Packy Hanrahan opened the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII title run with a statement, claiming his third career PBA Tour title in lefty-heavy TV finals.
The 31-year-old won the PBA Cheetah Championship, defeating Matt Sanders 2-0 in the Race-to-Two title match.
Hanrahan entered the bracket finals as the No. 5 seed after qualifying at Bowlero Brooklyn Park in Minnesota. From there, he won all five of his matches in the TV finals, averaging more than 263 in a long finals format that took more than four hours to determine the winner.
First, in the Round of 12, Hanrahan defeated Chase Nadeau 268-169 to move into the quarterfinals. He then beat Zachary Tackett 289-174 before taking down Kris Prather 259-214 in the semifinals.
That sent Hanrahan into the championship match against No. 3 seed Matt Sanders, another left-hander looking for his first televised PBA Tour title.
Hanrahan controlled the final from the start. He won the opening game 237-192, then closed out the match with a 265-227 win in Game 2 to complete the sweep.
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Hanrahan earned $20,000 for the win.
Sanders reached the final after defeating Hayden Stippich 258-247 in the quarterfinals and Spencer Robarge 283-201 in the semifinals.
The PBA Cheetah Championship was the first title event of the PBA World Series of Bowling XVII.
The WSOB continues on CBS Sports Network with the PBA Chameleon Championship on Sunday, followed by the Scorpion Championship on Monday and the Shark Championship on Tuesday.
Hanrahan will also return in the Shark Championship finals, where he qualified as the No. 8 seed.
Match Results
Round of 12
Kris Prather - Brandon Bonta, 279-215
Packy Hanrahan - Chase Nadeau, 268-169
Brandon Kreyer - AJ Johnson, 256-200
Hayden Stippich - Bill O’Neill, 258-234
Quarterfinals
Kris Prather - Cameron Crowe, 247-228
Packy Hanrahan - Zachary Tackett, 289-174
Spencer Robarge - Brandon Kreyer, 251-233
Matt Sanders - Hayden Stippich, 258-247
Semifinals
Packy Hanrahan - Kris Prather, 259-214
Matt Sanders - Spencer Robarge, 283-201
Championship Match
Game 1: Hanrahan - Sanders, 237-192
Game 2: Hanrahan - Sanders, 265-227
