The FM Bowling Tour made a stop at The Bowler this month for the FM Masters Tournament. The winner of this event would be awarded a spot in the USBC Masters being held in North Brunswick, NJ February 18-24. This event also marks the third event in the Travels’ Pro Shop Challenge. The event was held on the 2012 USBC Masters pattern and proved to be a test for all 40 bowlers participating.
All bowlers bowled 8 games across 20 lanes to determine the top 10 bowlers advancing to match play. The oil pattern gave many bowlers issues and strikes were sparse. Bowlers were able to attack the pattern from many different angles and, as a result, the lanes played significantly different from pair to pair. The bowlers who were able to make quick adjustments and shoot quality spares finished toward the top. At the end of the qualifying round, Justin Coste led all bowlers going +162 for 8 games (220.25 ave).
Top 10 Advancing to Match Play:
1 – Justin Coste
2 – Mike Morris
3 – Tim Pausch
4 – Joel Galle
5 – Travis Hersrud
6 – Matt Meyer
7 – Matt Smallin
8 – Ted Mckinney
9 – Mike Harris
10- Ken Cummings
The bowlers who advanced into the second round would then bowl 10 individual matches with each of the qualifyers, along with a position round, to determine the final 5 for the stepladder finals. The lanes were re-oiled after qualifying and all qualifying pins carried over in to match play. After 10 games of match play, Matt Meyer of Alexandria, MN claimed the #1 spot for the step ladder finals. (1-Meyer 2-Coste 3-Pausch 4-Hersrud 5-Morris)
In the step ladder finals, Travis Hersrud took down Mike Morris in the first match and started gaining momentum. Hersrud would then go on to beat Pausch and Coste to set up a championship match with Matt Meyer. Meyer was able to avoid costly opens to stop Hersrud for the win. The win gives Meyer a paid entry to the USBC Masters. Nice bowling Matt! For more information on the USBC Masters, please visit www.bowl.com
Match 1: Hersrud 185 vs Morris 174
Match 2: Hersrud 206 vs Pausch 175
Match 3: Hersrud 234 vs Coste 194
Finals: Meyer 194 vs Hersrud 174
Thank you to all bowlers who attended this event. Andy Kappes and his crew have done a great job with the FM Bowling Tour and we look forward to covering more events. For more informtion on the Tour and current point standings, please visit www.fmbowlingtour.com
After a brief break for the holidays, the bowling schedule ramps up with some of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Be sure to keep an eye on our “Upcoming Events” tab as new tournaments are being added regularily as they are submitted to NDBowling.com. Next on the schedule is the Master Doubles event in Moorhead on December 29th and the 10 Game Marathon at North Hill Bowl on the 30th. NDBowling.com will be providing live updates from the 10 Game Marathon in Minot on the 30th. Until then, everyone here at NDBowling.com would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season.