Friday, Nov. 10, 2000 | 2:01 a.m.
You can add modesty to Wendy Macpherson's list of attributes.
Macpherson politely smiled and tried, unsuccessfully, to downplay her dominance of the Professional Women's Bowling Association tour.
But her success speaks for itself.
The Henderson resident was named the 1999 PWBA Player of the Year for the third time in four years. Early this year, she was awarded Bowler of the Decade honors by the Bowling Writer's Association of America.
Entering the $100,000 Sam's Town Invitational that concludes Saturday, Macpherson was ranked No. 1 in the PWBA standings and was atop the money list with $105,225 in earnings this year. Her average of 214.9 was also good for, you guessed it, the best on the tour.
"I don't really do it for any particular goal or award," Macpherson said on Thursday. "I do it for myself because I love to bowl.
"I'm just fortunate I am having good weeks to be able to be bowler of the year. I don't start the year saying, this is what I want to accomplish. I go in thinking I want to have as many good weeks as possible."
Meanwhile, Dede Davidson of Las Vegas rolled a 300 in her final game of match play Thursday to take the lead in the Sam's Town event. Davidson averaged 248.37 for eight games and won six matches to lead by 177 pins.
The top 24 bowlers return today for the last two rounds of match play. The finals are 11 a.m. Saturday.
Macpherson turned pro in 1986 after she became the youngest player ever to win the U.S. Open while playing as an amateur.
She has won 18 titles, including the U.S. Open, the WIBC Queens and the Virginia Open this year, and is trying to defend her title at the Sam's Town Invitational where she is in 10th place after five rounds.
"Things are going great this year," Macpherson said. "I'm averaging 220 here.
"I'm bowling well, but not quite as well as I need to because I'm a little behind. But I'm enjoying it."
In October, Macpherson became the second woman after Aleta Sill to earn more than a $1 million in career prize money when she finished second at the Columbia 300 Open. Entering this week Macpherson has earned $1,017,495.
Another indicator of her immense ability has been her number of TV appearances.
Macpherson broke the record for most TV appearances in one season at the Columbia 300 Open when she reached the televised finals of a tournament for the 13th time. This year the 32-year-old has made a total of 15 appearances on TV.
"I'm just taking it as it comes," she said. "I don't know how many years I have left.
"As long as I'm healthy and happy about doing it, I'll stay with it."
There was a time when Macpherson didn't envision hefty paychecks and TV appearances.
She was 8 when her parents first took her to a bowling alley, though she says no one in her family is a bowler.
The junior competitions were fun, but she never imagined the sport would provide her with an opportunity to make a living. Later, she hooked up with coach Sam Rocca out of Stockton, Calif., who she credits with honing her skills.
"Not until I was a little older did I think about it," she said of turning pro. "Then I knew a few people competing for money and thought that's what I wanted to do.
"It's been great."
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