The Annual NDBowling.com Classic was held this past weekend at Sunset Lanes in Moorhead, MN. 70 bowlers entered for a chance at the $1500 top prize as well as the Glen Hains Memorial Trophy. The lane pattern of choice was a 2015 European Champions Cup pattern that featured 40 feet of oil with a volume just over 26 mls and a ratio of 2.89-1.
The lane pattern allowed multiple angles of attack throughout the day on Saturday, so it wasn’t too surprising that the scores were very close near the cut line. Thomas Wolf lead the qualifying round with an impressive 1830 8-game total (228.75 ave). The cut to the top 20 was 1647 (205.87 ave) which included a little excitement. Travis Hersrud, Ron Morlock and Daren Seney all tied at 1647, but only two could advance to the match play round on Sunday. Following a 9th and 10th frame roll off late Saturday afternoon, Hersrud and Seney claimed the final two spots and Morlock would be named the alternate.
Qualifying Scores Page 1
Qualifying Scores Page 2
Following the qualifying round, the standings for the NDBowling.com Challenge were determined and Nick Heilman took home the title (and $150) this season with 7 points (2 at CMA & 5 at Classic). We also awarded an Ebonite Warrior Supreme to one lucky entrant. Using a random number generator, a number was produced and whoever finished in that position would win the prize and the lucky winner was Patrick Kinzler.
On Sunday, the lanes played pretty tricky as fewer bowlers didn’t allow the pattern to break down as much and most bowlers migrated towards the middle of the lane where there was friction. How tricky were the lanes on Sunday? Game two of match play featured ONE 200 game and that was a 204 by Jerad Schmitt. The grind would continue in the 10-game match play round where Rob Warren claimed the top overall seed in the NDBowlTV finals with a 8-2 match play record and 2364 total (includes bonus pins). He would be joined by Thomas Wolf, Andy Mills, David Langer, and Eric George.
Match Play Round
NDBowlTV Finals:
Langer def. George 182-143
Mills def. Langer 165-162
Mills def. Wolf 199-169
Mills def. Warren 234-174
You can watch the entire NDBowlTV Finals HERE
With the win, Mills claims his 3rd NDBowling.com Major Championship. The win also gives Mills his 3rd separate NDBowling.com Major joining him with Eric Parvey as the only two bowlers to have won 3 separate Major Championships with both needing a victory at the KFYR TV Bowling Classic to complete the career grand slam. Congratulations Andy!
I would like to thank Darin Sundstrom, Lonnie Thielbar, and the rest of the staff at Sunset Lanes for hosting another well run tournament. Shout out to Ken Fletcher for not only joining me in the booth on Sunday for the NDBowlTV show but also contributing $200 to the prize fund this season. I would also like to thank all bowlers who made the trip to the Fargo-Moorhead area to bowl this past weekend. The success of this tournament means a great deal to me and providing a fair condition and competitive field make this one of the best tournaments around. Tentative dates for the 2018 NDBowling.com Classic are March 3-4, 2018. So mark your calendars for the Seasons’ Final Major.
Tune in later this week as we announce the NDBowling.com Player and Team of the Year winners!