PBA Tour Players Stand Out at US OPEN

With few exceptions, you can ask every player who bowled in the 2012 U.S. Open how difficult the challenge was, and they’ll likely tell you “you have no idea how tough it is until you do it.”

The statistics tell the story of what happened during the 69th U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier in North Brunswick, NJ:

● Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, NY, was the qualifying leader, averaging 223.89 for the first 18 games.

● The entire field of 394 bowlers averaged a composite 185.16, 38.73 pins-per-game behind Shafer.

● The 46 PBA Tour exempt players in the field as a group averaged 204.10.

● The 205 PBA members – national and regional – as a group averaged 190.21.

● The 189 amateurs in the field averaged 179.69.

● 38 of the 46 PBA exempt players in the event cashed (finished among the top 98).

● Two of the eight women in the field (Missy Parkin and Kelly Kulick) cashed.

● Three of the 189 amateurs (Ron Nelson, Bridgeview, IL; USBC Team USA member John Janawicz, Winter Haven, FL, and Junior Team USA member Marshall Kent, Yakima, WA.) qualified for match play (top 24).

Pete Weber’s dramatic 215-214 victory over Mike Fagan to win a record fifth U.S. Open title Sunday not to mention his nail-biter come-from-behind wins over Ryan Shafer and Jason Belmonte in his preliminary matches – is an “instant classic.” ESPN Classic will re-air the 69th U.S. Open telecast Monday, March 5, at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Other intriguing PBA Tour events that will re-air on ESPN Classic in the weeks ahead include the 2011 PBA World Championship (won by Chris Barnes) on Monday, March 19, at 11:30 p.m. ET and the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions (won by Mika Koivuniemi) on Monday, March 26, at 11:30 p.m. ET.