Our event this weekend was a big one! Such a big one that we broke just about every singe event record we had. We had a new entry record of 256 entries (194 qualifying & 62 economy parlay), 73 cashers, a 1 in 3.5 cash ratio and paid out an all time high $11k+ main tournament prize fund and a new high of $7k in side event payouts for a grand total that got close to $20k in total payout. The players bowled on a very difficult 42ft Patriot oil pattern that was a custom pattern for the major event. It had pretty low scores the entire weekend, with players only needing to bowl average to make the cut. It was a longer oil pattern, but the lane surface itself had enough friction that it allowed them to not play too long. The players that seemed to match up the best seemed to hook it a little bit in the middle of the lane, but there were still some straighter players who were able to figure it out and make a run.
There were a lot of new bowlers that joined us for their first ever event this weekend. It’s great to experience this event as your first event, but it’s a tough environment to get used to if you haven’t bowled many tournaments. The majors have tough lane conditions, a lot of bowlers, and an atmosphere that is very competitive and exciting. It’s a tough scenario for your first event, but these bowlers weren’t scared. Let’s welcome John Verbil, Chris Adell, Don Fisher, Nick Sherrod, Donald Grissom, Chris Griego, Debbie Ball, Michael Ball, Tee Smythe, Valda McMillan, Cade Delton, and Marilyn Pointer. We only had one bowler, Donald Grissom, out of that group who were able to make it to the quarter finals in their first event.
We only had one parlay power player in Benjamin Perry, who had a chance to turn his $25 into $1700, but fell short in the quarter final round. We did have a lot of players make it to their first quarter finals in quite some time, or their first quarter finals ever! Congrats to Robin Unfricht, Valda McMillan, Donald Grissom, Joe Mascio, Ben Perry, Mike Frenak, Cara Hamm and Leah Zweig on their accomplishments.
The quarter finals were a big one! 58 bowlers, shooting for 18 spots (6 per division). There were a lot of nail biting moments, but it ended up being Justin Singleton, Troy Blickenstaff, Dylan Taylor, Correen Lieber, Eric Flick and Michael Fitzgerald moving on to the A division semi-finals. In the B Division it was between Mike Dragon, Lynn Arthur, Paul Williams, Kyle Howard, Josh Anthony, and Benjamin Perry. The C division came down between Chad Clapp, Symphone Horne, Elizabeth Randall, Mike Finley, and Virgil Link.
The semi-finals had the 6 players split up into pairs of three based on seeding. The three players would bowl a one game match and need to be the top score on their pair to advance. In the A division, Eric Flick and Michael Fitzgerald came of their pairs to be the A division finalists. The B division finalists were Lynn Arthur and Mike Dragon. The C division came down to Leah Zweigh and Chad Clapp.
The A division final match was a close one between Mike and Eric. By close, we mean close. One pin ended up making the difference. Mike finished first, got lucky to get the first hit on a shot that went high, but then his next shot he got 8 and covered it, giving him 202 with handicap. Eric got up in the 10th hoping to strike to make it easy, but instead he got 9 and had to make it to not lose. He covered the spare and still needed 9 in the fill to win by one, and he was able to do it!
The B division final match was between that “hot” kind of bowler and the “always in the hunt” kind of bowler. Mike Dragon had been bowling well all weekend and seems to always do well at Glenfair Lanes. Lynn on the other hand, really grinded to advance, and squeaked in to the semi-finals. However, you can never count him out. The match started off poorly for Lynn, as he had a number of opens and he could never get back in the match, giving Mike the B division title.
The C division was a back forth between Leah Zweigh and Chad Clapp, but a few more made spares by Leah and a double was the difference maker, making her the C division champion.
The final matches in the majors are always a little different. For the Memorial Day events, we use an eliminator format. This means all three players bowl the first game, with the lowest score being eliminated, and then the two remaining players bowl a one game match to determine the champion. The first match was a great one! Coming down to the 10th frame, after Leah rallied with some great shots to get back into the match, she opened in the 10th frame to give Eric and Mike a chance to beat her. Mike was able to spare in the 10th to put pressure on Eric. Eric needed a mark and left a 6-8-10 that he had to convert to stay alive. He was unable to convert which meant our final match would be between the tallest and shortest person in the entire field, Mike Dragon and Leah Zweig.
The final match was a roller coaster. Leah started off very nervous and opened quite a bit in the beginning which gave Mike the early lead. However, she rallied with some strikes and a spare in the last 4 frames to put the pressure back on Mike. Mike needed to mark the last two frames to be able to win, and he made good shots and converted the spares to do it! Mike took home his 2nd title, both have been at Glenfair, and $1,700.00!
Thanks to the 256 entries that came out to make this event so awesome! We look forward to seeing some of you at our next event at AMF Desert Hills lanes.
