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| Barnes also won the first two PBA ] Roll to Riches tournaments in 2005 and 2006, which included a winner-take-all grand prize of $200,000. (The earnings do not count toward PBA totals.) The 2006 tournament was held in ], a mere eight miles from his residence. In 2007, Barnes narrowly missed having an opportunity for a three-peat at the event. His first chance to earn a spot in the event would have been by winning a major title. He made the TV finals for the 2007 World Championship and Tournament of Champions, but he did not win either. He also could have earned a spot on the show as the World Point Rankings leader, but he finished second behind Wes Malott. And lastly, he could have made it as one of the top two vote getters in an online fan poll, held on www.pba.com. But Barnes finished third, behind legends ] and ]. | Barnes also won the first two PBA ] Roll to Riches tournaments in 2005 and 2006, which included a winner-take-all grand prize of $200,000. (The earnings do not count toward PBA totals.) The 2006 tournament was held in ], a mere eight miles from his residence. In 2007, Barnes narrowly missed having an opportunity for a three-peat at the event. His first chance to earn a spot in the event would have been by winning a major title. He made the TV finals for the 2007 World Championship and Tournament of Champions, but he did not win either. He also could have earned a spot on the show as the World Point Rankings leader, but he finished second behind Wes Malott. And lastly, he could have made it as one of the top two vote getters in an online fan poll, held on www.pba.com. But Barnes finished third, behind legends ] and ]. | ||
| Barnes was the fastest player to reach $1,000,000 in career earnings, eclipsing the previous record held by ] and ]. He eclipsed the $1.5 million mark in total PBA tour earnings during the 2007-08 season. He was ranked # |
Barnes was the fastest player to reach $1,000,000 in career earnings, eclipsing the previous record held by ] and ]. He eclipsed the $1.5 million mark in total PBA tour earnings during the 2007-08 season. He was ranked #50 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the last 50 years."<ref></ref> | ||
| ==Difficulties in Televised Finals== | ==Difficulties in Televised Finals== | ||
Revision as of 20:34, 13 March 2009
Chris Barnes (born February 25, 1970 in Topeka, KS) is an American professional bowler currently on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He bowled collegiately at Wichita State University, where he also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management. He was a member of Team USA for four years.
Barnes, a right-handed bowler, is currently one of the leading professionals on the tour. He has won over $1.6 million (USD) in total prize money during his ten-year career on tour, and has earned at least $100,000 in each of the last nine seasons (2000 through 2008-09). He also won the PBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1998 and earned PBA Player of the Year honors in the 2007-08 season. This makes him only the third bowler in PBA history to win both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors in a career (joining Tommy Jones and Mike Aulby).
He has been married to Lynda Barnes (Norry) since 1999. Lynda, an accomplished bowler in her own right, currently represents the United States in international competition and won both the 2008 USBC Queens and 2008 USBC Clash of the Champions tournaments.
The couple lives in Double Oak, Texas. Their twin sons, Troy and Ryan, were born in May 2002.
Career achievements
Barnes currently owns 11 career Denny's PBA Tour titles, including the 62nd U.S. Open and the 2006 Dexter Tournament of Champions. He has won at least one title in eight consecutive seasons, and has made 64 TV Finals appearances to date on the Denny's PBA Tour.
Barnes also won the first two PBA Motel 6 Roll to Riches tournaments in 2005 and 2006, which included a winner-take-all grand prize of $200,000. (The earnings do not count toward PBA totals.) The 2006 tournament was held in Lewisville, Texas, a mere eight miles from his residence. In 2007, Barnes narrowly missed having an opportunity for a three-peat at the event. His first chance to earn a spot in the event would have been by winning a major title. He made the TV finals for the 2007 World Championship and Tournament of Champions, but he did not win either. He also could have earned a spot on the show as the World Point Rankings leader, but he finished second behind Wes Malott. And lastly, he could have made it as one of the top two vote getters in an online fan poll, held on www.pba.com. But Barnes finished third, behind legends Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Norm Duke.
Barnes was the fastest player to reach $1,000,000 in career earnings, eclipsing the previous record held by Pete Weber and Jason Couch. He eclipsed the $1.5 million mark in total PBA tour earnings during the 2007-08 season. He was ranked #50 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the last 50 years."
