Before I go in depth this week, let me first say how happy I am to have the PBA on TV again for the next couple months. Secondly, my superstar toddler liked the Osku Palermaa trick shot so much he took it upon himself to try it. Before we knew it, one of our barstools was in the middle of the hallway, the pins were set up, and he was emulating quite possibly the craziest and most impressive power I’ve ever seen with a 15 pound bowling ball. And to throw a picture perfect strike none-the-less? Wow. Makes you wonder if he would ever use that in a real tournament to clear the oil in the heads and middle of the lane for that matter. Anyways, my kid hasn’t perfected it yet, but he continues to try and I think it’s great. (Check out the video of my kid attempting the shot at bottom).

Now, on to more serious discussions. In the 2003-2004 season, the PBA veered off the highway of tradition and implemented the PBA Exempt player field. This essentially created a yearlong qualifying session for the first 58 PBA exemptions for the 2004-2005 season.    

With five seasons of exempt field bowling under the PBA’s belt, I decided to wander into the arena of statistical analysis of the system. Let me first preface this by saying that finding the exempt players of years past and how they earned their exemptions is quite a task. One, very few of these statistics are available on the PBA website. Two, I don’t have access to the PBA filing cabinet. And three, there isn’t an iPhone App that does it for me. With my own personal knowledge and the help of Google, I’ve been able to manually decipher the information to near perfection. And when I say near perfection, I mean that it’s probably not perfect. 

With injury deferments and the randomness at which replacement exemptions were awarded, I would give my research a plus or minus 3% margin of error. That’s just as good as any political poll! (And please, if you see any glaring errors, let me know and I’ll update my stats. I figure I’ll keep a running tally from here on out for future reference.) 

When I set out on this task, I really wanted to focus on a few things. First, how many players have retained exemptions for the entire five seasons? Two, how many players have retained exemptions after earning them through Tour Trials? And three, do you have a better chance of retaining an exemption if you earn it through the Regional Tour versus Tour Trials?

In total, 348 exemptions have been handed out (58 each year, not including the special exemptions handed out for just the World Series of Bowling.) Of those 348 exemptions, only 121 different players have earned them.   Only 24 players have retained their original exemptions since the 2004 season through a victory or points. Guys like Michael Haugen Jr. and Joe Ciccone have been exempt every season, but had to go back to Tour Trials at some point over the last five seasons. So technically, 26 players have remained exempt for all five seasons. All six seasons if you include the current one.

As for surviving a year on tour after earning your spot in the exempt field through Tour Trials; it’s certainly not an easy task. If I hadn’t done the calculation I would have assumed that very few players who qualified through Tour Trials made it to a 2^nd year on tour. And I was right. Of the 41 players who earned exemptions over the last five full PBA seasons from 2004 through 2009, only nine players have retained their exemption for one additional season based on points or by winning a title. Only nine! That’s only 22% of Tour Trials qualifiers earning a 2^nd season on tour. To put it in perspective, if you’re bowling on a pair with three other guys, only one of those will have a full time job the next season.  Ironically, of those nine guys, all of them have retained their exemptions since earning them except Billy Oatman who lost his exemption after two seasons. The list of survivors isn’t a bad collection of talent either. It includes Mike Edwards, Michael Haugen Jr., Brian Kretzer, Mike Wolfe, Chris Loschetter, Bill O’Neill, Todd Book, and Steve Harmon. The worst season by far for Tour Trials participants had to be the qualifiers for the 2008-2009 season. Not one of those seven retained their exemption. That was the first season where that had happened. I think it’s just proof that it’s getting harder to get into the system.

As for the Regional Tour: well, that’s where the stats get more difficult to compile. By process of elimination, I was able to figure out who earned their exemption through the Regional Tours. However, I don’t know from which region they earned it from. So I can’t exactly compare regions, which personally, I think would be interesting. However, with that said, there have only been 28 regional exemptions handed out over the last four full seasons. The regional exemptions were not awarded in the first fully exempt season. So how do the stats stack up? Well, of the 28 exemptions handed out, nine players retained their exemptions for the following season based on points or a victory. Of those nine though, only five have retained those exemptions every season since through points or a victory. Those players include Jack Jurek, Eugene McCune, Jeff Carter, Jason Sterner, and Nathan Bohr. 

