2021 United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Masters Tournament Update

Two legends just retired from regular competition on the National PBA Tour, Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber didn't bowl this event. I guess Norm Duke just wanted to remind everybody, he's BOWLING. Last game done for Norm today, he's +216 and leading. A and B block still to bowl.  

With the last block of 5 games happening for A and B Squads, the next hours will determine if C block bowlers that have completed their qualifying will benefit from players that are within the cut (around 28 under shown as -28), or bowlers outside the cut (more then 29 under) can create some magic.  

Bowlers within the cut might get too conservative, play too much to not lose, roll a qualifier killer score, even a 150 game, and drop out of the top 64. The players not yet within the cut line (currently –28), must make up for their under 200 games, with 200 plus games to expunge the red ink.  

A surprize just under the cut number. C block bowlers including Jason Belmonte, (Australia) and Jakob Buttruff (Tempe, AZ) tied at –30.  The World Number One, Belmonte waits for the field to shift around above and below him, hoping the cut drops a few pins to include him. Buttruff, as the last USBC Masters Champion is seeded into the top 64, so he is in.  

Other top players including: Osku Palermaa, (Finland) -33, AJ Chapman (Lewisville, TX) -46, Michael Tang (Pickerington, OH) -49, the Legends with double digit titles, Chris Barnes (Double Oak, TX), -51, and Tommy Jones (Simpsonville, SC) -56 even Chicago area member Gerald (Gerry) Marrs –62, right behind the Legends, will have an opportunity to move up in their last 5 games.  

Chicago area bowlers: Nick Kruml (Downer Grove), +129 in 7th, AJ Johnson  (Oswego) +116 in 11th, former Sandburg High School now Ambrose College bowler and amateur Cameron Crowe (Orland Park) +79 in 17th.  will most likely survive the round. 

A Pro that now lives in the area, Kris Prather (Romeoville) +84 is 15th and likely to move on also. Sean Rash (Montgomery) rolled his first block, but illness and an abundance of caution, to protect himself and the other competitors, withdrew with yet undetermined buy hopefully not COVID symptoms. 

A couple other Chicago area bowlers I recognized bubbling around 150th: Joe Lichner an amateur from Warrenville at 147th and –211 was a customer, as a high schooler, of my Revolutions-Wheaton store, inside the now defunct Wheaton Bowl. Matt Kuba (Tinley Park) is 151st and –216, I worked with the current pro early in his bowling career at Revolutions-Tinley Park, inside Centennial Lanes. 

Congratulations to all the bowlers testing themselves in one of the most challenging bowling events on the planet.  

The 2021 USBC Masters and US Open Will Move to Reno

 ARLINGTON, Texas - With COVID-19 still impacting event operations, the United States Bowling Congress has decided to adjust the competition locations for the 2021 USBC Masters and U.S. Open.

The two events, both considered majors on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour, now will be held in consecutive weeks at the 78-lane National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, allowing competitors planning to bowl in both tournaments to make just one trip, rather than journey to two destinations at different times.

The Masters will be held first, taking place on its original dates from March 29-April 4, now with room for an additional 55 competitors. The field had been limited to 245 entries, but the move to the NBS allows for a capacity of 300 entries.

The U.S. Open will follow, with the 108-competitor field taking to the iconic lanes April 4-11. 

Qualifying and match play for both tournaments will be livestreamed on BowlTV, before the action shifts to Fox Sports' FS1 as part of the PBA Tour television schedule. The live TV finals of each event will air from 2-4 p.m. Eastern on April 4 and April 11, respectively. 

Prior to the move, the U.S. Open was scheduled to be held at The Ashwaubenon Bowling Alley in Green Bay, Wisconsin, from Feb. 21-28, and the Masters was slated to return to the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

"We are committed to running these events in 2021," USBC Executive Director Chad Murphy said. "By moving the tournaments to Reno and back in the calendar, we are better positioned to receive approval from health officials to conduct the events, while also adding additional lanes for more competitors."

The Masters traditionally attracts hundreds of bowlers from all over the world and has sold out for the last seven years. The 2019 event at the Gold Coast Bowling Center, won by left-hander Jakob Butturff, featured 450 competitors.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and best-practice recommendations, however, the Masters field in 2021 initially had to be limited. The event sold out in just a few days, and the waiting list quickly grew to more than 150 eager competitors. USBC will continue to monitor the restrictions and social-distancing recommendations in Nevada and expand the field again, if appropriate.

Masters bowlers will join Butturff on the lanes at the NBS for 15 games of qualifying, before the top 63, plus Butturff, advance to the double-elimination match-play portion of the event.

The 2021 U.S. Open will be a collaborative effort between USBC and the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, featuring a limited field of the world's best bowlers, most of whom earned their spots in the event based on their recent on-lane performances. The list includes leaders on the PBA Tour points list and top performers at USBC events and PBA majors.

The U.S. Open format features qualifying across multiple oil patterns and round-robin match play, before the top five competitors advance to the TV stepladder, based on their 56-game pinfall totals. 

Bowlers who did not receive invitations to compete in the 2021 event can earn spots through an on-site pre-tournament qualifier, which will take place April 4.

The 2020 U.S. Open was held in Lincoln, Nebraska, in February and won by Australia's Jason Belmonte for the 12th of his record 13 major titles. 

For more information about the U.S. Open and USBC Masters, visit BOWL.com/Tournaments.