Via leads opening round of qualifying at 2025 U.S. Open in Indianapolis
January 29, 2025
Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, poses for a picture in front of the coveted green jacket. Via fired an eight-game total of 1,872 on Tuesday to lead Round 1 of qualifying at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, which is being contested at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
ROUND 1 RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, knows what it takes to win the U.S. Open’s coveted green jacket. After all, the 32-year-old two-handed righty picked one up four years ago when he won the 2021 U.S. Open at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, to capture his first Professional Bowlers Association Tour major title.
Via took the first steps toward adding some more green to his closet – and bank account – on Tuesday when he led the 108-player field on Day 1 of qualifying at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling!, which is being contested at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
Via used games of 290, 179, 225, 279, 211, 204, 258 and 226 to finish his opening round with an eight-game total of 1,872 (a 234 average), which put him eight pins ahead of his closest pursuer, Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, who posted a Round 1 score of 1,864.
Third place on the day went to John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, who fired the opening-round’s only perfect game en route to an eight-game total of 1,845.
The remaining spots in Tuesday’s top five were secured by Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois (1,844) and 2022 U.S. Open Champion Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas (1,837).
Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (1,828), Zach Weidman of Indianapolis (1,825), Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona (1,804), Australia’s Jason Belmonte (1,786) and Stuart Williams of Pflugerville, Texas (1,783) also landed in the Day 1 top 10.
Nevertheless, the spot all 108 competitors will be eyeing is position No. 24 in the standings as that is where they’ll have to be at or inside of at the end of Thursday’s third eight-game qualifying block in order to make the cut to match play at this year’s U.S. Open.
Defending U.S. Open champion Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, and Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Michigan, finished tied for the final advancing position on Day 1. They got there thanks to matching first-round totals of 1,722.
At the conclusion of Monday’s official practice sessions, Via knew that big scores would be possible on Tuesday’s 44-foot Round 1 oil pattern.
Nevertheless, he didn’t come to his first block looking for the lead; he just wanted to author a solid round and remain in contention.
“I didn’t try to do anything too crazy today,” Via said. “I just tried to grind games out when I didn’t like what I saw on the pair, and when I did, I did my best to put some strings together.”
Typically, strings of strikes aren’t easy to come by at the U.S. Open as the tournament challenges competitors on some of the toughest conditions the sport of bowling has to offer.
Thankfully for Via, Tuesday’s pattern kept him right in his wheelhouse.
“I saw the picture really well today, and it allowed me to do what I really like to do,” Via said. “I just sort of tried to roll it toward the 3-pin and the 3-6 and keep the ball in front of me instead of trying to shape the whole lane. Controlling the pocket is important because this is the U.S. Open, and it’s really easy to bowl a bad game if you do the wrong thing.”
Obviously, Via did the right thing far more often than he did the wrong thing on Tuesday. He’ll look to continue that trend during Wednesday’s second qualifying round, which is likely to be considerably more difficult as it will be contested on a 37-foot flat oil pattern with little-to-no margin for error.
“The patterns we’re going to be bowling on over the next couple days are going to be challenging,” Via said. “Because of how flat they are, it really opens it up for bowlers of different styles to try to play just about anywhere. That’s probably going to make things really nice on some pairs and really miserable on others.”
Having already won the U.S. Open once before, Via knows what it takes to embrace that grind and come out victorious by week’s end, and that’s precisely what he hopes to do in Indianapolis this week.
“The U.S. Open is a big tournament; some say it’s the biggest one we bowl,” Via said. “I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to picking up another green jacket to go along with the one I already have, but it’s a little early to start thinking too much about that.”
In addition to the green jacket, Via and his fellow competitors also will be battling it out for a PBA major title and the U.S. Open’s $100,000 top prize.
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 on three different lane conditions before the field is cut from 108 bowlers down to the top 24 at the end of Round 3 on Thursday night.
Those 24 players will earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play starting Friday morning with 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, determining the final nine bowlers who will advance to the two stepladder finals broadcasts.
The first show will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The same two-show stepladder finals format was used at the 2023 U.S. Open, which saw EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, defeat Troup by a score of 221-208 to capture his first U.S. Open title.
Last year, Troup avenged that loss and added his name to the long and impressive list of U.S. Open champions by defeating Simonsen by a score of 223-181.
Now, Troup is looking to reach the winner’s circle 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 2025 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and is 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, CLICK HERE.
