Simonsen leads opening round of qualifying at 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Open
March 04, 2026
Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas smiles for a picture on Tuesday night after averaging just under 234 during opening-round action at the 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Open, which is being held at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
FULL RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – Bowling well at the U.S. Open is certainly nothing new for Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas. After all, the 29-year-old two-handed righty has seven top-five finishes at bowling’s most prestigious major championship, including a title in 2022.
As such, the spectators at Royal Pin Woodland were hardly surprised to see Simonsen’s name atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of Tuesday’s opening round of qualifying at the 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Open in Indianapolis.
He got there with an eight-game total of 1,871 (a 233.88 average), which he arrived at thanks to scores of 246, 246, 213, 266, 191, 223, 217 and 269.
That allowed Simonsen to finish Round 1 in first place in the 108-player field, 36 pins ahead of 2018 U.S. Open champion Dom Barrett of England, who finished second on Tuesday with 1,835.
Jason Sterner of Rochester, New York, was third with 1,834 while Malaysia’s Tun Hakim, who fired the day’s only perfect game, was fourth at 1,817.
Ethan Fiore of Valrico, Florida, and Michael Davidson of Versailles, Ohio, tied for the final spot in the opening-day top five with matching scores of 1,773.
Jake Peters of Henderson, Nevada, and 2025 U.S. Open runner-up Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, authored identical totals of 1,656 to end Day 1 tied for 36th place.
That position in the standings will garner considerably more attention in the days to come as it represents the final advancing spot to Round 4 on Friday.
By taming Tuesday’s 40-foot Round 1 oil pattern better than any other athlete in the field, Simonsen is already well on his way to making that cut, and he’s grateful for that as he’s found strong starts hard to come by thus far this season.
“Through the first two weeks of the season, I’ve struggled with putting together a good block to start, so it’s felt like I was chasing right out of the rip,” Simonsen said. “With this start, I won’t be feeling like I have to chase a number. I can kind of just bowl and see what’s out there without feeling like I have to shoot 230 every game to catch the guys.”
Not that averaging 230 or better is out of reach for Simonsen; after all, he did so on Tuesday, and he thinks it may have at least been helped in part by having had the opportunity to watch how the bowlers on the day’s first two squads attacked the lanes before he and his fellow C Squad competitors got their chance to close out Round 1.
“The unique thing about this tournament is having three different squads all bowling on the same pattern every day,” Simonsen said. “Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes that’s a bad thing. For me today, I think it was good to be on C Squad because I got to sit back and watch a bit to see how some guys got to scores while other guys got into trouble, which helped me decide what my plan of attack was going to be.”
Simonsen and his squad mates won’t have that luxury again as C Squad will hit the lanes second during Round 2 on Wednesday before leading off the action on Thursday’s final day of qualifying.
But that’s unlikely to bother Simonsen. Nothing much seems to bother him when he’s bowling at Royal Pin Woodland, which has long been one of his favorite centers in which to compete.
“I just like this bowling center; it’s pretty special to me,” Simonsen said. “I’ve had some success here in professional and amateur tournaments, I met my girlfriend here a long time ago and I won a couple titles here shortly after my parents passed away. I don’t know if there will ever be a place that will top the list of what Woodland Bowl means to me.”
If Simonsen continues the torrid pace he started on Tuesday, it could mean going on to collect his sixth Professional Bowlers Association Tour major title, the $100,000 top prize and his second U.S. Open green jacket.
Qualifying continues Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on B Squad hit the lanes for Round 2. C Squad and A Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively. All qualifying squads will bowl on fresh oil.
All competitors will complete 24 games of qualifying over three days on three different lane conditions before the first cut is made from 108 bowlers down to 36. Those 36 will bowl a fourth eight-game block on the tournament’s fourth oil pattern.
Pinfall totals for 32 games will determine the 24 players who earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play, and 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, will decide the final five bowlers for the stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on The CW on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Last year, EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, who finished 12th on Tuesday with 1,730, defeated Anderson, 238-184, to capture his second U.S. Open title in three years. Tackett would reach the winner’s circle four times during the 2025 season, including twice at majors, en route to his third consecutive Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award.
Now, Tackett is looking to win 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 2026 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America. The total prize fund for the event will exceed $275,000.
All qualifying and match-play rounds leading up to the stepladder finals will be broadcast live on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information about the U.S. Open.
