Bowling Has a New Face

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Robert Smith the loudest bowler of all-time.

Possessing a game groomed for power, Smith throws his 16-pound ball faster and with more spin than anyone on the Professional Bowlers Assn. tour, a combustible combination that seemingly makes the pins explode.

Adding to the percussion is Smith’s unusual release. He throws the ball anywhere from five to 30 feet on the fly, depending on the condition of the lane.

“I try not to do it too much because I know it’s disruptive to other bowlers,” he said. “I get at least two or three people a week who say, ‘Man, I heard you all the way on the other side of the [alley].’ ”

Smith, a Simi Valley native who lives in Thousand Oaks, hopes to make plenty of noise this week at the U.S. Open. The tournament starts Tuesday at Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley and concludes Sunday with the ESPN-televised finals at Anaheim Convention Center on four portable lanes.

As one of the young stars of the PBA, the 30-year-old Smith is considered important to the league’s continued success.

PBA Commissioner Fred Schreyer said Smith fits into the league’s plans of cultivating top-echelon bowlers who are identifiable to fans.

“Robert is someone that there are a lot of high hopes for,” Schreyer said. “He’s a young, good-looking guy. He’s charismatic. If he did well, it would be good for the tour.”

But it was only a few years ago that Smith questioned if he could make a living as a professional bowler. The PBA was on the verge of bankruptcy, until three former Microsoft executives bought the league for $5 million in 2000 and transformed it from a struggling nonprofit organization into a marketing-savvy, for-profit venture.

The PBA is approaching $20 million in revenue for the 2003-2004 season and is close to finalizing a three-year television package with ESPN, said Schreyer, who assisted the PBA as general counsel and a business negotiator before becoming commissioner in 2002.

“We’re ahead of where we projected ourselves to be at this time,” he said. “We went from one sponsor to 15 sponsors. TV ratings have improved significantly in the last few years. Attendance at events is up.

“We’re pleased with what we’ve done, but there’s still a long way to go.”

Under current ownership, prize money for the PBA’s 20 tour events has more than doubled. Winners of three of the four major tournaments, including the U.S. Open, all earn $100,000. The winner of the World Championship in March will earn $120,000.

Smith is “unbelievably happy” about the league’s direction.

“For the most part, everything [the owners] told us has come true within 3 1/2 years,” Smith said. “Our prize money went up about 250% just in that first year alone.”

Smith is less enthusiastic about his game. Although he has won five tournaments, including the 2000 U.S. Open, and $410,828 in six years on the tour, he has yet to live up to the expectations that have followed him since he won the 1994 national amateur championship at age 20.

“Every year gets a little bit better, but I don’t think I’m bowling my best,” he said.

Smith describes his go-for-broke style as “high-risk, high-reward.” Smith approaches the lane from the far left and cranks the ball to the far right before it breaks sharply into the pocket.

“Other bowlers love the way I throw it, because I haven’t really figured it out yet,” he said.

But when he’s on, Smith is tough to beat. He opened this season by winning the Banquet Open in Omaha, Neb., earning the first exemption of a new format that will be introduced in the 2004-05 season, when PBA tournaments will have 64 entries.

Under the current format, PBA members with at least a 200 average can enter any event, creating fields of more than 150 bowlers and, in the view of many, diluting the talent pool.

“The bottom line is we’re trying to make the tour more select,” Schreyer said. “We think [the new format] will make our events much more manageable and allow our top bowlers to become better-known.”

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U.S. Open Facts

* What: 61st PBA U.S. Open.

* When: Begins Tuesday; Finals are Sunday.

* Where: Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley; Finals held at Anaheim Convention Center.

* Prize money: $350,000. Top three breakdown: Winner, $100,000; 2nd place, $50,000; 3rd place, $25,000.

* TV: Final, ESPN, 9:30 a.m.