LAVOIE LEADS AFTER FIRST ROUND OF MATCH PLAY AT 2019 U.S. OPEN
MOORESVILLE, N.C. - The initial roster at the 2019 U.S. Open was pretty stout, filled with the sport's top performers and many up-and-coming young standouts.
What's left, now that the field has been cut to the top 24 for round-robin match play, could be mistaken for the first draft of a publication celebrating the greatest players of the Professional Bowlers Association's second 50 years.
Among those remaining in contention for the $30,000 top prize, coveted green jacket and final major championship on the 2019 PBA Tour schedule are 17 PBA Tour titlists, 12 PBA major champions, including seven past U.S. Open winners, and eight players who have reached the television finals at the prestigious event since it returned from a one-year hiatus in 2015.
The overall lead changed hands a few times during the eight games of match play Monday night at Victory Lanes, and 2016 U.S. Open winner Francois Lavoie of Canada finished the day atop the standings with an 8,729 total. His score includes pinfall for 40 games and 30 bonus pins for each of his six wins in match play.
Anthony Simonsen of Little Elm, Texas, is second with 8,694 and followed by Bill O'Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania (8,668), left-hander Jesper Svensson of Sweden (8,588) and Houston's Shawn Maldonado (8,574).
"Keeping the momentum going tomorrow will be about staying smart and patient," Lavoie said. "I think I have a good process and routine, and sticking to what I've been doing is key. It's kind of repetitive, but that's what it is. You don't want to get ahead of yourself. You want to take every frame separately, one at a time, especially with a pattern this tough."
The biggest move of the day came from Brandon Novak of Chillicothe, Ohio, who averaged more than 220 on the way to a 6-2 record. He started match play in 21st place and now is sixth in the standings, just 37 pins below the cutline.
The 31-year-old right-hander is one of the seven remaining players without a PBA Tour title. Monday night's performance left him comfortable and confident on the 40-foot oil pattern being used for the cashers' round, match play and championship round.
"I'm feeling pretty confident with the pattern, and even though the initial idea was to start a little straighter, that wasn't really the right place for me, so I moved in and played the dry most of the eight games and was able to stay with the same ball," said Novak, the Regular All-Events champion at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships. "I did make a few small mistakes, otherwise I could've bowled better some of the games, but I definitely feel good going into tomorrow. Hopefully, I can make something happen."
"I'm feeling pretty confident with the pattern, and even though the initial idea was to start a little straighter, that wasn't really the right place for me, so I moved in and played the dry most of the eight games and was able to stay with the same ball," said Novak, the Regular All-Events champion at the 2016 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships. "I did make a few small mistakes, otherwise I could've bowled better some of the games, but I definitely feel good going into tomorrow. Hopefully, I can make something happen."
Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, was the qualifying leader after Monday's eight-game cashers' round, averaging nearly 214 over the event's first 32 games. He closed the cashers' round with games of 253 and 268 to surge into the lead for the first time this week.
Despite only going 1-7 in his first eight matches, the two-time major champion is in ninth place and just 61 pins outside of the top five. With 16 games remaining, there's only 95 pins between fifth and 10th place.
Defending champion Dom Barrett of England also advanced to match play. He posted a 2-6 match-play record and currently is 21st in the standings with an 8,316 total. He's looking to make his third U.S. Open telecast since 2015. He was the runner-up that year, falling to left-hander Ryan Ciminelli in the title match.
Competition at the 2019 U.S. Open will resume Tuesday with two additional rounds of matches, beginning at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern.
At the conclusion of the evening block, 56-game pinfall totals, including bonus pins, will determine the five players for the stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday at 8 p.m. EDT.
The field this week started with 144 players, all of whom bowled 24 games of qualifying over three days (eight games each day). Each round featured a different oil pattern, and a fourth lane condition was introduced for the cashers' round, match play and championship round.
All rounds leading up to the TV show are being broadcast live at BowlTV.com and simulcast on FloBowling.
The U.S. Open is conducted jointly by the USBC and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America.
For more information on the U.S. Open, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.
About International Bowling Campus
The International Bowling Campus (IBC) is the headquarters for the bowling industry and directly serves the more than 69 million bowlers in the United States. The IBC houses the resources of the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body and membership organization for the sport; the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, representing the business interests of bowling centers; IBC Youth Development; Strike Ten Entertainment, the marketing arm for the industry; the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame; the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association; the International Bowling Media Association; the Bowling News Network; the Billiard and Bowling Institute of America; and the International Training and Research Center.
