The 2017 Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour retained a similar schedule to the 2016 season, with nine standard tournaments and four majors. The season ran April 27 to September 6. CBS Sports Network aired the final round of all standard PWBA Tour events this season on a tape-delay basis. The final round for the major tournaments aired live or on same-day delay. TV tapings of the non-major stepladder finals were conducted in conjunction with first three major tournaments on May 23 (USBC Queens), June 25 (PWBA Players Championship) and August 6 (U.S. Women's Open).
| PWBA Bowling Tour: 2017 season | |
|---|---|
| League | Professional Women's Bowlers Association |
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling |
| Duration | April 27 – September 6 |
| Season MVP | Liz Johnson |
The season's final event and final major, the Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship, was an invitational featuring a starting field of only 16 bowlers. Tournament winners from the current season gained automatic entry into the starting field, with the remaining spots given to bowlers with the highest 2017 point totals among non-winners.
The PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles, a cross-over event with the PBA Tour, returned for 2017. PBA and PWBA titles were awarded to the male and female winners, respectively, which means 14 total PWBA titles were up for grabs in 2017.
Season awards and statistics edit
Player awards edit
- PWBA Player of the Year: Liz Johnson[1]
- PWBA Rookie of the Year: Daria Pajak[1]
2017 points leaders edit
1. Liz Johnson (154,150)
2. Kelly Kulick (104,000)
3. Shannon O'Keefe (100,190)
2017 match play appearances edit
1. Liz Johnson (11)
2. Shannon O'Keefe (10)
T3. Kelly Kulick (9)
T3. Maria Jose Rodriguez (9)
2017 final round appearances edit
1. Liz Johnson (9)
T2. Kelly Kulick (4)
T2. Danielle McEwan (4)
Tournament summary edit
Below is a recap of events scheduled for the 2017 PWBA Tour season. Major tournaments are in bold. Career PWBA title numbers for winners are shown in parentheses (#).
| Event | Airdate | City | Preliminary rounds | Final round | Winner | Top Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QubicaAMF PWBA Sonoma County Open | Jun 6 C | Rohnert Park, CA | Apr 27–29 | May 23 | Rocio Restrepo, Colombia (3) | $10,000 |
| PWBA Storm Sacramento Open | Jun 13 C | Citrus Heights, CA | May 4–6 | May 23 | Liz Johnson, USA (20) | $10,000 |
| PWBA Fountain Valley Open | Jun 20 C | Fountain Valley, CA | May 11–13 | May 23 | Kelly Kulick, USA (6) | $10,000 |
| USBC Queens | May 23, 10pm EDT C | Baton Rouge, LA | May 17–22 | May 23, Noon EDT | Diana Zavjalova, Latvia (2) | $20,000 |
| PWBA Wichita Open | Jul 4 C | Wichita, KS | Jun 1–3 | Jun 25 | Siti Rahman, Malaysia (1) | $10,000 |
| Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open | Jul 11 C | Lincoln, NE | Jun 8–10 | Jun 25 | Sin Li Jane, Malaysia (1) | $10,000 |
| PWBA Greater Detroit Open | Jul 18 C | Canton, MI | Jun 15–17 | Jun 25 | Daria Pajak, Poland (1) | $10,000 |
| GoBowling.com PWBA Players Championship | Jun 25 C | Green Bay, WI | Jun 21–24 | Live | Liz Johnson, USA (21) | $20,000 |
| PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles | Jul 30 X | Houston, TX | Jul 27–29 | Live | Birgit Poppler, Germany (1) and Jason Sterner, USA | $16,000 |
| PWBA Orlando Open | Aug 15 C | Orlando, FL | Jun 29–Jul 1 | Aug 6 | Stefanie Johnson, USA (2) | $10,000 |
| PWBA St. Petersburg-Clearwater Open | Aug 22 C | Seminole, FL | Jul 6–8 | Aug 6 | Shannon O'Keefe, USA (5) | $10,000 |
| Nationwide PWBA Rochester Open | Aug 29 C | Rochester, NY | Jul 15–17 | Aug 6 | Danielle McEwan, USA (3) | $10,000 |
| U.S. Women’s Open | Aug 6 C | Plano, TX | Jul 31–Aug 5 | Live | Liz Johnson, USA (22) | $20,000 |
| The Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship | Sep 6 C | Richmond, VA | Sep 3–5 | Live | Shannon O'Keefe, USA (6) | $20,000 |
- C: broadcast on CBS Sports Network
- X: broadcast on the PBA's Xtra Frame webcast service
References edit
- ^ a b "2017 PWBA Player and Rookie of the Year Awards presented". bowl.com. September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.