I once bowled in the U.S. Open. In fact, it was the only PBA Tour stop I’ve ever competed in until this day. The year was 1992. I was a freshman at UCLA and had just graduated into the adult ranks after an excellent junior bowling career in Southern California.

I was lucky to make the transition from juniors to the big boys pretty smoothly, and before long I was enjoying quite a bit of success in some of the local scratch tournaments in the area. I entered the BPAA’s US Open qualifier at Clairemont Bowl in San Diego. It was a pretty good field if I remember correctly. Some of the players you might recognize included PBA champs Jim Murtishaw and Mike Devaney, ’95 PBA Rookie of the Year Billy Myers Jr., and PBA West Region star Marv Sargent and a number of others.

There were two spots available through the qualifier, which included prize money and an all-expenses paid trip to bowl the big event at Roseland Bowl in Canandaigua, New York. I ended up winning the qualifier by converting a 3-10 split in the 10th frame of the last game to squeak out a victory over Chip Pettiford, who earned the other spot. The lanes were pretty tough that weekend…I won with an X-Calibur playing right down the 1-2 boards and averaged around 210 for two days. I felt pretty good about myself. That would soon change.

When I arrived in New York, I was pumped up to bowl. I didn’t just want to bowl with Walter Ray and company, I wanted to kick their butts and make the show! In the practice session, I was sure I had a chance. I bowled from the second they turned on the lights all the way until the shut ‘em off. The lanes were pretty tough, but by the end I’d figured out a nice little zone to play and I seemed to be throwing a decent number of strikes. I was sure Brian Voss was quaking in his custom-made shoes when he saw what a good look I had from a few lanes over. Either that or he’d just come in from the snow (I couldn’t believe there were places where it snowed in April!) and was still a little cold.

Once the tournament started, however, things were a little different. I drew A squad and I crossed with Joe Firpo, Brian Leclair and Charlie Standish. Mike Aulby was to my left and Steve Hoskins to my right. The lanes were TOTALLY different than they’d been in practice (they seemed about 20 boards tighter outside of 10 and 20 boards drier inside of that) and the combination of idolatry and total confusion made me stiffen up like the Statue of Liberty. In the third frame, I got one about a board wide and picked off the 6-9-10. On the spare I threw a perfect shot and left the bucket. I’d been on a spare by the way.

After racking up a sweet score of 72 through the 6th, I went up for my shot in the 7th only to be pulled back off the approach by my belt loops. It was Steve Hoskins telling me that if I double-jumped him one more time he was going to throw me down the lane. Of course, that settled my nerves right up and I scratched out a nice buck-thirty-something in game one.

Through the end of the first six-game block I’d put myself safely out of contention with a score of 180-under or so. When I came back later in the day, I watched guys like Weber and Learn and Williams school the pins for 100 and 200 over blocks. I couldn’t believe anyone could shoot what they were shooting on the junk I’d just bowled on. Of course, I would later find out that B and C squad were a tad easier (if you think playing 6th to 7th arrow is easy, that is) but judging by the scores, most of the 450-plus bowlers in the field felt the same way I did.

After shooting about even on the second shift for day two, I went into the final day with the goal of getting back to even and hoping for a check. I knew the lanes were a little softer on the late shift (this was back when there were no re-oils between squads) and I started the block with a shiny burgundy Hammer and shot 230-something. I then lost my line with that ball and went to a Teal Rhino Pro to shoot two-oh the second game. The third game I started with the front nine and every single person in upstate New York crowded in behind my pair to see if I could finish off a 300. With a few hundred watching, I hummed one a half board inside of target with a little extra speed. It entered the pins half pocket and bounced right like John McCain at a pro-life rally. The 5-8-10 (yes, that is correct) were left standing. Mortification ensued.

But the resulting 263 put me less than double digits under par. Unfortunately, that was as close to par as I would get, limping home the last three to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. Walter Ray went on to lead that tournament by more than 500 pins, putting on a display of touch and accuracy that would lead his fellow competitor to say, “What he’s doing is like dropping a champagne glass from an extension ladder onto asphalt without breaking it.” It was truly a masterful feat that I carried with me throughout my college days as the decision of whether or not to go on Tour after college rattled around my brain.

You pretty much know the rest. But the experience definitely taught me how much I had to learn and how great the pros really are. What they do is truly remarkable.

See you next week!      

Contact me at: jason@jasonthomasbowling.com

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