YOKOHAMA -- Parker Bohn III thinks, throws, reacts and thinks again. It's the same routine over and over. The 17-year pro bowler says 50 percent of the game starts and ends in his head.

Although some power bowlers may disagree with that assessment, Bohn's records speak louder than the pins falling on his dead-on strike.

Bohn has already been nominated into the Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame and has notched the fourth highest number of wins ever by a tour player. The Jackson, N.J., native led the PBA in every statistical category last season.

Although he dropped out in the semifinals of the Dream Bowl 2002 Match Play Tournament, the slim 39-year-old showcased some of his world-class talent to the Japanese audience in the four-day event. In the quarterfinals, Bohn scored a perfect 300 -- the first and only 300 of the event.

"Obviously, if you don't have your mental game, you're going to lose a lot of games in this sport," said Bohn, the lefty who finished third and collected 1.3 million yen at the Dream Bowl 2002.

His 20th tour of Japan isn't over yet. Bohn will aim for his fifth Japan Cup title starting on Thursday, in which he is the record-holder with four trophies.

"To be honest with you, you have a gutsy decision to make," Bohn said of his mental-game philosophy.

"You either go for it with the best throw or hold back. In those 10 frames, I always go for whatever I have left in my arm. And sometimes, you end up being the hero; sometimes you become the villain.

"I probably disappointed a lot of fans (at the Dream Bowl 2002) because they expected me to win. But I still have the Japan Cup. Everything will start all over on Thursday."

Bohn isn't the flashiest of bowlers, but he knows he has at least another five years left in the tank.

As long as his body will absorb the beating, Bohn said he will bowl "for an indefinite amount of time" and wants to continue spreading the sport worldwide.

In the U.S., ESPN recently began exclusive coverage of the PBA and has increased fan interest. Bohn sees the fan base already established in Japan.

"ESPN is taking it to another height. I personally believe it'll grow in America, but I hope it grows more in Japan," Bohn said. "We want to see both of us grow. If the fan base grows in America, I know it'll affect Japan."

The mental game isn't the only aspect the two-time PBA Player of the Year cherishes. He loves to have fun. He'll stick his tongue out and make childish faces at shaking pins that refuse to fall down until the last second.

Win or lose, Bohn will only take the positives out of his performances to prepare for the next event. Merely an hour after dropping out of the Dream Bowl 2002 bracket to Hugh Miller in the semifinals, Bohn ran into Miller in the tournament official's room.

Miller upset Bohn in the semifinals 514-413 and went on to win his first tour title in a decade. Without suggesting any sarcasm, Bohn said, "Way to come out of a 10-year hiatus." The two smiled. The two shook hands.

That's the way Bohn approaches life, too -- always think on the positive side. At the latest event, it was his 300 score against American Norm Duke, who has 19 tour titles, in the quarterfinals.

"Obviously, if you go out in the quarterfinals against a guy like Norm Duke, who I have the utmost respect for, and score a perfect 300, that's huge. That'll definitely roll into my next tournament," said Bohn, who marked his 61st PBA perfect game.

"I'm never going to dwell on the negatives. It's the same in school work, too, or anything else.

"Look, in your case, some stories you write are A-plus; some of them are so-so, right? But you always take the positive elements in what you did wrong. Am I happy I lost today? No. But am I happy I won $10,000? Sure. You can ask the 260 other guys (who entered and finished below Bohn) in this tournament and I'm pretty sure they'd love to switch places with me."

That, for sure, is a no-brainer.