Masters Finals Set

After four days of intense competition at Cashman Center, the field is finally set for the championship round of the 2009 United States Bowling Congress Masters on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour.

John Nolen of Waterford, Mich., outdistanced the competition during qualifying to earn the top seed for match play and then cruised untouched through the double-elimination bracket, compiling a 6-0 record on the way to the No. 1 seed for Sunday’s finals, which will be televised live on ESPN at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Nolen defeated Steve Harman of Camby, Ind., 755-632, to earn the top seed and is the first player since 2005 USBC Masters champion Mike Scroggins to lead qualifying at the Masters and advance to the TV show. It will be Nolen’s first-career television appearance, and he’ll do everything he can to stay calm and keep the momentum in his favor.

“This feels great, but the job isn’t done,” said Nolen, who averaged 230.39 for 33 games this week. “I’m not competing out here every week just to make the show and go home. I really want to win, and right now, I’m in the best position to do that. To lead wire to wire is amazing, and I just hope I can finish the job.”

Nolen entered the season virtually unknown, but quickly got his name in the news with a win at the 2008 Professional Bowlers Association Regional Players Invitational, which also earned him a spot in the recent H&R Block Tournament of Champions and an exemption for the 2009-10 Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour season.

The 29-year-old right-hander has been a regular face at PBA events since and has gained valuable experience with each success and each defeat. He took what he learned during a disappointing match play performance at the Tournament of Champions and went on to finish eighth in last week’s Denny’s Dick Weber Open.

Now, he is just one win away from the $60,000 top prize and a two-year Tour exemption on the line at the Masters.

Also making the first singles television appearance of his career is PBA Tour sophomore Harman, who finished second with Jen Petrick at the PBA Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship earlier this year.

Harman will await the winner of Sunday’s opening match, which will feature a pair of 12-time Tour titlists, 2004 Masters champion Danny Wiseman of Baltimore and 2005-06 PBA Player of the Year Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C.

Jones’ resume includes two major titles, the U.S. Open and the Tournament of Champions, while his best finish at the Masters was fourth in 2006. Wiseman’s Masters victory is his lone major title, and it came in front of a record crowd of 4,303 at Miller Park, the home of Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers.

In the years since his Masters win, Wiseman has struggled to fully recover from an ankle injury he suffered in a car accident, but he’s still focused on reaching his goals of winning two majors and 15 overall titles before he retires.

“This is my first show of the year, and it feels great,” Wiseman said. “It’s been a tough couple of years, and some things just haven’t felt the same, but I’ve dealt with injuries before. It’s a little frustrating when you feel like you’re strong mentally, but your body just doesn’t cooperate sometimes. It’s been a tough week, but I’m elated.”

In all, the field at the 2009 Masters included 452 of the best amateur and professional bowlers in the world.

For complete coverage of the Masters, including stories, photos and results, visit bowl.com.