With just two events remaining in the PBA50 season, we will know with certainty soon who will be the Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year. 

Well, maybe.

We will certainly know who the Player of the Year is this season, but Rookie of the Year? That’s another story.

Regardless, there’s a lot on the line at the PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic, presented by Roto Grip, when it begins Sunday live on FloBowling.

Here’s what to look for at the PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic:

PBA50 Rookie of the Year race might be heating up?

There aren’t many players eligible for the PBA50 Rookie of the Year award this season, and those who are haven’t even bowled half of the events, complicating the matter.

While the Rookie of the Year award is based on who has the most points, it is possible the PBA may elect to not give out the award if they feel like no one is worthy. That decision won’t be made until after the season ends.

Among those who are eligible and leading the points race is Rolando Sebelen of the Dominican Republic. Sebelen has only bowled three events and has 4,549 points.

Greg Thomas of Irmo, South Carolina, turned 50 just a few weeks ago and has bowled every event since he became eligible. In three weeks, he has amassed 3,842 points and could easily catch Sebelen. Chris Gibbons of Madison, Wisconsin, is also in the mix after bowling three events this season with 2,633 points.

Sebelen and Thomas are both registered to compete in the final two events of the season, while Gibbons has yet to register for the season-ending PBA50 Cup.

Duke’s win narrows gap in PBA50 Player of the Year race

The race for PBA50 Player of the Year got slightly more interesting with Norm Duke’s victory at the PBA50 Security Federal Savings Bank Championship presented by Track. But as fast as it got interesting, it might quickly become uninteresting.

Duke’s win jumped him up to second place on the PBA50 points list, but he still trails Michael Haugen Jr. by 6,264 points. Haugen has 25,998 points, Duke has 19,734, and Ron Mohr is third with 17,817 points.

With only two events left on the schedule, it is still mathematically possible for Haugen to be passed. However, Duke is dealing with a right calf injury that may force him to withdraw from this weekend’s event.

The bottom line is Haugen is still in the driver’s seat to win PBA50 Player of the Year with solid performances in the last two events.

Taking on the Scorpion pattern

This week’s event will be contested on the PBA Scorpion pattern, which comes in at 42 feet with a 2.05-to-1 pattern ratio.

One interesting item to note is that all bowlers will compete on one squad this week in qualifying, so there will be no advantage to any players. Typically with two squads, players on Squad B can watch the first squad to see how they play the lanes.

What the schedule looks like

The PBA50 Dave Small’s Championship Lanes Classic is spread out over three days, beginning Sunday and concluding Tuesday. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):

Sunday, Aug. 5

11 a.m. – First round of qualifying for Squad A (eight games)

Monday, Aug. 6

11 a.m. – Second round of qualifying for Squad A (eight games)

Tuesday, Aug. 7

8:30 a.m. – Cashers qualifying (five games)

Noon – Match play Round 1

3:15 p.m. – Match play Round 2

7 p.m. – Stepladder finals (top five)