Local Bowler Nathan Smith wins PTQ; 2023 U.S. Open field finalized
January 29, 2023
INDIANAPOLIS – Many bowlers competing in this year’s U.S. Open had to fly to Indianapolis from destinations across the country. A few literally traveled from the other side of the world.
Nathan Smith of Noblesville, Indiana, simply made a 20-minute drive.
The home-field advantage paid off in a big way Sunday as Smith won the pre-tournament qualifier at Royal Pin Woodland (formerly Woodland Bowl) in Indianapolis to officially claim a spot in the main field at the 2023 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling!
Smith, a member of Junior Team USA, reached the top of the leaderboard by rolling games of 226, 214, 244, 165, 265, 233, 225 and 228 for an eight-game total of 1,800, which was good for a 225 average.
The strong performance was certainly welcomed by Smith, who did not have his sights set on winning the PTQ; he was simply hoping to make the cut.
“I didn’t do very well when I bowled the U.S. Open PTQ last year, so to make a jump like this is kind of mind-blowing,” Smith said. “It’s been almost 20 minutes since we finished bowling, and it’s still sinking in that I was the leader; it’s surreal to me.”
Another fact that Smith will have to come to grips with quickly is that by earning a spot in the tournament proper, he will now be competing against bowlers he’s grown up watching and idolizing, bowlers like seven-time Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year and 14 time major titlist Jason Belmonte of Australia.
Smith didn’t try to play it cool when discussing what it will feel like to battle Belmonte and the rest of the PBA’s best.
“Bowling against these players is going to be intimidating,” Smith said. “For the longest time, I was in the crowd watching the tour players and sort of fanboying. Now, I’m going to be going up against them. Again, it will be intimidating, but I just have to try not to let that affect me in a negative way.”
If it’s any consolation to Smith, he won’t have to go it alone as 20 other competitors advanced through the PTQ to join the tournament’s main field with him.
Michael Eaton Jr. of Byron Center, Michigan, used a final-game 247 to finish second in the PTQ at 1,791. Justin Knowles of Okemos, Michigan, led a good portion of Sunday’s block, but he finished the day in third place with 1,786.
The final places in the top five went to Bailey Mavrick of Fishers, Indiana, and Ric McCormick of Cincinnati, who came in with identical eight-game totals of 1,735.
Michael Jachcinski of Camden, Michigan (1,711), Jean Perez of Greenwood, Indiana (1,710), Ramsey Basurto of Verdes, California (1,704), Charlie Brown Jr. of Rockford, Michigan (1,703) and Andrew Hall of Westborough, Massachusetts (1,699) claimed spots six through 10, respectively.
Nevertheless, the position all eyes were on was place No. 21 in the standings as that represented the last and final qualifying position.
Joseph Grondin of San Pedro, California, was the bowler holding that coveted spot after the final balls had been thrown. Grondin finished with an eight-game total of 1,652 (a 206.5 average) to capture the final place inside the cut line.
However, not all bowlers were focused on making the cut.
Country music headliner Jimmie Allen participated in Sunday’s PTQ simply because of his love for bowling and to gain some valuable competitive experience.
“Going into this, my main goal was just to have fun,” Allen said. “I’ve only really been bowling for about two years now, and I’ve learned so much in that time. Still, I’m out here going up against the best, guys who have been doing this for many years, so my goal was just to have fun and not finish last.”
Allen was successful on both counts.
He plans to bring his bowling equipment with him on the road going forward so that he can continue practicing as much as possible in the hopes of making a run at the top 40 the next time around.
Meanwhile, the 21 players who advanced through Sunday’s PTQ joined those who already had spots in the tournament to finalize the 2023 U.S. Open field at 108 bowlers.
All of them will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with each of the tournament’s four challenging oil patterns during Monday’s practice session, which will run from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Tournament play will officially begin Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on A Squad hit the lanes for their first eight-game qualifying block.
In addition to watching the many talented PBA pros, fans at Woodland also will have the opportunity to watch L.A. Dodgers’ all-star outfielder Mookie Betts compete as a member of A Squad as well.
Due to his love and support for bowling, the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America awarded Betts an exemption into the tournament’s main field.
Once Betts and his fellow A Squad bowlers finish up on Tuesday, B Squad and C Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively.
All competitors will complete 24 games of qualifying over three days and three lane conditions before the field is cut from 108 to 24 for three rounds of round-robin match play, which will be contested on a fourth oil pattern.
Pinfall totals for 24 games will determine the 24 players for round-robin match play, and 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win in match play, will decide the nine bowlers who advance to the two live televised rounds.