FULL RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – Bowling well at the U.S. Open is certainly nothing new for Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas. After all, the 29-year-old two-handed righty has seven top-five finishes at bowling’s most prestigious major championship, including a title in 2022.
As such, the spectators at Royal Pin Woodland were hardly surprised to see Simonsen’s name atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of Tuesday’s opening round of qualifying at the 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Open in Indianapolis.
He got there with an eight-game total of 1,871 (a 233.88 average), which he arrived at thanks to scores of 246, 246, 213, 266, 191, 223, 217 and 269.
That allowed Simonsen to finish Round 1 in first place in the 108-player field, 36 pins ahead of 2018 U.S. Open champion Dom Barrett of England, who finished second on Tuesday with 1,835.
Jason Sterner of Rochester, New York, was third with 1,834 while Malaysia’s Tun Hakim, who fired the day’s only perfect game, was fourth at 1,817.
Ethan Fiore of Valrico, Florida, and Michael Davidson of Versailles, Ohio, tied for the final spot in the opening-day top five with matching scores of 1,773.
Jake Peters of Henderson, Nevada, and 2025 U.S. Open runner-up Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, authored identical totals of 1,656 to end Day 1 tied for 36th place.
That position in the standings will garner considerably more attention in the days to come as it represents the final advancing spot to Round 4 on Friday.
By taming Tuesday’s 40-foot Round 1 oil pattern better than any other athlete in the field, Simonsen is already well on his way to making that cut, and he’s grateful for that as he’s found strong starts hard to come by thus far this season.
“Through the first two weeks of the season, I’ve struggled with putting together a good block to start, so it’s felt like I was chasing right out of the rip,” Simonsen said. “With this start, I won’t be feeling like I have to chase a number. I can kind of just bowl and see what’s out there without feeling like I have to shoot 230 every game to catch the guys.”
Not that averaging 230 or better is out of reach for Simonsen; after all, he did so on Tuesday, and he thinks it may have at least been helped in part by having had the opportunity to watch how the bowlers on the day’s first two squads attacked the lanes before he and his fellow C Squad competitors got their chance to close out Round 1.
“The unique thing about this tournament is having three different squads all bowling on the same pattern every day,” Simonsen said. “Sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes that’s a bad thing. For me today, I think it was good to be on C Squad because I got to sit back and watch a bit to see how some guys got to scores while other guys got into trouble, which helped me decide what my plan of attack was going to be.”
Simonsen and his squad mates won’t have that luxury again as C Squad will hit the lanes second during Round 2 on Wednesday before leading off the action on Thursday’s final day of qualifying.
But that’s unlikely to bother Simonsen. Nothing much seems to bother him when he’s bowling at Royal Pin Woodland, which has long been one of his favorite centers in which to compete.
“I just like this bowling center; it’s pretty special to me,” Simonsen said. “I’ve had some success here in professional and amateur tournaments, I met my girlfriend here a long time ago and I won a couple titles here shortly after my parents passed away. I don’t know if there will ever be a place that will top the list of what Woodland Bowl means to me.”
If Simonsen continues the torrid pace he started on Tuesday, it could mean going on to collect his sixth Professional Bowlers Association Tour major title, the $100,000 top prize and his second U.S. Open green jacket.
Qualifying continues Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern when the bowlers on B Squad hit the lanes for Round 2. C Squad and A Squad will follow at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, respectively. All qualifying squads will bowl on fresh oil.
All competitors will complete 24 games of qualifying over three days on three different lane conditions before the first cut is made from 108 bowlers down to 36. Those 36 will bowl a fourth eight-game block on the tournament’s fourth oil pattern.
Pinfall totals for 32 games will determine the 24 players who earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play, and 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, will decide the final five bowlers for the stepladder finals, which will be broadcast live on The CW on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern.
Last year, EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, who finished 12th on Tuesday with 1,730, defeated Anderson, 238-184, to capture his second U.S. Open title in three years. Tackett would reach the winner’s circle four times during the 2025 season, including twice at majors, en route to his third consecutive Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award.
Now, Tackett is looking to win 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 2026 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America. The total prize fund for the event will exceed $275,000.
All qualifying and match-play rounds leading up to the stepladder finals will be broadcast live on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information about the U.S. Open.