Less than two weeks into the new year, Spencer Robarge is already throwing strikes and knocking down goals.
The 21-year-old Springfield bowling phenom earned a position on Team USA at last week’s Team Trials in Las Vegas, a 30-game grind in a variety of scoring conditions. From there he flew to Wichita and on Tuesday he qualified for this week’s PBA Players Championship, one of pro bowing’s majors.
“I just happened to bowl good at the first one,” Robrage said of the Team Trials, “and I ended up carrying it through to bowl well (in Wichita) as well.”
Robarge’s brother, Blake Demore, and Nixa’s David “Boog” Krol also qualified for the 88-player PBA Players Championship, which has qualifying rounds through Friday with match-play rounds Saturday and Sunday. Monday’s 4 p.m. championship round will be televised by Fox with $100,000 going to the winner.
Robarge has already bowled internationally
Whether it’s competing for shiny medals or big money, Robarge is well-equipped for both. He’s bowled internationally with the Junior Team USA twice, in Sweden in 2022 and Peru last year; the Kickapoo High School graduate finished third in another professional major, the USBC Masters, as a high school senior in 2021.
“I came up short of making Junior Team USA again this year,” Robarge said. “I came up short last July at that tournament. They took the top four after 26 games and I was fifth. I was bummed about not making that.”
The left-hander went to last week’s Team USA Trials with an outlook of giving it his best and, if it wasn’t good enough, he would at least be well-prepared for this week’s PBA Players Championship qualifier.
“I just wanted to have a good showing,” he said. “I could bowl as good as I do and if I don’t finish in the top four, it’s up to the selection people. I didn’t finish in the top four at team trials. At that point, if you do enough stuff over the course of 30 games, if you do enough that they feel you earned your spot.”
He made the team as a “resume selection” by the Team USA committee. During round three, he set a six-game qualifying record by averaging 263.
“It means the world to me,” Robarge said of his selection. “Representing your country, it’s a really special honor. It’s something that before you’ve done it, you don’t really understand it. Once you do it, just making the team, you don’t get the experience until you go somewhere and actually bowl.”
Team USA includes several PBA tour players
International tournaments will be held later this year or early 2025 in South Korea, Peru and Reno, Nevada. Robarge won four gold medals for Junior Team USA last summer in Peru.
“To be able to do it the last couple of years, it means the absolute world,” Robarge said. “I’ve had some of my best times bowling overseas, Peru last year and Sweden in ’22. Giving myself the opportunity to go and do that again, that’s enough for me to be really proud of that.”
PBA tour players on the team include Darren Tang, Christopher Via, A.J. Johnson, Kyle Troup, Patrick Hanrahan and Kris Prather.
“There’s a lot of really good talent on the team and to be somewhat close in ability as those guys makes me feel really good about myself,” Robarge said.
Upcoming weeks will be consumed with bowling and school
Robarge is having another great season for Wichita State’s tradition-rich bowling program. The reigning Collegiate Bowler of the Year has made the all-tournament team four times in six events and is again a strong candidate for top collegiate individual honors.
“There is a lot of bowling left to go,” Robarge said. “People will go up and people will go down. We’ll see how that all pans out. It’s a selection committee that weighs all the options.”
Bowling and school consume Robarge’s schedule over the next several weeks, with a mix of college events and attempts to qualify for two more professional majors, the U.S. Open and USBC Masters. The College Nationals are in mid-April. He’s pursuing double degrees, in human resource management and business management.
Hoping to bowl in hometown tournament
The PBA Tour returns to Springfield for the Pete Weber Missouri Classic Feb. 12-18, at Robarge’s home center as a youth, Enterprise Park Lanes. He’s unsure if he will get a chance to compete because, as a non-PBA Tour member, he must qualify through the PTQ (Pre-Tournament Qualifier) format and currently all spots are filled.
“We get second priority at those entries,” Robarge said. “First priority goes to the standard PBA members, which is a good thing for them. There’s a lot of people wanting to bowl those PTQs. So I may not get to bowl that PTQ. That’s OK.
“Being allowed to bowl this one in Wichita and making it through more than makes up for that one. This is a major. I would like to bowl (Springfield) if there’s room, but if not, that’s OK.”
For now, he’s looking forward to having his older brother alongside and hopeful they both can make a run. Blake is a former Wichita State standout and operates the pro shop at Century Lanes in Nixa, where he drills bowling balls and gives lessons.
Fans wishing to follow Robarge, Demore and Krol this week can follow live scoring on the PBA Tour website or watch on the bowltv.com subscription streaming service.
