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Barrie native earns personal best at PBA bowling tournament

The 26-year old Barrie North graduate is living his dream
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Trying for their first Go Bowling! PBA Tour titles, Patrick Girard of Quebec and Barrie native, Zachary Wilkins rode a 6-6 record in the final Baker format match play round, to earn one of the top five spots for Sunday’s FS1 taping of the PBA Mark Roth-Marshall Holman Doubles Championship at FireLake Bowling Center. The Baker format requires each player to alternate frames in a game combining for one score. Girard’s best tour finish was just hours before the double’s championship, where he finished 3rd, losing in the semi-finals 239-228 to Jesper Svensson. Two-hander, Zach Wilkins, kicked-off the tournament with a perfect game. Wilkins finished with his personal best, placing 15th in the 2nd PBA event of the year, the 2019 Oklahoma Open.

From the time he could walk, Wilkins was perfecting his technique with plastic pins and balls rolling strikes down the hallway of his house. Both Zach’s parents worked in the bowling industry where he and his 3 siblings grew up playing both the game of five-pin and the sport of tenpin bowling. Wilkins has competed on the provincial, national, collegiate and international stages both as an individual and team player. A member of Team Canada, Wilkins with his team recently earned the men’s team bronze medal at the World Championships this past December in Hong Kong. The 26-year-old Barrie North graduate is living his dream!

The Mountie team, as nicknamed by PBA commentator Randy Pedersen, had a great 40-game run. After day one of qualifying, they finished 5th. Day two proved to be exciting as the gap closed in with mere points separating 1st-5th. The top 12 would advance to match play and bonus rounds, with Girard/Wilkins securing 7th. Round one of match play, the Canadian duo moved to third where they remained after the final day of match play and bonus pins.

The TV stage was set, and it was a close match between the Mounties and 12-time tour winner Sean Rash and partner Matt Ogle, who also was making his first stepladder final. Girard made a great 2-10 spare which kept them just a mere 13 pins ahead of their opponents after seven frames. There was plenty of drama in the final frame after Wilkins stepped up and struck on all three shots to put the pressure on Matt Ogle. Needing a double and three pins, Ogle buried two perfect strikes and got eight on the fill to move on. Rash and Ogle not only shut out the Mounties with a 216-210, they proceeded to run the ladder and take home the Championship title.

The Roth-Holman Doubles Championship aired on FS1 Sunday, Jan. 20 at 1 p.m. ET. You can follow all your favorites by visiting PBA.com for all the details.

Patrick Girard will be taking some time off before heading out to his next PBA tournament. Zach Wilkins is still riding the wave, competing in the Seattle Unlimited Swiss followed by the PBA Lubbock Sports Open.

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