DeeRonn Booker is an American professional ten-pin bowler. On March 31, 2024, Booker became the third African American bowler to win a major title on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour.[2]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Late 1990 or early 1991 |
| Years active | 2018–[1] |
| Bowling Information | |
| Affiliation | PBA |
| Rookie year | 2018[1] |
| Dominant hand | Right |
| Wins | 1 |
| Personal blog | facebook |
Background
editOriginally from Pomona, California,[3] Booker lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico[2] where he is the pro shop manager of the Starlight Bowling Center located inside the Santa Ana Star Casino Hotel.[3]
In 2009, Booker appeared on The Price Is Right television show, winning the showcase showdown.[2]
Career
editYes, I'm a little bit darker, but I'm still a person. I want others just to see me as a person, not to see me as a Black individual. I want them to see me as a person and say, "That guy can bowl. That guy won a title. That guy made the show." ... I'm hoping that what I'm doing is touching other people and it's helping others get to wherever they want to go in this game and in life in general.
—DeeRonn Booker
March 2024[4]
Booker won the doubles Eagle at the July 2023 USBC Open Championships, and during January 2023's Team USA Trials Booker led the first round of qualifying.[4] From 2018 through 2023, Booker cashed in 13 of 36 PBA events.[1]
On March 31, 2024, in his second year as a full-time professional bowler[3] and in his PBA Tour television debut,[4] Booker won the 2024 USBC Masters tournament held at Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.[2] This, his first tour title, was in a major PBA national tournament.[2] He qualified 58th out of 465 players in the 64-player double-elimination phase,[3] but won six consecutive three-game total pinfall matches to earn the No. 1 seed position for the stepladder final.[5] He won the championship game and received the $100,000 first prize.[2]
Booker thus became the third African American man to win a title and major on the PBA Tour, joining George Branham III (1993) and Gary Faulkner Jr. (2015).[3]
Booker's "strike song" during the televised March 2024 Masters broadcast was the Price is Right theme song, a reference to his 2009 appearance on that TV show.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "DeeRonn Booker". PBA.com. Professional Bowlers Association. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024. (professional profile)
- ^ a b c d e f g Grubaugh, Donovan (March 31, 2024). "DeeRonn Booker Wins 2024 USBC Masters for First Major Title". Bowl.com. United States Bowling Congress. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Yodice, James (April 3, 2024). "Santa Ana employee wins one of bowling's most elite championships". Rio Rancho Observer. RRObserver.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c Hughes, Nolan (April 4, 2024). "DeeRonn Booker makes PBA history, wins USBC Masters title". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on April 5, 2024.
- ^ Hughes, Nolan (March 31, 2024). "DeeRonn Booker Wins Improbable Run to Win USBC Masters Title". PBA.com. Professional Bowlers Association. Archived from the original on April 7, 2024.