Prather leads opening round at 2018 U.S. Open
October 26, 2018
STANDINGS
WICHITA, Kan. - Kristopher Prather of Plainfield, Illinois, continued his torrid run on the lanes Friday after pacing the field during the opening round of qualifying at the 2018 U.S. Open.
The 26-year-old right-hander posted an eight-game block of 1,823 (227.88 average) at Northrock Lanes to lead the 144-player field.
Greg Ostrander of Freehold, New Jersey, sits in second with 1,808, while Wichita's AJ Chapman (1,770), Brent Boho of Colgate, Wisconsin (1,766), and 2006 U.S. Open champion Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina (1,761), round out the top five.
Defending champion Rhino Page of Orlando, Florida, sits in 23rd place with a 1,690 total.
Prather put together an impressive performance last week at the Professional Bowlers Association Fall Swing in Owasso, Oklahoma, advancing to the championship round in each of the three events held at The Lanes at Coffee Creek.
He collected a pair of third-place finishes at the PBA Wolf Open and PBA Bear Open and concluded the week by finishing fifth at the PBA Tulsa Open.
Prather was able to parlay that success on Friday's challenging 37-foot oil pattern, which he thought would be the toughest of the four lane conditions being used this week.
Competitors in the field will compete on three different lane conditions during the first three rounds of qualifying. A fourth oil pattern will be introduced for Monday's cashers' round and be used for the remainder of the tournament.
"I thought we were going to stay right and control the pocket," Prather said. "I didn't think scores would be this high, but the little bit of urethane that went down the lane helped a lot. I thought this was going to be the most difficult pattern, so this definitely loosens up the swing even more."
Prather has advanced to the match-play portion of the U.S. Open in its last two editions, finishing in 17th place in 2016 and 14th in 2017.
He made his way back from a slow start last year in Liverpool, New York, so the quick strike Friday at Northrock Lanes has him excited to attack Saturday's 40-foot lane condition.
"It's huge," said Prather, who was in 32nd place after the opening round last year at Flamingo Bowl. "This has been the best I've bowled on the first day at the U.S. Open, so I'm really looking forward to getting back on the lanes tomorrow morning and knocking down as many pins as I can. I think I'll need to put on my striking shoes, but I'm ready to go."
Players will return to Northrock Lanes on Saturday for the second round of qualifying, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern. Qualifying consists of three-eight game blocks over three days.
After 24 games, the field will be cut to the top 36 players for the cashers' round, which will include an additional eight games to determine the 24 players for round-robin match play.
Match play will begin Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern with the first of three eight-game rounds. Match play resumes Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern with the final two blocks, including a position round. The five finalists will be determined by total pinfall, including bonus pins, for 56 games.
The stepladder finals will take place Oct. 31 and air live on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. Eastern, awarding the champion the $30,000 top prize and coveted green jacket.
The U.S. Open is the fourth and final major championship on the 2018 PBA Tour schedule and is conducted jointly by the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America.
Each round of the 2018 U.S. Open leading up to the stepladder finals will be broadcast live on PBA's online bowling channel Xtra Frame on FloBowling.
WICHITA, Kan. - Kristopher Prather of Plainfield, Illinois, continued his torrid run on the lanes Friday after pacing the field during the opening round of qualifying at the 2018 U.S. Open.
The 26-year-old right-hander posted an eight-game block of 1,823 (227.88 average) at Northrock Lanes to lead the 144-player field.
Greg Ostrander of Freehold, New Jersey, sits in second with 1,808, while Wichita's AJ Chapman (1,770), Brent Boho of Colgate, Wisconsin (1,766), and 2006 U.S. Open champion Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, South Carolina (1,761), round out the top five.
Defending champion Rhino Page of Orlando, Florida, sits in 23rd place with a 1,690 total.
Prather put together an impressive performance last week at the Professional Bowlers Association Fall Swing in Owasso, Oklahoma, advancing to the championship round in each of the three events held at The Lanes at Coffee Creek.
He collected a pair of third-place finishes at the PBA Wolf Open and PBA Bear Open and concluded the week by finishing fifth at the PBA Tulsa Open.
Prather was able to parlay that success on Friday's challenging 37-foot oil pattern, which he thought would be the toughest of the four lane conditions being used this week.
Competitors in the field will compete on three different lane conditions during the first three rounds of qualifying. A fourth oil pattern will be introduced for Monday's cashers' round and be used for the remainder of the tournament.
"I thought we were going to stay right and control the pocket," Prather said. "I didn't think scores would be this high, but the little bit of urethane that went down the lane helped a lot. I thought this was going to be the most difficult pattern, so this definitely loosens up the swing even more."
Prather has advanced to the match-play portion of the U.S. Open in its last two editions, finishing in 17th place in 2016 and 14th in 2017.
He made his way back from a slow start last year in Liverpool, New York, so the quick strike Friday at Northrock Lanes has him excited to attack Saturday's 40-foot lane condition.
"It's huge," said Prather, who was in 32nd place after the opening round last year at Flamingo Bowl. "This has been the best I've bowled on the first day at the U.S. Open, so I'm really looking forward to getting back on the lanes tomorrow morning and knocking down as many pins as I can. I think I'll need to put on my striking shoes, but I'm ready to go."
Players will return to Northrock Lanes on Saturday for the second round of qualifying, starting at 9 a.m. Eastern. Qualifying consists of three-eight game blocks over three days.
After 24 games, the field will be cut to the top 36 players for the cashers' round, which will include an additional eight games to determine the 24 players for round-robin match play.
Match play will begin Monday at 6 p.m. Eastern with the first of three eight-game rounds. Match play resumes Tuesday at 11 a.m. Eastern with the final two blocks, including a position round. The five finalists will be determined by total pinfall, including bonus pins, for 56 games.
The stepladder finals will take place Oct. 31 and air live on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. Eastern, awarding the champion the $30,000 top prize and coveted green jacket.
The U.S. Open is the fourth and final major championship on the 2018 PBA Tour schedule and is conducted jointly by the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America.
Each round of the 2018 U.S. Open leading up to the stepladder finals will be broadcast live on PBA's online bowling channel Xtra Frame on FloBowling.