BOWLING SENIOR PBA AT LAKEWOOD : Iowan Still Leads After 18 Games

Jim Brenner, still looking for a victory in pro bowling, continued to lead the sport’s vintage performers Tuesday in the $55,000 Pacific senior PBA tournament at Cal Bowl in Lakewood.

After 18 games, the 51-year-old retiree from LeClaire, Iowa, led 24 survivors of an original field of 144 into the match-play semifinals.

Delano (Hobo) Booth, Doug Johnson and Walt Block were Southern Californians making the cut. Hall of Famers Teata Semiz, Dick Weber, Les Zikes and Don Johnson also survived, but Glenn Allison, Bill Bunetta and Bill Beach didn’t.

Brenner slipped to a 160 to open the third round, but recovered.

“It got me worried,” he said. “But I just pulled myself together with some nice 200s and things were OK again.”

Brenner is like many other 50-and-over bowlers who averaged 200 or better in hometown leagues for years, but retired from lifelong jobs and joined the senior tour.

Brenner led after 18 games in a senior tournament last week in Northern California, but finished ninth.

Weber, 61, averaged 206 compared to Brenner’s 221.

Boothe has posted averages well over 200 in Southern California leagues. Johnson, a retired auto company employee, and Block, a banker, are veterans of regional pro tournaments.