MORGANTOWN — This week for the second year, Suburban lanes is hosting some of the best professional bowlers in PBA history for the PBA 50 Morgantown Classic.
The PBA50 Tour is for professionals aged 50 and over, meaning it features some of the most accomplished bowlers in history, including multiple PBA Hall-of-Famers.
The tournament is set up for three days. 96 bowlers bowl 14 qualifying games on Tuesday and Wednesday and are cut down to 32 on Thursday. From there a final five bowlers advance to a ladder bracket to determine who wins the tournament on Thursday evening.
“The hospitality here is unbeatable, everyone is very welcoming and that’s why I keep coming back,” said Hall-of-Famer Tom Baker.
Baker has attended the tournament twice, last year he was injured and said he didn’t bowl to his best ability but this year he wants to redeem himself.
Troy Lint, who won the Inaugural Morgantown Classic last year and will not be back to defend his title as he recovers from a knee injury.
Suburban Lanes general manager Justin Malik heard good reviews from attendees of last year’s tournament.
“It’s great because everyone who came here last year told us how great of a time they had and how they were able to go out and experience what Morgantown had to offer,” Malik said.
Malik explained that since Suburban Lanes is in the rotation, they will be able to keep the spot on the PBA 50 tour and continue to host a national tournament each season as long as they can raise the money required. Pleasant Day Schools has sponsored the tournament both years.
“Pleasant Day Schools is wonderful, they sponsor this because they have a passion for bowling and they make this happen for us, if it wasn’t for them we probably wouldn’t be here,” Malik said.
Pleasant Day Schools owner Suzanne Marsh has little experience with bowling but has been around the sport for a few years, and she thoroughly enjoys this tournament.
“To me, bowling in general is an underrated sport, we wanted to be able to help the community and advertise this tournament,” Marsh said.
The qualifying games for the PBA50 Morgantown Classic started Tuesday and will continue into Wednesday before the final day of competition on Thursday.
