The 15th Annual Morris Anderson Memorial Shootout was held this past weekend at North Hill Bowl in Minot, ND. 110 bowlers entered for a shot at the $4500 top prize. With a $1800 300 game pot available and other incentives, bowlers seemed eager to get started Saturday on the 2.32-1 ratio oil pattern.
Saturday’s 8 game qualifier was lead by 2016 Shootout Champion, Andy Mills. Mills lead the way with a 1919 total (239.87 Ave) that included a 299 game 8. A swisher 10 pin cost the 3-time NDBowling.com Major Champion an $1800 bonus for a 300 game. As a result, the 300 game pot will grow to $2100 next season. The cut to the top 30 was Dale Newton with an 8 game total of 1618 (202.25 Ave).
DAY 1 RESULTS – Page 1
DAY 1 RESULTS – Page 2
Following the qualifying round, everyone gathered at the Holiday Inn to enjoy dinner, hand out prizes, and announce the top 30 qualifiers. The Can-Am challenge was also decided and AJ Chapman came out on top by qualifying 2nd at both the Manitoba Open and the Morris Anderson Memorial Shootout for a total of 4 points netting the $160 top prize.
30 bowlers returned on Sunday for 10 games of round robin match play within 3 groups. Much like the Manitoba Open a few weeks ago, Matt McNiel lead the way with a 2602 total (includes bonus pins) and a 10-0 record to claim the #1 seed on the NDBowlTV show. Finalists for the show included Brady Stearns, AJ Chapman, Dale Newton, and defending champion Nick Heilman.
NDBowlTV Results:
Heilman def. Newton 213-175
Heilman def. Chapman 213-204
Heilman def. Stearns 241-223
McNiel def. Heilman 258-216
You can watch the entire NDBowlTV show by clicking HERE.
Congratulations to Matt McNiel on becoming the first 2-time winner at the Shootout. McNiel won the Morris Anderson Memorial Shootout back in 2013 for his first NDBowling.com Major. McNiel joins Andy Mills as the only two bowlers to have won the Manitoba Open and the Shootout in the same season. McNiel also joins a short list of bowlers with 3 or more Major Titles.
Shout out to Jeff Kragh, Rory Selk, and the entire staff at North Hill Bowl for running a great event. Also, congratulations to North Hill Bowl on celebrating 60 years in business.
Tune in to NDBowling.com over the next couple weeks as we preview the 2018 KFYR TV Bowling Classic. This is the 3rd NDBowling.com Major of the season and will be broadcast live on KFYR in Western North Dakota on February 11th. NDBowlTV will not be covering the event, but be sure to follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page for updates.
NDBowlTV will be back in action on March 4th for the finals of the NDBowling.com Classic. Will we see McNiel go for the NDBowlTV Triple Crown? Tune in to find out!
Also, we are aware of the issue with external links to NDBowling.com taking fans to a random google survey. Please note that we are working on the issue and apologize for any inconvenience.