So I went to the 64th US Open.  Obviously Pete Weber won, and I was fortunate enough to bowl near him during the final nine games of qualifying before the cut to the top 24.  It was impressive to watch someone with that much talent at the top of his game.  I was also right beside Wes Malott, Norm Duke and Ryan Shafer.  These guys are all amazing bowlers and deserve the respect that they go out and earn every week.

 What was more interesting, was bowling with WRW Jr.  He was on my pair all day, and he struggled mightily during those 9 games, falling out of the top 24.  Obviously being one of the premier bowlers of all time, he was more than a little frustrated and disappointed with the results.  However, it was great to watch a bowler of his calibre make adjustments through out the games; cycling through different options in his mind trying to find the reaction he needed to get the job done.  Changing speeds, ball rolls, and going all over the lane trying to find what he needed.  Unfortunately he never found it.

Despite all this, and his obvious frustration, he was still quietly encouraging.  Giving his hand for pretty much every strike and spare I had, and sharing a few words.  Obviously the man was doing his job, and earning his living, and not very pleased with how his day was going.  It was a bad day at the office for him, but it was a pleasure bowling with him.  I'd imagine it would have been even better if he'd actually been bowling well.

 That said, I beat him for those nine games! :)  It isn't much, but it was fun to bowl well in the presence of such greatness.

I figure it was time to add another post on here, but have no idea why. So here goes:

Bowling over the weekend in a tournament with more oil than I've ever seen only stresses how important equipment preparation is before competition.  Now, this is an annual event that is know for a tough shot and lots of oil...a tournament I've won twice before.  This year however, they decided to increase the volume and length.  Being confident that I could bowl on their shot, like every year, I didn't touch any of my stuff before going, and promptly missed the cut.  Not knowing that they had changed the shot, I didn't even consider scuffing my equipment more than usual...

 5 games is very, very long, when you don't have anything in your bag that has enough surface to give you a chance.  Forget hooking the ball alot and getting lots of strikes, in this case surface was the difference in creating angles that left you a makeable spare and a big split.

 It's a lesson I won't need to learn twice.