BOWLING PBA AT RIVERSIDE : Thumbs Up for Unique Technique

Mike Miller’s “no-thumb” delivery is a rarity in bowling.

“It’s not an easy technique and I wouldn’t recommend its use, but for me it works,” said the 30-year-old from Albuquerque Thursday after gaining the match-play semifinals of the $145,000 Kessler PBA tournament at Town Square Lanes in Riverside.

One analyst has called Miller “the rock-a-bye bowler” because of the way he cradles the ball on the wrist, hand cupped and elbow bent during the forward swing. Foot speed determines the speed of the ball.

“It isn’t palming the ball since I insert the fingers, but not the thumb,” Miller said. “I use (that grip) only on shots for strikes. For spares, in goes the thumb for a normal grip.”

Miller, who resorted to weight-training for strength in developing the shot last summer and won the PBA national championship with it in March, was among 24 bowlers making the cut.

The brother of Dana Miller-Mackie of women’s bowling, is in 15th place after 26 games and a fair distance from the top two, Mark Williams and Bryan Goebel.

But he is only 131 pins out of fifth place, which keeps him in a challenging position to place among the top five for Saturday’s final.

Goebel, former bowler on the University of Kansas team three years ago, has been on a scoring tear, averaging over 230 since the second round.

But Williams caught and passed him on the 23rd game. With 16 more games of match play, Williams’ pin total was 6,058. Goebel’s was 6,045.

Williams, a tall redhead from Texas, hasn’t won since the Firestone Tournament of Champions in 1988. “It’s been a long, long time without a title, but I have bowled well along the way,” he said. “And I’ve made good money. It’s just been difficult to go all the way. I wouldn’t mind at all to turn things around on Saturday.”

“I’ve done well money-wise, but winning has been a difficult objective to reach. I wouldn’t mind at all to turn things around on Saturday,” Williams said.