Anderson takes over qualifying lead at 2025 U.S. Open in Indianapolis
January 30, 2025
Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, the 2018 USBC Masters champion, averaged 236 during the final five games of Round 2 of qualifying on Wednesday to take the overall lead at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, which is being held at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
ROUND 2 RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, fell one strike short of finishing Day 1 as the overall leader at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, which is being contested at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
Anderson refused to let the top spot elude him during Round 2, however, as the 29-year-old right-hander used games of 194, 180, 191, 224, 248, 231, 254 and 223 on Wednesday to come in with an eight-game score of 1,745, which pushed his two-day, 16-game total to 3,609 (a 225.56 average) and moved him into first place in the 108-player field.
Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, finished the day in second place with 3,569, which left Zach Weidman of Indianapolis (3,530), Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois (3,495), and AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin (3,482), to claim spots three, four and five, respectively.
The remaining spots in the overall top 10 were secured by Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona (3,480), Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Michigan (3,469), opening-round leader Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio (3,465), Michael Martell of West Babylon, New York (3,458), and Australia’s Jason Belmonte (3,445).
Nathan Bohr of Round Rock, Texas (3,355), ended Round 2 in 24th place, which is the spot all competitors are keeping tabs on as they will have to be at or inside that position at the conclusion of Thursday’s final eight-game qualifying block in order to advance to match play at this year’s U.S. Open.
Second-round action on Wednesday was contested on a completely flat 37-foot oil pattern that offered competitors almost zero margin for error. As such, Anderson didn’t necessarily hit the lanes focused on putting up big scores; instead, he just wanted to fill frames and grind games out the best he could.
And that’s exactly what Anderson did early on as he failed to break 200 during each of his first three games on Wednesday after eclipsing that mark in six of his first seven games during Round 1.
The tables turned from that point forward, however, as the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Masters champion would average 236 and shoot nothing lower than 223 during his final five games of the block.
“After starting the day 35 pins under through three games, I just wanted to get back to even,” Anderson said. “But then I hit a pair where I could finally take a step left and open my angles up, and it was sort of off to the races from there.”
It certainly was, and because of that, at times on Wednesday, Anderson made it look easy; that does not, however, mean that’s how it felt from his perspective.
“I feel like I bowled 16 games today compared to yesterday,” Anderson said. “After my first three games, I was kind of in a shell, so I’m super happy that after that I got back to some good form.”
Good form is a must at the U.S. Open as the tournament’s demanding oil patterns tend to saddle competitors with the maximum penalty whenever errant shots are made.
Nevertheless, the physical game is only one part of the equation; in order to succeed at the U.S. Open, players need to believe in themselves and stay mentally sharp as well. Thus far, Anderson has done just that, and he believes that’s part of the reason why he’s found success during the first two rounds of this year’s tournament.
“When you feel like you’re throwing it well but still aren’t knocking the pins over, you can start to question whether it’s you or the ball,” Anderson said. “So far, I’ve done a really good job of not blaming or doubting myself, so when I’ve found good ball motion, I’ve been able to trust and repeat it. That’s what happened today. Once I saw a few balls go through the pins the right way, I was able to manufacture the rest.”
Anderson will try to manufacture another solid round on Thursday to make the cut and punch his ticket to match play. He doesn’t expect it to be easy, however, as the 52-foot Round 3 oil pattern has the potential to be very challenging depending upon how he and his fellow competitors choose to attack it.
“Tomorrow is going to be a guessing game because a lot is going to depend on whether guys decide to play that pattern to the right or to the left; that will dictate everything,” Anderson said. “I’m probably going to stay to the right and feel things out from there, but this next round can easily be the most confusing, especially as people are chasing the cut number and looking for scores.”
Anderson and his fellow competitors will be hunting those scores in order to move one step closer to claiming the U.S. Open’s $100,000 top prize, the coveted green jacket and the first major title of the 2024 Professional Bowlers Association Tour season.
The third and final qualifying round at the 2025 U.S. Open will kick off Thursday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on C Squad hit the lanes for their final eight games. A Squad and B Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively. All qualifying squads will bowl on fresh oil.
After the conclusion of B Squad’s eight-game block on Thursday night, the field will be cut from 108 bowlers down to the top 24.
Those 24 players will earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play starting Friday morning with 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, determining the final nine bowlers who will advance to the two stepladder finals broadcasts.
The first show will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The same two-show stepladder finals format was used at the 2023 U.S. Open, which saw EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, defeat this year’s defending champion, Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, by a score of 221-208 to capture his first U.S. Open title.
Last year, Troup avenged that loss and added his name to the long and impressive list of U.S. Open champions by defeating Simonsen by a score of 223-181.
Now, Troup is looking to reach the winner’s circle for the second year in a row at Royal Pin Woodland and become the first bowler to successfully defend a U.S. Open title since Dave Husted accomplished the feat by winning the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
The 2025 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and is considered a major on the PBA Tour. The total prize fund for the event will exceed $275,000.