The International Bowling Campus (IBC) is the headquarters for the bowling industry and directly serves the more than 69 million bowlers in the United States. The IBC houses the resources of the United States Bowling Congress, the governing body and membership organization for the sport; the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, representing the business interests of bowling centers; IBC Youth Development; Strike Ten Entertainment, the marketing arm for the industry; the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame; the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association; the International Bowling Media Association; the Bowling News Network; the Billiard and Bowling Institute of America; and the International Training and Research Center.
2019 U.S. Open
At Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C.
At Victory Lanes, Mooresville, N.C.
Monday's results
MATCH PLAY
(40 games, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie)
1, Francois Lavoie, Wichita, Kan., 6-2-0, 8,729. 2, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 6-2-0, 8,694. 3, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 4-3-1, 8,668. 4, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 5-3-0, 8,588. 5, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6-2-0, 8,574. 6, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6-2-0, 8,537.
7, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5-3-0, 8,524. 8, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 4-4-0, 8,519. 9, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1-7-0, 8,513. 10, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5-3-0, 8,479. 11, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-4-0, 8,465. 12, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 4-4-0, 8,454.
13, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 5-3-0, 8,447. 14, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3-5-0, 8,438. 15, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 6-2-0, 8,427. 16, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 4-4-0, 8,424. 17, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 5-2-1, 8,409. 18, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 4-4-0, 8,407.
19, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 3-5-0, 8,347. 20, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 4-4-0, 8,318. 21, Dominic Barrett, England, 2-6-0, 8,316. 22, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2-5-1, 8,233. 23, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 0-8-0, 8,219. 24, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 0-7-1, 8,184.
(40 games, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie)
1, Francois Lavoie, Wichita, Kan., 6-2-0, 8,729. 2, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 6-2-0, 8,694. 3, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 4-3-1, 8,668. 4, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 5-3-0, 8,588. 5, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6-2-0, 8,574. 6, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6-2-0, 8,537.
7, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5-3-0, 8,524. 8, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 4-4-0, 8,519. 9, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1-7-0, 8,513. 10, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5-3-0, 8,479. 11, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-4-0, 8,465. 12, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 4-4-0, 8,454.
13, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 5-3-0, 8,447. 14, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3-5-0, 8,438. 15, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 6-2-0, 8,427. 16, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 4-4-0, 8,424. 17, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 5-2-1, 8,409. 18, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 4-4-0, 8,407.
19, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 3-5-0, 8,347. 20, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 4-4-0, 8,318. 21, Dominic Barrett, England, 2-6-0, 8,316. 22, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2-5-1, 8,233. 23, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 0-8-0, 8,219. 24, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 0-7-1, 8,184.
CASHERS' ROUND
(32 games)
(32 games)
1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6,846. 2, Francois Lavoie, Wichita, Kan., 6,842. 3, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 6,838. 4, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 6,827. 5, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 6,775. 6(tie), Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., and Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 6,709.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 6,704. 9, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 6,690. 10, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,667. 11, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 6,665. 12, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,664.
13, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6,654. 14(tie), Martin Larsen, Sweden, and AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 6,644. 16, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 6,643. 17, Dominic Barrett, England, 6,640. 18, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6,637.
19, Greg Ostrander (a), Freehold, N.J., 6,635. 20, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 6,601. 21, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6,582. 22, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 6,545. 23, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 6,540. *24, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6,520.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 6,704. 9, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 6,690. 10, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,667. 11, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 6,665. 12, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,664.
13, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6,654. 14(tie), Martin Larsen, Sweden, and AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 6,644. 16, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 6,643. 17, Dominic Barrett, England, 6,640. 18, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6,637.
19, Greg Ostrander (a), Freehold, N.J., 6,635. 20, Thomas Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 6,601. 21, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6,582. 22, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 6,545. 23, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 6,540. *24, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6,520.
*Defeated David Simard in one-game roll-off, 202-160, after they tied for 24th spot.
DID NOT ADVANCE:
DID NOT ADVANCE:
25, David Simard, Canada, 6,520, $2,150. 26, Verity Crawley, England, 6,517, $1,975. 27, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 6,512, $1,950. 28, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 6,483, $1,925. 29(tie), Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, and Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 6,473, $1,887.
31, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6,471, $1,850. 32, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 6,452, $1,825. 33, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 6,432, $1,800. 34, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,415, $1,775. 35, Brad Miller, Raytown, Mo., 6,365, $1,750. 36, Vince Biondo, Carpentersville, Ill., 6,342, $1,725.
31, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6,471, $1,850. 32, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 6,452, $1,825. 33, Maria José Rodriguez, Colombia, 6,432, $1,800. 34, Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,415, $1,775. 35, Brad Miller, Raytown, Mo., 6,365, $1,750. 36, Vince Biondo, Carpentersville, Ill., 6,342, $1,725.
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