U.S. Open (bowling)

The U.S. Open is one of the four major tournaments in the Professional Bowlers Association. The first modern-day U.S. Open tournament in the PBA took place in 1971 and was won by Mike Limongello. Prior to 1971, this event was known as the BPAA All-Star. BPAA All-Star winners in the PBA era (1959-1970) were initially not credited with PBA titles for their victories. A rule change in 2008, however, retroactively awarded titles to the winners if they were PBA members at the time of their victories. With five wins, Pete Weber holds the most U.S. Open trophies of all time.

In recent years, the U.S. Open winner earned $50,000 and automatic entry into the match play round at the PBA Tournament of Champions.

Unable to find viable sponsorship, the U.S. Open was canceled for 2014, amid speculation that the tournament may not return at all. However, the USBC and BPAA later reached a three-year agreement that will bring the tournament back for 2015, 2016 and 2017. The USBC and BPAA have secured Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, as the title sponsor for 2015. The 2015 tournament took place November 2–8 in Garland, Texas.

2015 event

The 2015 U.S. Open was held at AMF Garland Lanes in Garland, Texas, with qualifying on November 2–7 and the live televised finals on November 8. Ryan Ciminelli won from the #1 seed position, defeating Dominic Barrett in the final match to win his first major title and fourth title overall.

2015 final round results

A five-player stepladder finals format was used.

• Match 1: (4) Dominic Barrett defeated (5) Wes Malott, 221–217
• Match 2: Barrett defeated (3) Norm Duke, 259–255
• Match 3: Barrett defeated (2) Pete Weber, 218–200
• Final Match: (1) Ryan Ciminelli defeated Barrett, 236–223

1. Ryan Ciminelli, USA $50,000
2. Dominic Barrett, England $25,000
3. Pete Weber, USA $15,000
4. Norm Duke, USA $10,000
5. Wes Malott, USA $8,000

Past Champions

U.S. Open Champions

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Championship match score
1971	Mike Limongello	Teata Semiz	194–186
1972	Don Johnson	George Pappas	233–224
1973	Mike McGrath	Earl Anthony	234–222
1974	Larry Laub	Dave Davis	258–237
1975	Steve Neff	Paul Colwell	279–217
1976	Paul Moser	Jim Frazier	226–195
1977	Johnny Petraglia	Bill Spigner	279–232
1978	Nelson Burton Jr.	Jeff Mattingly	204–201
1979	Joe Berardi	Earl Anthony	232–195
1980	Steve Martin	Earl Anthony	248–222
1981	Marshall Holman	Mark Roth	200–179
1982	Dave Husted	Gil Sliker	255–180
1983	Gary Dickinson	Steve Neff	214–202
1984	Mark Roth	Guppy Troup	244–237
1985	Marshall Holman	Wayne Webb	233–205
1986	Steve Cook	Frank Ellenburg	245–211
1987	Del Ballard Jr.	Pete Weber	247–209
1988	Pete Weber	Marshall Holman	203–171
1989	Mike Aulby	Jim Pencak	195–178
1990	Ron Palombi Jr.	Amleto Monacelli	269–205
1991	Pete Weber	Mark Thayer	289–184
1992	Robert Lawrence	Scott Devers	226–221
1993	Del Ballard Jr.	Walter Ray Williams Jr.	237–193
1994	Justin Hromek	Parker Bohn III	267–230
1995	Dave Husted	Paul Koehler	266–245
1996	Dave Husted	George Brooks	216–214
1997	Not held
1998	Walter Ray Williams Jr.	Tim Criss	221–189
1999	Bob Learn, Jr.	Jason Couch	231–215
2000	Robert Smith	Norm Duke	202–201
2001–02	Mika Koivuniemi	Patrick Healey, Jr.	247–182
2002–03	Walter Ray Williams Jr.	Michael Haugen Jr.	236–198
2003–04	Pete Weber	Brian Voss	231–178
2004–05	Chris Barnes	Patrick Allen	213–212
2005–06	Tommy Jones	Ryan Shafer	237–223
2006–07	Pete Weber	Wes Malott	210–204
2007–08	Norm Duke	Mika Koivuniemi	224–216
2008–09	Mike Scroggins	Norm Duke	191–173
2009–10	Bill O'Neill	Mike Scroggins	267–207
2010–11	Norm Duke	Mika Koivuniemi	225–216
2011–12	Pete Weber	Mike Fagan	215–214
2012–13	Wes Malott	Jason Belmonte	214–156
2014	Not held
2015	Ryan Ciminelli	Dominic Barrett	236–223

BPAA All-Star Champions

• 1942 – John Crimmons
• 1943 – Connie Schwoegler
• 1944 – Ned Day
• 1945 – Buddy Bomar
• 1946 – Joe Wilman
• 1947 – Andy Varipapa
• 1948 – Andy Varipapa
• 1949 – Connie Schwoegler
• 1950 – Junie McMahon
• 1951 – Dick Hoover
• 1952 – Junie McMahon
• 1953 – Don Carter
• 1954 – Don Carter
• 1955 – Steve Nagy
• 1956 – Bill Lilliard
• 1957 – Don Carter
• 1958 – Don Carter
• 1959 – Billy Welu
• 1960 – Harry Smith
• 1961 – Bill Tucker
• 1962 – Dick Weber
• 1963 – Dick Weber
• 1964 – Bob Strampe, Sr.
• 1965 – Dick Weber
• 1966 – Dick Weber
• 1967 – Les Schissler
• 1968 - Jim Stefanich
• 1969 – Billy Hardwick
• 1970 – Bobby Cooper

U.S. Open oil pattern

The U.S. Open featured what PBA.com describes as "the toughest lane oil design in all of bowling." The pattern is considered "flat," meaning equal amounts of oil are applied to every lane board.[2] (A typical lane condition allows more oil in the middle section of lane boards, and lesser amounts on the outer boards.)

Many claim the oil pattern was responsible for the lack of left-handed winners in this tournament, because there isn't enough ball traffic on the left side to create a "track area." When Mike Scroggins won the 2009 event in North Brunswick, New Jersey, he became the first left-hander in 20 years (Mike Aulby, 1989) to earn a U.S. Open title. Interestingly, Aulby's win was on an oil pattern where oil was applied more heavily on the outer boards (that is, those closest to the gutters), to the point where the outer parts of the lanes were effectively unplayable. In all, left-handers accounted for six victories (McGrath [1973], Moser [1976], Petraglia [1977], Cook [1986], Aulby [1989], and Scroggins [2009]) and nine runner-up finishes (Anthony [1973, 1979, 1980], Davis [1974], Devers [1992], Bohn [1994], Couch [1999], Allen [2005], Scroggins [2010]) at the U.S. Open since 1971. It was also the only major title that left-hander and 43-time titleist Earl Anthony never won in his career, though he did finish runner-up three times.

See also

• U.S. Women's Open

External links

• PBA.com Site