Ciminelli earns top spot for Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open finals

GARLAND, Texas – Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, New York, continued his strong run at the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open on Saturday, leading the field by 461 pins to earn his fifth TV appearance in a major tournament.

Ciminelli earned the top qualifying spot for Sunday’s TV finals with a 13,445 pinfall total for 56 games, including bonus pins, to outdistance United States Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri.

Sunday’s stepladder finals will be televised live on CBS Sports Network starting a 1 p.m. (Eastern). The winner will take home the top prize of $50,000.

“If you would have told me that I would ever in my life lead the U.S. Open into the show, I would have told you that you were crazy,” Ciminelli said. “It’s just not that tournament for me, it hasn’t been for the nine years I’ve been out here. But everything went right, things fell into place.

“What I’ve accomplished might sink in over the next week or so, but for right now I’m just going to put that aside and focus on one match.”

Dominic Barrett of Colchester, England, qualified third followed by two-time U.S. Open winner Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida. Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, who won the U.S. Open the last time it was held in 2013, will have the opportunity to defend his title on the TV show.

“As far as defending the title, obviously that’s one of the things we all want to be able to do and not only that but to do it close to home,” said Malott, who rolled a perfect game Saturday. “I have a feeling a lot of family and friends will make the trip to come and see it.”

Weber, who already has the record for most U.S. Open titles with five, would pass Earl Anthony for most major titles if he wins Sunday. Weber and Anthony each have 10 major titles.

“When I am out here just bowling I try not to think about that because I don’t need to put any more pressure on myself,” Weber said. “It would be great to go around Earl in major titles. It’s Earl Anthony … come on.”

The starting field of 275 bowlers at the 2015 U.S. Open completed 24 qualifying games over three days, before the field was cut to the top 92. The 32-game pinfall totals determined the 24 players for the 24 games of match play.

Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, committed to hosting and providing television sponsorship of more than $250,000 for the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open.

For more information on Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.

2015 BOWLMOR AMF U.S. OPEN

At AMF Garland Lanes, Garland, Texas

Saturday’s match-play results

(56 games, 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie; a-amateur)

      1, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 19-5-0, 13,445. 2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 14-10-0, 12,984. 3, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 16-8-0, 12,852. 4, Dominic Barrett, United Kingdom, 14-10-0, 12,846. 5, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 13-11-0, 12,816. 6, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 15-9-0, 12,670, $5,000.

      7, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 14-8-2, 12,568, $4,500. 8, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 12-12-0, 12,560, $4,000. 9, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 15-8-1, 12,559, $3,500. 10, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 14-10-0, 12,535, $3,400. 11, Walter Ray Williams Jr, Oxford, Fla., 12-12-0, 12,528, $3,300. 12, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 10-14-0, 12,527, $3,200.

      13, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 12-12-0, 12,494, $3,100. 14, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 8-15-1, 12,466, $3,000. 15, Mika Koivuniemi, Howell, Mich., 11-13-0, 12,429, $2,900. 16, Aaron Lorincz, Saginaw, Mich., 12-12-0, 12,412, $2,800. 17, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 11-13-0, 12,375, $2,700. 18, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 9-15-0, 12,322, $2,600.

     19, Francois Lavoie (a), Wichita, Kan., 9-15-0, 12,263, $2,500. 20, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 8-15-1, 12,209, $2,400. 21, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 11-13-0, 12,186, $2,300. 22, DJ Archer, Kingwood, Texas, 7-16-1, 12,125, $2,200. 23, (TIE) Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 10-14-0, and Stuart Williams, Phoenix, 9-15-0, 12,107, $2,050.