PBA Tour
PBA Tour logo
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| Formation | 1958 |
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| Purpose | A series of professional ten-pin bowling events. The governing bodies are the PBA and the USBC |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
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Membership
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PBA members who are considered "exempt" |
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PBA Commissioner
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Tom Clark |
| Website | http://www.pba.com/ |
The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, 4,300 members worldwide make up the PBA. Within the membership, a small percentage of the bowlers compete on both a national and international level, forming the PBA Tour.
From September to April of each year, the PBA Tour puts on a series of events for PBA members. The events are held across the United States. In addition, the PBA Tour co-hosts the Round1 Japan Cup, along with the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA). And, select American members compete against their European counterparts in the Weber Cup.
From the PBA Tour's inception through the 2003–04 season, most national PBA Tour events were open to the entire PBA membership. The initial tournament squads typically included well over 100 bowlers, who would roll a set number of qualifying games to determine the "cut line" for additional qualifying and/or match play (typically 64 bowlers).
Starting in October 2004, the PBA adopted an all-exempt national tour format. In this format, only 64 bowlers competed in most weekly events. Bowlers earned exemptions by winning a tournament during the previous season, winning one of the four major tournaments (thus gaining a multi-year exemption), placing among the top finishers in points, leading a region on the PBA Regional Tour (2005–2007), finishing in a high position at the PBA Tour Trials (2005–2008), or placing high enough at the PBA Regional Players Invitational Tournament (2008–2011).
Under this new format, bona fide status as a touring professional was not a guarantee; it had to be earned. The 2005 H&R Block Tournament of Champions was pivotal, as Randy Pedersen was facing the loss of his exempt status in the semi-final match against Norm Duke. On his final shot, Pedersen left a weak 7-pin and immediately singled out the sidelines, accusing a spectator of distracting him as he made his shot. From that point, Pedersen would have to bowl in the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR) in order to try making the initial field of 64.
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