Brian Himmler (right) was the 'King of the Hill' in the Panama Invitational Tournament at Bolos el Dorado in Panama City.

Sponsor Jeff Lowerance (left) and the Panama Bowling Tour had invited a group of professional bowlers from the PBA National and Senior Tour and the former PWBA Tour, as well as international amateur stars from the United States, Colombia and Mexico.

The list of invitees is spearheaded by PBA all-time earnings and title leader Walter Ray Williams Jr. (right), USBC Masters champion Mike Scroggins, PBA Senior Player of the Year Tom Baker and PWBA Player of the Decade, Wendy Macpherson.

The Panama Invitational Tournament was the first of its class in Latin America and the invitees plus seven locals, bowled for prize money of $65,000 Dollars.

The tournament started on Friday, October 13, with a Pro-Am in which 12 of the PBA Stars played together with 84 local bowlers for $5,000.

L-R Tom Baker, Rodrigo Rosales from Panama, Sean Rash and Lonnie Walizcek. Pictures courtesy of Eric Lanuza.

On Saturday October 14, the field of 72 players was divided into two squads of 36 players each to bowl 10 games in two rounds. Squad A played at 10:00am and 7:00pm and Squad B at 1:00pm and 4:00pm. The top 5 players in each division - Open, Ladies and Senior - advanced to a five-player stepladder final on Sunday, Oct 15.

Brian Himmler (center), seeded second in the Open Division, held off Mark Scroggins, the twin brother of USBC Masters champ Mike, 248-191, in the semi-final. Himmler went on to beat No. seed, Walter Ray Williams Jr., in a close title match, 221-216. Himmler pocketed $10,000 for the victory. Click on the image to view it full size.

In the women's division, second seeded Clara Juliana Guerrero (right) from Colombia proved that she is one of the best female amateur bowlers in the world. The 2004 World Ranking Masters champion eliminated 17-time PWBA champion and WIBC Hall of Famer Robin Romeo, 214-191, in the semi-final. In the championship match Guerrero topped Wendy Macpherson, 221-201, to cruise to the title. Guerrero received $3,500.

Local favorite Jorge Quintero (left) from Panama came from No. 3 seed to win the title in the Senior division. After defeating Dee Munsell, 184-174, in the quarterfinal match, Quintero survived a thriller against Roger LeClair. After a 219-219 tie the match went into overtime with the winner being decided in a one-ball roll-off. Both players reeled off five consecutive strikes before Quintero ousted LeClair in the sixth frame, 8-7. Quintero carried the momentum into the finals to beat PBA Senior star Larry Laub, 213-151, for the $5,000 first prize check.


The three division champions faced off in the final 'King of the Hill' match. In a high-scoring affair Brian Himmler (277) topped Clara Guerrero (256) and Jorge Quintero (236).