Last month in Phoenix, I attended the BPAA U.S. Open Tournament. Following are some of my impressions:
The U.S. Open, one of bowling's most prestigious events, was an originally known as the BPAA All-Star Tournament. The tournament was the brainchild of Arch Ward, a well-known editor of the Chicago Tribune.
The ingenious newspaper editor was also responsible for promoting baseball's Major League All-Star contest, plus the forerunner to the NFL's Pro Bowl, the College All-Stars versus the defending National Football League champions.
The first BPAA All-Star Tournament was held at the Chicago Coliseum in 1941. It was an all-male event, with 71 of the top bowlers from across the country. Johnny Crimmins and Joe Norris met for the title, Crimmins emerged as the winner.
In 1949, the tournament was opened to women, making it possible for Marion Ladewig to establish herself as the greatest female bowler in history. From 1949 until 1963, Ladewig won the All-Star nine times and finished second twice.
During the BPAA All-Star Tournament years, Don Carter and Dick Weber each won four times. Weber also had three second-place finishes. He lost to Carter in 1957, was runner-up to Bill Tucker in 1961 and again placed second to Billy Hardwick in 1969.
Name change
In 1971, the event was renamed the "BPAA U.S. Open," and a pair of new names appeared at the top of the leader board: Mike Limongello defeated Teata Semiz for the title, and in the ladies category, Paula Sperber, an amateur, won over June Llewellyn.
Since it became known as the the U.S. Open in 1971, Dave Husted has established himself as the tournament's top winner with a record three titles. Marshall Holman, Pete Weber, and Del Ballard have all won twice.
Thus, the U.S. Open has produced some impressive champions. Paula Sperber (Mrs. Don Carter) later turned pro and and won her second title in 1975. Pat Costello, Donna Adamek, Dana Miller-Mackie, and Aleta Sill were also two-time U.S. Open champions.
New century, new faces
Robert Smith and Tennelle Grijalva, the first U.S. Open champions of the 21st century, both are products of Southern California's great junior program.
Smith's attributes his success to a new grip he converted to at the suggestion of a friend—a version of the old Sarge Easter grip where the middle finger remained intact, with the ring finger conventional and reversed about 3/8 inches.
Smith, possessor of one of the most powerful balls on tour, maintains he had greater control of his high-rev delivery and was able to temper the ball entry to the pocket.
International appeal
This year's U.S. Open attracted 37 bowlers from 16 foreign countries. Mexico sent six players—Sayuni Yamada, Ernesto Avila Casteneda, Enrique Calvo Hernandez, Roberrto Silva, Edwardo Soria de Lachica, and Fernando Sotres Vitela—none of whom survived the first cut.
Australia contributed five players—Amanda Bradley, Cara Honeychurch, Carol Gianotti-Block, Maxine Nable, and Bruno Maglieri. Maglieri, the only male Aussie, missed the first cut by 11 pins. Nable survived the first cut, but Bradley, Honeychurch, and Gianotti-Block all made it to match play, further establishing Australia's superiority in women's bowling around the world.
Germany was represented by five players—Martina Eckel, Andrea Mirschel, Patricia Schwarz, Helga Zabel, and Thilo Diesener. None avanced beyond the initial qualifying round.
Patrick Backe and Linda Haglund, two of Sweden's four entries, both survived the qualifying round but got no further.
Finland's three entries featured Mika Koivuniemi, winner of the 2000 ABC Masters, and two members of Finland's national team—Jouni Helminin, who failed to get past the qualifying round, and Paulina Aalto, a recent addition to the Professional Women's Bowling Association. Aalto survived the first cut but missed the finals. Koivuniemi made a strong bid for the TV finals but fell short by 79 pins.
The Chinese-Taipai helicopter-style bowlers never seriously contended. Yu-Ling Wang advanced to the finals in the women's division, finishing 14th, 552 pins out of fourth place. Yu-Jeng Wang, Taipai's male entry, failed to weather the qualifying round.
