Ever since I started bowling my dream was to be a professional bowler. I remember watching the PBA Tour on Saturday mornings at my grandmother’s house then going bowling and trying to emulate the styles I saw on the telecast. My chance came to go out and compete with these guys that I idolized in my younger years in 2003. At the age of 23 I qualified for the ABC Masters by winning the All Events title in the RI State Tournament. While my confidence was high realistically in the back of my mind I didn’t know if I could compete at that level.
Before heading out on this journey I practiced almost every day. With the help of my step dad we were able to put a lane condition out that would force me to be accurate and repeat shots in order to score. Along with some new equipment comped to me I was ready to be on television and win the $100,000 1st place prize. Boy was I in for a surprise.
We arrived in Reno, Nevada and headed over to the National Bowling Stadium. The first day there was a practice session available to all of the tournament bowlers. We headed over to get a feel for what I was up against. It was a phenomenal spectacle. You had 100’s of players, ball reps, and fans. The practice session went pretty good and that night they held a special pre event sweeper for all of the tournament bowlers. I was on a pair with another young guy from Alaska who threw the ball great. He was a 21 year old fire baller named Sean Rash, who is now a 4-time PBA winner along with finishing 7th in his first PBA event at guess where? The 2003 ABC Masters. I didn’t bowl well at all in the sweeper and in the back of my mind I wasn’t looking forward to the first day of qualifying.
Day one qualifying started with a meeting in the squad room to go over rules, lane courtesy, etc. I was nervous but excited to get out there and compete. Walking down the center isle with all of the top amateurs and professionals was a feeling I’ll never forget. I started out slowly day one and after 5 games of qualifying I was in 133rd place out of about 525 players with a score of about even on the day +/- 200. The good news was I was only about 25 pins out of the cut line and I was feeling more and more comfortable as the day went on.
Day two qualifying started the same as day one, not that great. I was able to get lined in and keep myself in the cut (the top 135 players) and almost in the top 64. With a 2nd round 1050 I was tied for 68th place making the first cut and guaranteeing myself a check. At this time my excitement was pretty high, being within 10 pins of making the top 64 players which would be the next cut line after day 3. Off to Brew Brothers for some dinner and a little celebratory dinner.
Day three started out pretty good as I was able to get lined up quicker than the previous two days. After 2 games I was right where I needed to be, although I wasn’t climbing the leader board near Walter Ray (who was leading the event) I was right around 50th place and well with in the cut line. Games 3&4 didn’t go so well, I had lost just about 60 pins by shooting back to back 170’s. At this point I had fallen from the top 64 to about 80th place. The last game had no real relevance unless of course I could find some lightning in a bottle and shoot about 280. Well that didn’t happen and I finished with a 15 game total of 2986 (199 avg) for the tournament and a finish of 102nd place and a $1000 paycheck.
After the completion of the tournament we sat down and figured out what my earning potential could be if I went our on tour. The numbers just didn’t add up with out significant financial backing, I would be at a loss each time out. This tournament didn’t cost me anything so I did make the full prize check, but if I wasn’t sponsored so to speak for this event I would have been in the hole about $700. Now this was a PBA Major tournament, putting that into perspective if I placed 102nd place in a major golf tournament I would have made tens of thousands of dollars with a comparable sized field of players. This tournament was a big learning experience both from the skill level and financial thought of being a PBA Professional. An experience like no other in my bowling career and one I would definitely consider in the future.
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