2019 USBC Masters Notebook - Day 3
March 29, 2019
STANDINGS
LAS VEGAS - DJ Archer of Houston started his final round Friday at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Masters in 209th place and 135 pins away from the cut number to match play.
He walked off the lanes at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino five games later 155 spots ahead of where he started and with some breathing room heading into Friday night's final qualifying block.
Archer started Friday's block with games of 277, 258 and 248 to quickly make his move up the leaderboard, and he finished with 192 and 196 for a 1,171 total. His overall tally for 15 games of qualifying was 3,084, moving him into 54th place before the final squad hits the lanes at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
All competitors at the 2019 USBC Masters are bowling 15 games to determine the 63 players joining defending champion Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, in the tournament's double-elimination match-play bracket.
After starting his first two rounds on the fresh 39-foot lane condition being used this week, Archer looked forward to hitting the burn and seeing if he could make a run.
"I knew I was going to get to play my A game and get in," said Archer, who owns two Professional Bowlers Association Tour titles. "I knew early on if I could get something going, I could put together a three-game set like that. I started striking the first game but thought maybe it was just that pair. When the second and third pairs allowed me to do the same, I thought, 'wow, this could really happen.'"
Archer also had a number in his head that he thought he'd have to reach in order to be in position to advance.
"After talking with a couple of people, I thought it would take 60 or 70 over, so I made my number 75," Archer said. "I'm the type of person who never quits, so regardless of how good or bad I'm bowling, I'm going to give it 100 percent every time I step on the lanes. It was one of those things where I got hot early and was able to catch a couple of good pairs and crosses."
Despite all of the striking, Archer's spare game may have saved him a spot in the bracket.
Working on a strike heading into his final frame Friday, Archer left the 1-2-4-6-10 washout on his first shot of the 10th frame. An open frame could have cost him nearly 20 pins, but he was able to convert the spare and record nine pins on his fill ball.
"I shoot at the washout by going straight at it," Archer said. "At one point, in the back of my mind, I figured I potentially could just get one pin, so I moved a couple left to make sure I at least got three. I thought I'd have enough if I got three of them, but I knew I didn't have to worry about it as much if I just made it. It was huge. You hate to ruin it on a shot like that after bowling so well all day, so it there was a sigh of relief when I made it."
Archer now will wait to see if he'll be able to advance to the bracket at the Masters for the first time since the 2013 event in North Brunswick, New Jersey.
Other movers through two squads
In addition to Archer's huge run Friday, several other bowlers finished strong at Gold Coast to put themselves in position to advance to match play.
Australia's Sam Cooley was tied for 138th before firing 1,147 to move into 35th place with one round to go, and San Francisco's Darren Tang jumped from being tied for 123rd to 33rd place with a 1,134 finish Friday. Phoenix's Cortez Schenck went from 114th to 45th after posting a 1,109 total.
Germany's Tobias Boerding was closer to the cut line to start competition Friday, sitting in 77th place, but he was able to jump all the way to 13th place with a 1,156 set.
The number
The cut number heading into the final squad of qualifying is 3,065 for 15 games, a 204.3 average. The 63rd spot currently belongs to 2007 Masters champion Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, and Leonard Ruiz of Los Alamitos, California.
As B Squad hits the lanes Friday night, a total of 28 players are inside the cut number.
LAS VEGAS - DJ Archer of Houston started his final round Friday at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Masters in 209th place and 135 pins away from the cut number to match play.
He walked off the lanes at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino five games later 155 spots ahead of where he started and with some breathing room heading into Friday night's final qualifying block.
Archer started Friday's block with games of 277, 258 and 248 to quickly make his move up the leaderboard, and he finished with 192 and 196 for a 1,171 total. His overall tally for 15 games of qualifying was 3,084, moving him into 54th place before the final squad hits the lanes at 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
All competitors at the 2019 USBC Masters are bowling 15 games to determine the 63 players joining defending champion Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, in the tournament's double-elimination match-play bracket.
After starting his first two rounds on the fresh 39-foot lane condition being used this week, Archer looked forward to hitting the burn and seeing if he could make a run.
"I knew I was going to get to play my A game and get in," said Archer, who owns two Professional Bowlers Association Tour titles. "I knew early on if I could get something going, I could put together a three-game set like that. I started striking the first game but thought maybe it was just that pair. When the second and third pairs allowed me to do the same, I thought, 'wow, this could really happen.'"
Archer also had a number in his head that he thought he'd have to reach in order to be in position to advance.
"After talking with a couple of people, I thought it would take 60 or 70 over, so I made my number 75," Archer said. "I'm the type of person who never quits, so regardless of how good or bad I'm bowling, I'm going to give it 100 percent every time I step on the lanes. It was one of those things where I got hot early and was able to catch a couple of good pairs and crosses."
Despite all of the striking, Archer's spare game may have saved him a spot in the bracket.
Working on a strike heading into his final frame Friday, Archer left the 1-2-4-6-10 washout on his first shot of the 10th frame. An open frame could have cost him nearly 20 pins, but he was able to convert the spare and record nine pins on his fill ball.
"I shoot at the washout by going straight at it," Archer said. "At one point, in the back of my mind, I figured I potentially could just get one pin, so I moved a couple left to make sure I at least got three. I thought I'd have enough if I got three of them, but I knew I didn't have to worry about it as much if I just made it. It was huge. You hate to ruin it on a shot like that after bowling so well all day, so it there was a sigh of relief when I made it."
Archer now will wait to see if he'll be able to advance to the bracket at the Masters for the first time since the 2013 event in North Brunswick, New Jersey.
Other movers through two squads
In addition to Archer's huge run Friday, several other bowlers finished strong at Gold Coast to put themselves in position to advance to match play.
Australia's Sam Cooley was tied for 138th before firing 1,147 to move into 35th place with one round to go, and San Francisco's Darren Tang jumped from being tied for 123rd to 33rd place with a 1,134 finish Friday. Phoenix's Cortez Schenck went from 114th to 45th after posting a 1,109 total.
Germany's Tobias Boerding was closer to the cut line to start competition Friday, sitting in 77th place, but he was able to jump all the way to 13th place with a 1,156 set.
The number
The cut number heading into the final squad of qualifying is 3,065 for 15 games, a 204.3 average. The 63rd spot currently belongs to 2007 Masters champion Sean Rash of Montgomery, Illinois, and Leonard Ruiz of Los Alamitos, California.
As B Squad hits the lanes Friday night, a total of 28 players are inside the cut number.