This presents an interesting comparison between earning your exemption from the Regional Tour versus Tour Trials. Statistically, you have about a 10% better chance of retaining your exemption for one additional consecutive season by earning it through a Regional Tour. On the other hand, if you are one of the 22% of players who survive your first season on the exempt tour after earning your exemption through Tour Trials, you’ll have about a 100% chance of retaining it for at least two consecutive seasons. I know…I know…is anything really 100%? No, but odds are in your favor versus a 55% chance of retaining it for multiple seasons through the Regional Program. I mean, 88% of those guys from Tour Trials who survived one year are still exempt on Tour today! 

Of course there is one player who just stands out in all of this. Brian LeClair basically earned an exemption nearly every way possible. His first exemption was awarded on points. He lost it the following year by finishing one spot out of the points cut. He regained it through an injury deferment. Lost it again. Regained it again through Tour Trials. Lost it again. And then regained it through the Regional program. Unfortunately, he ran out of avenues to earn it for the current season. I think the only exemption left for him to earn would be the Golden Parachute exemption. Let the application process begin for 2010! 

Other stats that might be compelling include the fact that 2 of the 3 players who won a title from the Tour Qualifying Rounds are still exempt on Tour. That list includes the original dream maker Sean Rash and Rhino Page. Mike Mineman lost his exemption in his first full exempt season. Of course, Jason Belmonte will try to make it 3 out of 4 by surviving his first full season as an exempt player. And Kelly Kulick is the only female exempt player in Tour history, but I think everyone already knew that. 

Ok, so all stats aside, was the exemption route the right route for the PBA? In my own personal opinion, there is no doubt that it has been the right decision. Considering all things, including the financial situation of the PBA at that time, controlling prize funds and payouts became increasingly important as well as controlling the talent level of the main player field. Just because I’m a scratch golfer doesn’t mean that I should be able to pay an entry fee and play alongside Tiger Woods. And just because I have a PBA card doesn’t mean I am worthy enough to cross with Norm Duke and Walter Ray. It’s almost degrading to our top pros to put them alongside guys that have no business being out there. Just like the PGA, there is a proper way to earn your place on the Tour.

The place for those guys is in the TQR. The implementation of these TQRs as a way to participate in the PBA was a very smart way to maintain participation levels when competitive bowling was in decline, as well as a way to give fringe players a less expensive way to earn their way on tour. For half the price of the open field events, competitors can bowl against a lesser talented field overall and earn their way into the main events while also competing for a separate prize fund. This is a great place for local talent and amateurs to test themselves without it costing an arm and a leg.

And I think we’ve seen the cream of that crop from the TQR’s elevate themselves onto the Tour full time. Guys like Rash, Page, Belmonte, Russell, Castillo, Van Danicker and numerous other guys who have the skill and ability to compete on Tour have rightfully earned their way on Tour either by victory or consistent success through these TQRs.

On top of that, the Regional program now offers an additional eight spots into the exempt field and Tour Trials can offer up to 10 additional exemptions. So, there are plenty of opportunities to earn your way on Tour. But you are also talking about the best players in the World so nobody should expect it to be an easy task. 

By the way, the 26 guys who have been exempt every season includes…

Patrick Allen

The Golden Parachute Exemption
This would be best summarized as the second chance exemption.  A full year on Tour without having to bowl your way in through the TQR’s.  And the PBA probably gave it to the best possible option in Brian Voss.  A 24-time titlist on the PBA Tour who is currently competing on the PBA Scorefest Tour (errr…I mean the Senior Tour).  I’m looking at the guys that have lost their exemptions in the past few years and I can’t think of anyone who has done more for the PBA.  He has a pretty significant fan base, his hair is never out of place, and he’ll be able to compete.  Therefore, I can’t agree more with this exemption.

I think all PBA Hall of Famers should be able to compete in any tournament they please.  What if someone like Earl Anthony decided to retire, gave up his exemption, then a few years later got the itch and came back.  It would be a disgrace to the PBA to make someone like Earl go through tour trials.  It's incomprehensible!