TOURNAMENT OF ALL-TIME CHAMPIONS

champs Kevin Saunders & Michael Curry

Kevin Saunders and Michael Curry beat out their fellow JBT winners at BRC Kyrene for the titles in the JBT's Tournament of All-Time Champions.

The all-junior handicap stepladder finals opened with Justin Givler beating 2007 TPC champ Jenny Phandanouvong 222-182.  The rest of the day was all Curry, as he beat Givler 190-180, then doubled in the tenth to edge past Rebeca Reguero 222-221 to reach the title match.

Top qualifier Natalie Mounier had led for most of the day, but Curry had all the momentum in the title match, winning the game 234-183 for his 3rd career JBT title.

Shawn Wood, the scratch champion of our first JBT event ever in 1997, opened the stepladder of this, our 474th event, with a 204-201 win over 13-time JBT winner Mike Ramsey.  Wood caught fire in round two, blasting a 278 game to defeat Theo Douthit's fine 220 effort.  Shawn then beat 2007 So Cal Bowler of the Year Will Jackson 225-163 to reach the title match.

Wood climbed the ladder for his lone win way back when, defeating some guy named Andrew Cain in the final, and to complete the repeat story, he'd have to beat the current JBT bowler putting up Cain-like numbers lately, top seed Kevin Saunders.  In the match, Shawn lost the momentum he had been building, as Saunders, who won the 2007 TPC to continue a late-season domination of the Tour, was untouchable, winning 224-181.  This marks Kevin's 12th and final JBT title as a junior, as he's announced plans to go adult a year early after the event.  It's also his 3rd T of C title in 4 T of C starts, an unmatched stat in the JBT record books.  Kevin leaves tied for 8th all-time with those 12 titles, and 3rd in all-time JBT earnings with nearly $19,000. His $8,431 in earnings this season alone was tops for the year as well.