The only other foreigners to advance to the finals were PWBA touring player Jody Ellis of South Africa and Amleto Monacelli, a PBA tour veteran.
Some highly respected international stars did not fare too well. America's Tim Mack, voted the top amateur in the world, shot 300 in the final qualifying round but failed to muster a sustained drive on the tricky lane conditions. Mack spent the remainder of the tournament exhorting Robert Smith, his close friend.
Tore Torgerson of Norway, generally regarded as the top player in Europe, failed to make the first cut.
Morning sickness
The conditions on the early morning blocks proved disastrous to many players. Randy Pedersen, fifth among the leaders after the second qualifying round, lost 200 pins on the dreaded morning shift and failed to make the first cut. Others failing to survive the first cut were three-time U.S. Open champion Dave Husted, 1994 champion Justin Hromek, David Ozio, Ryan Shafer (currently the hottest player on tour), Tim Criss, Chris Barnes, and Brian Voss. Steve Hoskins and former BPAA U.S. Open champions Robert Lawrence and Pete Weber, all out of contention, withdrew due to injury.
In the women's division, former U.S. Open champions Aleta Sill, Betty Morris, Dana Miller-Mackie, and Dede Davidson never got past the first qualify block. Also missing among the first-cut qualifiers were national amateur champion Kassy Hyman, PWBA stars Jeanne Nacarato, Tammy Turner Boomershine, Jennifer Swanson, left-hander Tiffany Stanbrough, and Malaysian superstar Sarah Yap. Former U.S. Open champions Carol Norman, Lisa Wagner, and Tish Johnson survived the first cut but got no further.
Pathetic portside
Lane conditions were none too kind to left-handers. PBA superstars Jason Couch and Mike Aulby and Josh Hale, an amateur from Billings, Montana, were the only portsiders to survive the first cut. Couch, the sole southpaw in the finals, led the first qualifying round with 246 pins over a 200 average. He lost 26 pins in the next two rounds, bowled himself into third place with a whopping 258 pins over in the fourth qualifying round, then wound up in 16th place, 370 pins out of the show.
The list of outstanding players to be victimized by the left side of the lanes included current Bowler of the Year Parker Bohn III, John Mazza, Ricky Ward, Joe Salvemini, Jess Stayrook, Dennis Horan, and Mike and Mark Scroggins.
Allyson Allmang of Boynton Beach, Fla., toppled over 830 pins in her first three games. The following day, another Floridian, Marcia Kamrowski of Boca Raton, posted games of 289, 300, and 258 for a whopping 847. While Allmang succeeded in making the finals, Kamrowski fell seven pins short of the top 24.
Marianne DiRupo gained the finals by default when Linda Haglund of Sweden failed to have her ball checked after qualifying for a spot in the 24-player finals.
First-class event
BPAA officials were ever-present and kept the tournament in full progress—with one exception: The qualifying rounds took far too long. With five players assigned to each pair of lanes, the six-game qualifying rounds lasted almost four hours instead of the usual two-and-a-half to three hours.
AMF and BPAA put on a classic event at the Christown Lanes. Paddock facilities for players were spacious. Food and beverages were plentiful in the VIP area, and the bowlers seemed to appreciate the first-class treatment. Too bad all the tournament stops on tour do not display their gratitude to the pro bowlers like they do in tennis and golf.
The TV arena setting at Veterans Memorial Coliseum was better than most PBA tour stops. The crowd was larger than usual, and they were really into it. Unfortunately, television networks do not respect bowling enough to extend the time for trophy and check presentations as they do in golf and tennis.
Interested spectator
Chris Peters, one of the new owners of the PBA, spent considerable time at the tournament. His presence there and the exuberance he demonstrated revealed his enthusiasm and love for the game. He not only expressed his appreciation for the proficiency of male performers, but he was equally impressed with the talents of the lady bowlers.
Rumor
The BPAA U.S.Open will return to Phoenix in 2001!
PBA Hall of Famer John Jowdy is a past president of the Bowling Writers Association of America.