBC Senior Masters, Sam’s Town Bowling Center, Las Vegas (major).

July 17-23 – PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino PBA World Championship presented by Storm, Island Xtreme Bowl, Welch, Minn. (major).

July 25-28 – PBA50 South Shore Open presented by DV8, Olympia Lanes, Hammond, Ind.

July 31-Aug. 3 – PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic presented by Roto Grip, Dave Small’s Championship Lanes, Anderson, Ind.

Aug. 6-9 -- PBA50 Pro Bowl West Championship presented by Ebonite, Pro Bowl West, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Aug. 11-13 – PBA60 Dick Weber National Championship presented by Hammer, Pro Bowl West, Fort Wayne, Ind.