Texas bowler reaches top spot at Open Championships
March 01, 2010
RENO, Nev. - Larry Thompson Jr. of Spring, Texas, may be small in stature, but he had no trouble reaching the top of the leaderboard at the USBC Open Championships on Sunday.
The 5-foot-7-inch right-hander fired games of 215, 248 and 279 at the National Bowling Stadium and moved into the top spot in Regular Singles with a 742 series. Steven Vance of Stone Mountain, Ga., previously held the lead with 729.
Thompson added 610 in team and 603 in doubles for a 1,955 all-events total, which puts him in second place in Regular All-Events, and teamed up with Craig Diver to move into a tie for third place in Regular Doubles with 1,267. William Banks of Laurel Hill, N.C., leads all-events with 1,986, while Mitch Bakies of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Mark Wolford of West Liberty, Ohio, lead doubles with 1,323.
"I had a bunch of friends watching on the Web cams," said Thompson, who bowls regularly at The Woodlands and made his fourth Open Championships appearance. "I couldn't do it without their support."
Thompson belongs to a group of bowlers who refer to themselves as the "Texas Midgets," which makes reference to their home state and lack of height. The four bowlers have racked up accolades across Texas, and all Thompson wanted to do was make them proud.
The 32-year-old had his best look of the day on his singles pair and used his knowledge, and lessons he learned during doubles, to his advantage.
"On my singles pair, I had four or five boards to the right to go back and square up a little bit compared to the doubles pair," Thompson said. "I eventually made a move left, which allowed me to control the ball on the backend. I made an adjustment about every four or five frames so the ball could stay clean through the front part of the lanes and to get some early roll."
Despite a couple of splits that left him just short of the all-events lead, Thompson is satisfied with his overall performance and how far he's come since making his Open Championships debut at the 2007 event, also at the Stadium.
"My first event in Reno, I learned a lot because I didn't really know how to play the lanes," said Thompson, who shot 1,842 in his debut. "After the event, I went back home and began to bowl really well. I was able to learn more about equipment by making adjustments here and there to understand it better, which ultimately led to me being able to make better shots as a bowler."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.
The 5-foot-7-inch right-hander fired games of 215, 248 and 279 at the National Bowling Stadium and moved into the top spot in Regular Singles with a 742 series. Steven Vance of Stone Mountain, Ga., previously held the lead with 729.
Thompson added 610 in team and 603 in doubles for a 1,955 all-events total, which puts him in second place in Regular All-Events, and teamed up with Craig Diver to move into a tie for third place in Regular Doubles with 1,267. William Banks of Laurel Hill, N.C., leads all-events with 1,986, while Mitch Bakies of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and Mark Wolford of West Liberty, Ohio, lead doubles with 1,323.
"I had a bunch of friends watching on the Web cams," said Thompson, who bowls regularly at The Woodlands and made his fourth Open Championships appearance. "I couldn't do it without their support."
Thompson belongs to a group of bowlers who refer to themselves as the "Texas Midgets," which makes reference to their home state and lack of height. The four bowlers have racked up accolades across Texas, and all Thompson wanted to do was make them proud.
The 32-year-old had his best look of the day on his singles pair and used his knowledge, and lessons he learned during doubles, to his advantage.
"On my singles pair, I had four or five boards to the right to go back and square up a little bit compared to the doubles pair," Thompson said. "I eventually made a move left, which allowed me to control the ball on the backend. I made an adjustment about every four or five frames so the ball could stay clean through the front part of the lanes and to get some early roll."
Despite a couple of splits that left him just short of the all-events lead, Thompson is satisfied with his overall performance and how far he's come since making his Open Championships debut at the 2007 event, also at the Stadium.
"My first event in Reno, I learned a lot because I didn't really know how to play the lanes," said Thompson, who shot 1,842 in his debut. "After the event, I went back home and began to bowl really well. I was able to learn more about equipment by making adjustments here and there to understand it better, which ultimately led to me being able to make better shots as a bowler."
Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.