PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke has withdrawn from next week’s FloBowling PBA Fall Swing with a right elbow injury in an effort to heal heading into the U.S. Open at the end of the month.

The 38-time PBA champion told FloBowling on Thursday night that he bowled in severe pain at the PBA50 Storm Invitational two weeks ago and simply is not ready to compete at the Fall Swing.

Duke said the injury affects the inside of his right elbow where a tendon has been pulled away from the bone and needs time to reconnect. The injury is commonly referred to as golfer’s elbow and is caused by the repetitive motions he uses when bowling. Healing it simply requires rest and limited activity.

“I bowled the senior event, and I did quite well, but it was miserably painful,” Duke said. “I got back home and I got an injection. I’m altering diet, exercises, the whole thing, but I can’t see going to Tulsa with misery and then starting the U.S. Open two days later. I’m going to get this thing healed and then focus on the tournament that is a career-changer, the U.S. Open.”

Duke said his injury greatly limits his ability to use all of the tools in his arsenal. Duke is known as a shot-maker who has the ability to change ball speeds and hand positions to manipulate his ball roll with tremendous success.

“In the senior event, I was probably locked out of about two-thirds of my repertoire, and that’s no good when you’re bowling against the kids,” Duke said. “You can get away with it sometimes against the seniors because you can find a place that can be high scoring no matter how you throw it. But against the kids, I have to have every bit of my ability. It’s just not there with this condition.”

The two-time U.S. Open champion who finished fifth in last year’s event decided to put the emphasis on the final major of the PBA season rather than risk being less than 100 percent by bowling the Fall Swing.

“A lot of times you make decisions based on believing that you’re Superman and it hurts you in the long run,” Duke said. “I’m getting a little bit more intelligent in my older years, and I’m understanding that you don’t heal as quickly as you used to. You have to get healthy or it shows up more.”