Alaskan Mohr bowls to Senior U.S. Open title

A year after finishing second in the event, Mohr became the first Alaskan to win the Professional Bowlers Association's Senior U.S. Open, defeating Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., 246-189, in the championship match.

"It's pretty intense," Mohr said. "To get a major is pretty big deal."

The win earned Mohr a $15,000 top prize, a berth in the elite round of the PBA Tournament of Champions and vaulted him into first place in the race for Player of the Year.

Mohr had faced Williams twice before in championship matches and didn't fare well, losing by 71 pins the first time and by 100 pins in a tournament two weeks ago.

"He's arguably the No. 1 or 2 best player of all time," said Mohr. "It's almost easier to bowl against him, because there's no shame in losing."

Mohr said he had a slight advantage over Williams on Friday because the championship match was bowled on a pair of lanes Mohr was used to from previous matches.

"I got off to a pretty good start, and he threw a split in the fourth frame," Mohr said. "The match was actually a lot closer than the final score."

If Williams had struck out in the ninth and 10th frames, he would have rolled a 235, putting pressure on Mohr, who said he was on pace for 237.

"He ended up throwing a spare in the ninth, which made it easy for me," Mohr said.

Getting to the championship wasn't nearly as easy. To reach the championship round, bowlers must endure 51 games over four qualifying rounds and three match-play rounds.

"This format is the longest format that we have," Mohr said. "It's a marathon for sure."

After bowling 19 games Friday, Mohr reached the championship round as the fourth seed. He eliminated Hall of Famer Wayne Webb 265-258 in the opening stepladder match, and then beat Harry Sullins 220-211 in a semifinal match.

Both matches came down to the 10th frame. Mohr needed two strikes in the final frame against Webb, and took advantage of a 10th-frame spare by Sullins.

Webb was shooting for an unprecedented third Senior U.S. Open title, having won the event in 2008 and 2009. Williams, a second-year player on the Senior Tour, was attempting to become the first bowler to collect U.S. Open titles on the PBA Tour and the PBA Senior Tour.

For Mohr, 55, Friday's win was his second of the season and his fifth on the PBA Senior Tour. The 2009 player of the year won last month in North Carolina and grabbed a couple of top-10 finishes earlier this season.

It was doubtful whether Mohr would compete on the PBA Senior Tour at all this season. He missed most of the 2010 season, while helping his wife Linda battle illness. Linda died in January, and Mohr considered retirement.

There were around 150 people watching Friday's championship match, Mohr said, and he thought most of them were familiar with his story.

"A lot of them were backing me," he said. "I was kind of the sentimental favorite."

Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.