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The 2022 tour U.S. Open bowling championships produced many ups and downs last Sunday evening at the Indianapolis Woodland Bowl and steady bowling and clutch scoring by Anthony Simonsen paid off (to …
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The 2022 tour U.S. Open bowling championships produced many ups and downs last Sunday evening at the Indianapolis Woodland Bowl and steady bowling and clutch scoring by Anthony Simonsen paid off (to the tune of $100,000) as he defeated top seed EJ Tackett 232-165 to become the youngest bowler in history to win three majors.
Simonsen overall has nine PBA tour wins.
This victory was live on Fox Sports FS1 and was part of the 2022 PBA tour schedule.
At 25 years and 31 days old, Simonsen bested the previous mark of 25 years and 43 days set by United States Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer Dave Davis more than five decades ago.
Simensen had the opportunity to break the record on the U.S. Open stage in 2020, where he was the top seed for the TV show, but was defeated by Jason Belmonte.
Including the win last Sunday, the top qualifier at the Open has been defeated six times since 2015.
"It was a long two years to wait after losing the title match in 2020 and then not bowling last year, so there certainly was some redemption in being able to win this time," Simonsen said.
To earn the meeting with Tackett, Simonsen survived a rematch with Belmonte, who won the season-opening PBA Players championship.
In the low scoring semifinal match last Sunday, Simonsen outlasted the two-hander Belmonte, 180-168. Simonsen is also a two-handed bowler.
In the match with Belmonte, Simonsen’s ninth-frame ball change was seen as a spark for Simonsen to his run for the title.
In this low scoring match the two combined for five open frames, which included two washouts, two splits and a chopped 6-10 combination from Simonsen early in the match.
Belmonte and Simonsen were separated by one pin after nine frames. Simonsen finished first and delivered three strikes in his final frame to force Belmonte to do the same for the one-pin victory.
In the championship match with Tackett, Simonsen struck six times in his first seven frames to put the game out of reach as Tackett, a 14-time PBA Tour champion, opened four times in the first eight frames.
Tackett noted he made the wrong ball choice for the championship match.
Ed’s Outlook
PBA Jr. 2022 Championships
The PBA Jr., the Professional Bowlers Association youth club for bowlers under age 18, is excited to announce a new partnership with Storm Bowling during the Storm Youth Championship tournaments.
PBA Jr. will sponsor a Never Give Up Scholarship at each of the Storm Youth Championships during the 2022 season that will equate to a total of $5,400 in SMART scholarship funds. $100 will be awarded in each age division to the youth bowler with the highest five game total during the final round of the tournament.
"The PBA is dedicated to growing the sport at all levels and the PBA Jr. Never Give Up Scholarship was created in an effort to encourage kids to never give up," said Mike Sledt, PBA Director of Membership.
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