BOWLING / U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN : Johnson Wins With Very Little to Spare

Tish Johnson, the left-hander from Panorama City, won the $100,000 BPAA U.S. Women’s Open bowling championship Sunday night, defeating Aleta Sill of Dearborn, Mich., 216-213, at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley.

The match went to the 10th frame before Johnson spared out to win the $18,000 first prize.

Johnson earned her showdown with Sill by defeating defending champion Anne Marie Duggan of La Habra, 223-213. Johnson started with five strikes, then overcame three open frames to take the match.

Leanne Barrette of Oklahoma City was Duggan’s victim in the second match of the roll-off, 227-195. Duggan opened in the second frame, but made up for that with five strikes in a row to win and get a shot at Johnson.

In the opening match, Duggan finished with six strikes in a row to eliminate Carol Gianotti of Australia. Duggan took off on the strike spree after Gianotti opened with an 8-10 split in the sixth frame.

The finalists were decided earlier in the day when the top 24 from an original field of 192 finished match play.

In the 56th and final game leading to the title roll-off, Johnson defeated Sill, 244-213, but the setback wasn’t significant. Sill was more than 200 pins ahead going into the match and already had a lock on the No. 1 seeding.

Johnson secured the No. 2 seeding by winning the match.

Barrette clinched the No. 3 seeding by defeating Gianotti, 245-225.

Duggan barely got her chance to defend the Open title she won here a year ago. She negotiated the No. 7 pin spare and followed with a strike in the 10th frame to edge Wendy Macpherson of Las Vegas, 195-189, to claim the No. 5 seeding.

Julie Gardner of Huntington Beach was high amateur, finishing seventh in the field dominated by professional bowlers. Gardner has won the National Women’s Amateur the last two years.