The Morris Anderson Memorial Shootout was held this past weekend at North Hill Bowl in Minot, ND. 114 bowlers entered the 17th annual Shootout for a chance at the $4000 top prize.
The tournament kicked off on Saturday with a special saxophone rendition of the national anthem by Jackson Selk, great grandson of the late Morris Anderson.
All bowlers bowled 8 games in the qualifying round on Saturday with the top 30 advancing to match play. The pattern proved quite challenging for the talented field as only 13 of the 114 entrants were able to average over 200. Leading the way was defending champion Brady Stearns with a 1733. The cut to the top 30 was Mike Larson at 1551. Special shout out to Jack Nelson for not only dominating the Senior division, but also qualifying 2nd with a 1719 total. Always good to see the crafty vet and 3-time Major winner near the top of the standings.
The $2400 300 game pot was not claimed this season, so look for that pot to grow once again in 2021 to a cool $2700.
On Sunday, the top 30 returned for round robin match play. The 30 qualifiers were separated into 3 groups of ten. Entering the position round, Nick Heilman, Joshua Link and Brady Stearns had separated themselves from the field by a fairly wide margin. It was the 4 and 5 spots that were still up for grabs. Both Eric Parvey and Aaron Petrowitz fired games of 240+ to vault themselves into the NDBowlTV finals as the 4 and 5 seeds.
NDBowlTV Results:
Parvey def. Petrowitz 244-190
Parvey def. Stearns 224-190
Heilman def. Parvey 200-175
Link def Heilman 239-233
Joshua Link, fresh off a victory at the Storm Utah Open, claimed the 2020 Morris Anderson Memorial Shootout following a clutch tenth frame in the final needing a double to take down 2017 champion, Nick Heilman. You can watch the entire NDBowlTV show HERE.
The win gives Link his first NDBowling.com Major title and marks the first Shootout title for the state of Montana. Congratulations Josh!
Special thank you to Renee Shirley, Jeff Kragh, Rory Selk, and everyone at North Hill Bowl for making this tournament what it is each year.
Tune in Thursday as we preview the 34th annual KFYR TV Bowling Classic.