The first round will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The 2023 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and BPAA and again will be 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, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.
Nathan Smith of Noblesville, Indiana, simply made a 20-minute drive.
The home-field advantage paid off in a big way Sunday as Smith won the pre-tournament qualifier at Royal Pin Woodland (formerly Woodland Bowl) in Indianapolis to officially claim a spot in the main field at the 2023 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling!
Smith, a member of Junior Team USA, reached the top of the leaderboard by rolling games of 226, 214, 244, 165, 265, 233, 225 and 228 for an eight-game total of 1,800, which was good for a 225 average.
The strong performance was certainly welcomed by Smith, who did not have his sights set on winning the PTQ; he was simply hoping to make the cut.
“I didn’t do very well when I bowled the U.S. Open PTQ last year, so to make a jump like this is kind of mind-blowing,” Smith said. “It’s been almost 20 minutes since we finished bowling, and it’s still sinking in that I was the leader; it’s surreal to me.”
Another fact that Smith will have to come to grips with quickly is that by earning a spot in the tournament proper, he will now be competing against bowlers he’s grown up watching and idolizing, bowlers like seven-time Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year and 14 time major titlist Jason Belmonte of Australia.
Smith didn’t try to play it cool when discussing what it will feel like to battle Belmonte and the rest of the PBA’s best.
“Bowling against these players is going to be intimidating,” Smith said. “For the longest time, I was in the crowd watching the tour players and sort of fanboying. Now, I’m going to be going up against them. Again, it will be intimidating, but I just have to try not to let that affect me in a negative way.”
If it’s any consolation to Smith, he won’t have to go it alone as 20 other competitors advanced through the PTQ to join the tournament’s main field with him.
Michael Eaton Jr. of Byron Center, Michigan, used a final-game 247 to finish second in the PTQ at 1,791. Justin Knowles of Okemos, Michigan, led a good portion of Sunday’s block, but he finished the day in third place with 1,786.
The final places in the top five went to Bailey Mavrick of Fishers, Indiana, and Ric McCormick of Cincinnati, who came in with identical eight-game totals of 1,735.
Michael Jachcinski of Camden, Michigan (1,711), Jean Perez of Greenwood, Indiana (1,710), Ramsey Basurto of Verdes, California (1,704), Charlie Brown Jr. of Rockford, Michigan (1,703) and Andrew Hall of Westborough, Massachusetts (1,699) claimed spots six through 10, respectively.
Nevertheless, the position all eyes were on was place No. 21 in the standings as that represented the last and final qualifying position.
Joseph Grondin of San Pedro, California, was the bowler holding that coveted spot after the final balls had been thrown. Grondin finished with an eight-game total of 1,652 (a 206.5 average) to capture the final place inside the cut line.
However, not all bowlers were focused on making the cut.
Country music headliner Jimmie Allen participated in Sunday’s PTQ simply because of his love for bowling and to gain some valuable competitive experience.
“Going into this, my main goal was just to have fun,” Allen said. “I’ve only really been bowling for about two years now, and I’ve learned so much in that time. Still, I’m out here going up against the best, guys who have been doing this for many years, so my goal was just to have fun and not finish last.”
Allen was successful on both counts.
He plans to bring his bowling equipment with him on the road going forward so that he can continue practicing as much as possible in the hopes of making a run at the top 40 the next time around.
Meanwhile, the 21 players who advanced through Sunday’s PTQ joined those who already had spots in the tournament to finalize the 2023 U.S. Open field at 108 bowlers.
All of them will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with each of the tournament’s four challenging oil patterns during Monday’s practice session, which will run from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
Tournament play will officially begin Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on A Squad hit the lanes for their first eight-game qualifying block.
In addition to watching the many talented PBA pros, fans at Woodland also will have the opportunity to watch L.A. Dodgers’ all-star outfielder Mookie Betts compete as a member of A Squad as well.
Due to his love and support for bowling, the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America awarded Betts an exemption into the tournament’s main field.
Once Betts and his fellow A Squad bowlers finish up on Tuesday, B Squad and C Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively.
All competitors will complete 24 games of qualifying over three days and three lane conditions before the field is cut from 108 to 24 for three rounds of round-robin match play, which will be contested on a fourth oil pattern.
Pinfall totals for 24 games will determine the 24 players for round-robin match play, and 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win in match play, will decide the nine bowlers who advance to the two live televised rounds.
The first round will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The 2023 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and BPAA and again will be 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, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.