For more information about the U.S. Open, CLICK HERE.
ROUND 2 RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – On Tuesday, Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, fell one strike short of finishing Day 1 as the overall leader at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, which is being contested at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
Anderson refused to let the top spot elude him during Round 2, however, as the 29-year-old right-hander used games of 194, 180, 191, 224, 248, 231, 254 and 223 on Wednesday to come in with an eight-game score of 1,745, which pushed his two-day, 16-game total to 3,609 (a 225.56 average) and moved him into first place in the 108-player field.
Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, the 2022 U.S. Open champion, finished the day in second place with 3,569, which left Zach Weidman of Indianapolis (3,530), Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois (3,495), and AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin (3,482), to claim spots three, four and five, respectively.
The remaining spots in the overall top 10 were secured by Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona (3,480), Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Michigan (3,469), opening-round leader Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio (3,465), Michael Martell of West Babylon, New York (3,458), and Australia’s Jason Belmonte (3,445).
Nathan Bohr of Round Rock, Texas (3,355), ended Round 2 in 24th place, which is the spot all competitors are keeping tabs on as they will have to be at or inside that position at the conclusion of Thursday’s final eight-game qualifying block in order to advance to match play at this year’s U.S. Open.
Second-round action on Wednesday was contested on a completely flat 37-foot oil pattern that offered competitors almost zero margin for error. As such, Anderson didn’t necessarily hit the lanes focused on putting up big scores; instead, he just wanted to fill frames and grind games out the best he could.
And that’s exactly what Anderson did early on as he failed to break 200 during each of his first three games on Wednesday after eclipsing that mark in six of his first seven games during Round 1.
The tables turned from that point forward, however, as the 2018 United States Bowling Congress Masters champion would average 236 and shoot nothing lower than 223 during his final five games of the block.
“After starting the day 35 pins under through three games, I just wanted to get back to even,” Anderson said. “But then I hit a pair where I could finally take a step left and open my angles up, and it was sort of off to the races from there.”
It certainly was, and because of that, at times on Wednesday, Anderson made it look easy; that does not, however, mean that’s how it felt from his perspective.
“I feel like I bowled 16 games today compared to yesterday,” Anderson said. “After my first three games, I was kind of in a shell, so I’m super happy that after that I got back to some good form.”
Good form is a must at the U.S. Open as the tournament’s demanding oil patterns tend to saddle competitors with the maximum penalty whenever errant shots are made.
Nevertheless, the physical game is only one part of the equation; in order to succeed at the U.S. Open, players need to believe in themselves and stay mentally sharp as well. Thus far, Anderson has done just that, and he believes that’s part of the reason why he’s found success during the first two rounds of this year’s tournament.
“When you feel like you’re throwing it well but still aren’t knocking the pins over, you can start to question whether it’s you or the ball,” Anderson said. “So far, I’ve done a really good job of not blaming or doubting myself, so when I’ve found good ball motion, I’ve been able to trust and repeat it. That’s what happened today. Once I saw a few balls go through the pins the right way, I was able to manufacture the rest.”
Anderson will try to manufacture another solid round on Thursday to make the cut and punch his ticket to match play. He doesn’t expect it to be easy, however, as the 52-foot Round 3 oil pattern has the potential to be very challenging depending upon how he and his fellow competitors choose to attack it.
“Tomorrow is going to be a guessing game because a lot is going to depend on whether guys decide to play that pattern to the right or to the left; that will dictate everything,” Anderson said. “I’m probably going to stay to the right and feel things out from there, but this next round can easily be the most confusing, especially as people are chasing the cut number and looking for scores.”
Anderson and his fellow competitors will be hunting those scores in order to move one step closer to claiming the U.S. Open’s $100,000 top prize, the coveted green jacket and the first major title of the 2024 Professional Bowlers Association Tour season.
The third and final qualifying round at the 2025 U.S. Open will kick off Thursday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on C Squad hit the lanes for their final eight games. A Squad and B Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively. All qualifying squads will bowl on fresh oil.
After the conclusion of B Squad’s eight-game block on Thursday night, the field will be cut from 108 bowlers down to the top 24.
Those 24 players will earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play starting Friday morning with 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, determining the final nine bowlers who will advance to the two stepladder finals broadcasts.
The first show will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The same two-show stepladder finals format was used at the 2023 U.S. Open, which saw EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, defeat this year’s defending champion, Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, by a score of 221-208 to capture his first U.S. Open title.
Last year, Troup avenged that loss and added his name to the long and impressive list of U.S. Open champions by defeating Simonsen by a score of 223-181.
Now, Troup is looking to reach the winner’s circle for the second year in a row at Royal Pin Woodland and become the first bowler to successfully defend a U.S. Open title since Dave Husted accomplished the feat by winning the tournament in 1995 and 1996.
The 2025 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and is considered a major on the PBA Tour. The total prize fund for the event will exceed $275,000.
For more information about the U.S. Open, CLICK HERE.