The 37th annual KFYR TV Bowling Classic was held this past weekend at Midway Lanes in Mandan, ND.
A full field of 120 bowlers entered for a chance at the $2000 top prize. The tournament was held on a custom 46 foot pattern that ended up producing higher scores than expected. Following an 8-game qualifying block, Josh Kennedy lead the way with a 1897 total. The cut managed to jump a considerable margin the last two games to settle at +88 by 2021 Champion, Jeremiah Smith.
Qualifying Scores Page 1
Qualifying Scores Page 2
Following the qualifying round, bowlers gathered for a post round banquet to enjoy food and drinks while the staff at Midway Lanes handed out door prizes and bracket earnings.
On Sunday, the top 30 bowlers returned for match play. Bowlers were separated into 3 groups of 10 where they would bowl round robin matches followed by a position round. Defending champion, Brady Stearns, was able to overcome a slow start to the match play round and found himself in a familiar position as the number 1 seed on the KFYR TV Finals. Joining Stearns in the finals was Ryan Selk, Chad Nelson, Josh Kennedy, and winner of the 2004 KFYR, Travis Hersrud.
KFYR TV Finals:
Nelson def. Kennedy 259-205
Nelson def. Hersrud 278-190
Nelson def. Selk 256-196
Nelson def. Stearns 203-202
Nelson used a combination of the Storm Phaze V and IQ Tour to fire off a 793 his first three games on the show to set up a championship match with teammate and defending champion, Brady Stearns. Entering the 10th frame of the final match, Nelson needed strike, nine spare to win the title and did just that. The win gives Nelson his first NDBowling.com Major Title, a title that has long eluded one of the more decorated bowlers in the region. Great bowling, Chad!
Big thank you to Bryan Goehring, Jim Mellon, and everyone at Midway Lanes for hosting another great event. Thank you to tournament sponsor, Mcquades Distributing, and to KFYR for continuing to cover the event on local NBC stations.