No Smoking Sign Lit on Professional Tour : Bowling: Torrance tournament opens season. It will be first in which policy banning smoking on bench is in effect.

Bowlers will be smoking less on the national pro tour starting today.

A ban on smoking in the settee or player bench areas goes into effect at Gable House Bowl in Torrance, where the Professional Bowlers Assn. starts its 29th year with the $175,000 AC/Delco tournament.

To help minimize smokers’ withdrawal symptoms, players can stand in walkways behind the no-smoking zones to light up.

Mark Baker, a leading contender in the field of 160 bowlers, says: “Many of the pros have developed built-in habits to smoke between shots. It’s nervous time, especially in the match play.

“(So) it’s very possible the new policy could affect bowling efficiency, at least until the smokers adjust to new procedures. It’s an interesting pre-tournament thought to predict a Gable House winner. Will it be a smoker or a non-smoker?”

The leading pros include both.

Defending champion Randy Pedersen enjoys tobacco. So do Hall of Famer Mark Roth and Pete Weber, the 1989 high-average pro.

Among the non-smokers are Amleto Monacelli, 1989 PBA player of the year; Mike Aulby, who set the single-year money record of $298,237 last year; Brian Voss; Parker Bohn III and Del Ballard Jr.

Marshall Holman, another contender, is a smoker.

Baker, 28 and a non-smoker, looks more like an NFL linebacker than a professional bowler.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder starred in basketball and baseball at Garden Grove High School, but some early pro bowling victories persuaded him to turn down college scholarship offers. He is perhaps the only active pro bowler writing a column on the sport that isn’t instructional. His weekly observations appear in the Pacific Bowler under the heading, “Baker Speaks,” and recently they have included these opinions about other stars on the tour:

--On Monacelli, of Venezuela: “The most physically fit of all the pros . . . He’s Mr. Jump Rope, Mr. Jogger and Mr. Aerobics all in one. The ball he throws has enormous power. It’s still spinning when it hits the pins.”

--On Aulby, of Indianpolis: “The best winner. He never throws away a victory when it’s in sight.”

--On Weber, of Florissant, Mo.: “Talentwise, there is none better. When he loses, he beats himself.”

--On Holman, of Medford, Ore.: “He’s my favorite. He’s the only player I’ll pay to watch bowl.”

--On Voss, now of Boca Raton, Fla.: “He has the looks of a winner. And he does when his shots are hitting.”

--On Pedersen, of Santa Maria: “Randy’s wasting his time in bowling. He’s a natural standup comic and could make a ton of money at it. He’ll slay you with his Katharine Hepburn.”

--On Bohn, of Freehold, N.J.: “Parker will be there. He’s a lefty, but bowls like a ripping right-hander the way he gets through the ball on delivery.”

Baker’s longshot pick: “Mark Williams (of Beaumont, Tex.). He’s tough to beat on TV.”

Baker’s sentimental choice: “Me. I’m overdue.” Baker was the high-average pro in 1985.

Bowling Notes

The tournament will run day and night through Friday, then after 42 games--18 in the preliminary rounds and 24 in the match-play semifinals--the five top bowlers will shoot for the $35,000 first prize at noon Saturday in a four-game elimination final. ABC will televise the title rolloff. . . . Gable House has been remodeled recently, but the new automatic scorers will not be in operation. General Manager Mickey Cogan said the PBA’s traditional manual scoreboard will be used.

Other Southern Californians in the tournament are Frank Bellinder, Rick Berry, George Branham III, Ricky Corona, James Cox, Al Croteau Jr., Steve Dagel, Rick Easley, Tony Figuiera, Eric Forkel, Dave Frame, Cory Groth, Ric Hamlin, Russ Kallush, Phil Kapsimallis, Troy Kendrick, Cecil Knighton, Bobby Knipple, Jim Lewis, Rich Maldonado, Bob Markiewicz, Joe Merrill, Clarke Moore, Gary Morgan, Russell Namahoe, Nate Nouchi, Robert O’Connor, Bob Permann, Mick Prulhiere, Tony Rodriguez, Butch Soper, Jess Stayrook, Bill Stempke, Larry Stephens, Mike Taylor and Jim Tilton.

PBA Commissoner Joe Antenora said the organization’s new policy on smoking was approved at a recent meeting by “a good mixture of smokers and non-smokers” on an executive committee of bowlers and directors. Originally, the board voted to prohibit PBA players from smoking at all inside centers holding 1990 tour tournaments. The board then amended the ruling to allow smoking behind the player areas.