Difficulties in Televised Finals
Although he has 11 titles, Barnes has often struggled in the live televised finals of many tournaments. It has taken him 64 finals appearances to win his 11 titles, and he has finished runner-up 19 times. In the 2000 season alone, he made 12 TV finals without winning a title -- to date the most season TV finals appearances without a victory in PBA Tour history.
At the finals of the 2007 Denny's PBA World Championship (March 25, 2007), Barnes attempted to become only the fifth bowler in Denny's PBA Tour history to win the career Triple Crown -— which consists of the U.S. Open, PBA World Championship and Tournament of Champions. After defeating Tony Reyes in the semi-final match, however, Barnes was taken down in the final by Doug Kent, 237-216, to finish in second place.
On January 27, 2008, Barnes faced Michael Haugen Jr. in the finals of the 2008 H&R Block Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, Nevada. Through six frames, Barnes held a 53-pin lead over his competitor, and seemed to have the match well in hand. Up by 41 pins in the ninth, Barnes left the 10 pin standing on his first throw and narrowly missed his spare giving Haugen hope. Haugen, who had strikes in his previous two frames, struck in the ninth to cut the lead to 19. Haugen went on to throw two strikes and 9 pins in the final frame. Barnes, needing 20 pins to tie, spared in the tenth and needed a strike on his final throw to force extra frames, but left the 4 pin standing to give Haugen his first career major victory.
In the media
During the 2006-2007 Denny's PBA Tour season, fellow Denny's PBA Tour bowler Norm Duke took part in the ESPN telecasts for events in which he failed to reach the TV Finals. Along with Dave Ryan and Randy Pedersen, he served as a second color commentator. However, during events in which Duke made the TV Finals, Barnes filled in as the third commentator.
Barnes is also an official Sport bowling spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC).
A League of Ordinary Gentlemen
Barnes is featured in the 2006 documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, along with current PBA Tour stars Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr., and 20-time PBA Tour titleist Wayne Webb. The film follows the four bowlers as they take part in the 2002-03 PBA Tour season
World Bowling Accomplishments
In addition to his PBA accomplishments, Chris also won the World Tenpin Masters tournament in 2006 and was a semi-finalist in 2007 (losing to eventual tournament winner, Jason Belmonte of Australia). In 2008, he made the finals of the World Tenpin Masters, but lost to Guy Caminsky of South Africa. At the end of the 2007-08 season, he was ranked second in the PBA World Point rankings to Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Barnes won four gold medals at the American Zone Championships in Costa Rica in 1997. He represented the USA at the WTBA Championships in Bangkok, Thailand in 2008. Chris has also been chosen (along with female pro Stefanie Nation) to represent Team USA at the 2009 World Games, taking place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in July, 2009.
Skills Challenge
Barnes is one of the top trick-shot bowlers on the tour today. He has made the "Flying Eagle" more than anyone, but perhaps his greatest skills shot is his ability to bowl with his opposite hand, his left hand.
His skills paid off in the 2005 Miller High Life Skills Challenge, when he defeated Parker Bohn III for the $20,000 top prize. In the 2006 PBA Skills Challenge, Barnes lost to eventual champion Norm Duke in the semifinals. For the 2006-07 Denny's PBA Tour season, bowlers competed in pairs. Barnes teamed up with 13-time tour titleist Del Ballard Jr. They were defeated in the opening round by Wes Malott and Chris Johnson.
Professional putting
Prior to his bowling career, Barnes was a member of the Professional Putters Association, where he played professional Putt-Putt tournaments. In 1989, Barnes made his first television appearance earning $7,000 in the Putt-Putt SKINS game.
External links
- Industry profile of Chris Barnes
- Chris Barnes Q&A on PBA.com
- Chris Barnes clips
- Story and picture about Chris Barnes winning the 2006 World Tenpin Masters
References
- Experts select Earl Anthony as Greatest Player in PBA History
- Exempt Player Bios ("Career" paragraph) at www.pba.com
- Chris Barnes bio at World Tenpin Masters website
- Exempt player bio at www.pba.com
- "Inside the 2008 WTBA Men's World Championships." Article at www.bowl.com, August 30, 2008.
- "Team USA's Barnes, Nation to compete in World Games"
- Putt-Putt TV Series Contestants