As of Friday, Aug. 17, the PBA Senior Tour season has just concluded, but the PBA Senior Rookie of the Year has not been awarded. Unlike the PBA Senior Player of the Year award, the Rookie of the Year is determined by a vote and not points amassed throughout the season. This has been a great year for rookies on the Senior Tour, and there are currently four bowlers that have great chance of winning the prestigious award.
Mike Edwards, Lennie Boresch Jr, Bob Learn Jr and Amleto Monacelli all just completed great rookie seasons on the PBA Senior Tour. The Senior Rookie of the Year award is not usually close because there is rarely more than one rookie that has a great season. Edwards, Boresch, Learn and Monacelli all won one title this season, and all have a realistic reason for why they should win the award. It is ultimately going to be decided by what stats the voters hold with the highest regard, and there is virtually no why to predict who will walk away with the award.
Mike Edwards finished in third place for the Senior Player of the Year award, and had a chance to win the award on the final day of the Senior Tour season. Edwards' lone title came in the USBC Masters, which is one of the two major tournaments on the PBA Senior Tour. He was also able to finish third in average, but only finished ninth in points due to bowling a shortened season.
Amleto Monacelli was able to win the other major tournament of the season, the Senior U.S. Open. This helped him to finish the season sixth in points and third in earnings. Lennie Boresch Jr hopes his fourth highest average will help win win the award. Bob Learn Jr was one of the rare bowlers to compete in every tournament this season, so he was able to finish second on the points list.
I can honestly say that I have no idea who is going to win the award. If the voters want to reward dominance in few tournaments, then Mike Edwards is going to win the award. If they want to reward a consistent and solid season, then the award is going to go to Bob Learn Jr. If they favor great bowling in the major tournaments, then the award will probably go to Monacelli. The one thing that I am certain about is that Lennie Boresch Jr will not win the award. Every statistical category he near the top in, another rookie is better than him. It is great to see so many new bowlers embracing the PBA Senior Tour, and I hope this trend continues in the future.
Jake has been an avid bowler since the age of 8, and regularly follows the PBA throughout the year.
Source: pba.com