ROUND 1 RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – Chris Via of Blacklick, Ohio, knows what it takes to win the U.S. Open’s coveted green jacket. After all, the 32-year-old two-handed righty picked one up four years ago when he won the 2021 U.S. Open at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nevada, to capture his first Professional Bowlers Association Tour major title.
Via took the first steps toward adding some more green to his closet – and bank account – on Tuesday when he led the 108-player field on Day 1 of qualifying at the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling!, which is being contested at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
Via used games of 290, 179, 225, 279, 211, 204, 258 and 226 to finish his opening round with an eight-game total of 1,872 (a 234 average), which put him eight pins ahead of his closest pursuer, Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan, who posted a Round 1 score of 1,864.
Third place on the day went to John Janawicz of Winter Haven, Florida, who fired the opening-round’s only perfect game en route to an eight-game total of 1,845.
The remaining spots in Tuesday’s top five were secured by Kristopher Prather of Romeoville, Illinois (1,844) and 2022 U.S. Open Champion Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas (1,837).
Matt Russo of Ballwin, Missouri (1,828), Zach Weidman of Indianapolis (1,825), Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona (1,804), Australia’s Jason Belmonte (1,786) and Stuart Williams of Pflugerville, Texas (1,783) also landed in the Day 1 top 10.
Nevertheless, the spot all 108 competitors will be eyeing is position No. 24 in the standings as that is where they’ll have to be at or inside of at the end of Thursday’s third eight-game qualifying block in order to make the cut to match play at this year’s U.S. Open.
Defending U.S. Open champion Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, and Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Michigan, finished tied for the final advancing position on Day 1. They got there thanks to matching first-round totals of 1,722.
At the conclusion of Monday’s official practice sessions, Via knew that big scores would be possible on Tuesday’s 44-foot Round 1 oil pattern.
Nevertheless, he didn’t come to his first block looking for the lead; he just wanted to author a solid round and remain in contention.
“I didn’t try to do anything too crazy today,” Via said. “I just tried to grind games out when I didn’t like what I saw on the pair, and when I did, I did my best to put some strings together.”
Typically, strings of strikes aren’t easy to come by at the U.S. Open as the tournament challenges competitors on some of the toughest conditions the sport of bowling has to offer.
Thankfully for Via, Tuesday’s pattern kept him right in his wheelhouse.
“I saw the picture really well today, and it allowed me to do what I really like to do,” Via said. “I just sort of tried to roll it toward the 3-pin and the 3-6 and keep the ball in front of me instead of trying to shape the whole lane. Controlling the pocket is important because this is the U.S. Open, and it’s really easy to bowl a bad game if you do the wrong thing.”
Obviously, Via did the right thing far more often than he did the wrong thing on Tuesday. He’ll look to continue that trend during Wednesday’s second qualifying round, which is likely to be considerably more difficult as it will be contested on a 37-foot flat oil pattern with little-to-no margin for error.
“The patterns we’re going to be bowling on over the next couple days are going to be challenging,” Via said. “Because of how flat they are, it really opens it up for bowlers of different styles to try to play just about anywhere. That’s probably going to make things really nice on some pairs and really miserable on others.”
Having already won the U.S. Open once before, Via knows what it takes to embrace that grind and come out victorious by week’s end, and that’s precisely what he hopes to do in Indianapolis this week.
“The U.S. Open is a big tournament; some say it’s the biggest one we bowl,” Via said. “I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to picking up another green jacket to go along with the one I already have, but it’s a little early to start thinking too much about that.”
In addition to the green jacket, Via and his fellow competitors also will be battling it out for a PBA major title and the U.S. Open’s $100,000 top prize.
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 on three different lane conditions before the field is cut from 108 bowlers down to the top 24 at the end of Round 3 on Thursday night.
Those 24 players will earn the right to compete in three rounds of round-robin match play starting Friday morning with 48-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win during match play, determining the final nine bowlers who will advance to the two stepladder finals broadcasts.
The first show will feature seeds No. 5-9 battling it out on FS1 on Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern. The bowler who wins that stepladder will join seeds No. 1-4 for the championship round on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
The same two-show stepladder finals format was used at the 2023 U.S. Open, which saw EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Indiana, defeat Troup by a score of 221-208 to capture his first U.S. Open title.
Last year, Troup avenged that loss and added his name to the long and impressive list of U.S. Open champions by defeating Simonsen by a score of 223-181.
Now, Troup is looking to reach the winner’s circle 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 2025 U.S. Open is a collaborative effort between the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and is 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, CLICK HERE.