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TOURNAMENTS
Francois Lavoie Wins
2016 U.S Open - Historic
Televised 300 Game
By Aaron Smith
LAS VEGAS –
Canada’s Francois Lavoie put together a
historic performance on his way to winning the
t the South Point Bowling Plaza on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old right-hander defeated top seed Marshall
Kent of Yakima, Washington, 228-194, in the title match to
capture his first career Professional Bowlers Association
Tour title and become the second foreign-born player to win
the U.S. Open. Finland’s Mika Koivuniemi won the 2001
U.S. Open.
Lavoie earned $30,000 and the coveted green jacket for
the win, while Kent took home $15,000 for the runner-up
finish.
Lavoie also became the first bowler in U.S. Open history to
roll a perfect game during the tournament’s stepladder fi-
nals, defeating Shawn Maldonado of Houston, 300-211, in
the semifinal match.
Prior to Lavoie’s performance Wednesday, there had been
25 previous televised perfect games during PBA competi-
tion. The 2016 U.S. Open was broadcast live on CBS Sports
Network.
In the championship match, Lavoie continued his pace
from the semifinals, starting with five consecutive strikes to
build a sizeable lead over Kent, who left back-to-back splits
on the left lane in the third and fifth frames.
Lavoie lost the pocket during the seventh, eighth and ninth
frames, but converted three multiple-pin combinations, in-
cluding a 3-4-6-10 split in the eighth frame, to remain clean
and stay ahead of a charging Kent, who rallied with three
consecutive strikes through the eighth frame.
Kent’s run came to a halt with a 10 pin in the ninth frame,
and Lavoie struck on the first shot of his final frame to se-
cure the win.
“This is something I’ve dreamed of for a long time,” said
Lavoie, the No. 2 seed for Wednesday’s championship
round. “I’ve made a lot of commitments and life choices for
something like this. To see it happen is amazing.”
Lavoie played the lanes farther to the right than both Kent
and Maldonado, and he was able to find a ball reaction that
gave him a wider path to the pocket on the 42-foot oil pat-
tern.
“Looking at the lane graph, it was definitely tricky, but there
was some shape to the right,” Lavoie said. “When a pattern
as hard as this gives you some kind of shape, you need to
take advantage of it, so that’s where I tried to play until
something developed. There was some friction built into the
pattern, so I was able to miss right a little bit and get it to
hook early, and we had urethane going down the lane to the
left, which gave me some hold. It really was the best of both
worlds.”
Kent, who also was looking for his first major victory and
third PBA Tour title, earned the top seed after averaging
more than 229 during the 56-game event.
“I felt I did everything I could,” said Kent, a five-time Team
USA member. “The 7-10 hurt, and if that didn’t happen, I
probably don’t make a move and leave the 2-8-10 in the
fifth. I reset after the break and threw four really good shots,
and the one I needed didn’t carry. Overall, I felt I bowled
well but just didn’t give the lanes what they wanted. Fran-
cois bowled great all week, and I’m happy to see him win.”
Lavoie nearly made a ball change during his 300 game to
make sure he was ready for the championship match but
elected not to do so after talking to one of his ball represen-
tatives. He received a $10,000 bonus from Pepsi for the
perfect game.
“I actually talked to Tim (Mack) after the eighth frame, be-
cause I knew I already had won and wanted to try some-
thing else,” said Lavoie, who also rolled a perfect game dur-
ing qualifying. “I still had one more game to go, so I was
thinking ahead to that. Tim asked me why I wouldn’t want to
go for the bonus, which I didn’t know about it, so I decided
to go for it and see what happened.”
Maldonado, the No. 4 seed, won his first two matches,
defeating No. 3 Anthony Simonsen of Austin, Texas, 238-
217, and No. 5 John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda,
New York, 190-188.
All competitors at the 2016 U.S. Open bowled 24 qualifying
games over three days, before the field was cut to the top
57 for eight additional games. The 32-game pinfall totals
determined the 24 players for round-robin match play. The
top five, determined by total pinfall and bonus pins for 56
games, advanced to the stepladder finals.
The 2016 U.S. Open featured a prize fund of $214,000,
which included $100,000 in added money.
2016 U.S. OPEN
At South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas
FINAL STANDINGS
1, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 528 (two games), $30,000
(plus $10,000 bonus for 300 game)
2, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 194 (one game), $15,000
3, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 639 (three games), $12,000
4, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, TX, 217 (one game), $10,000
5, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 188 (one
game), $8,000
STEPLADDER RESULTS
Match One
– Maldonado def. Szczerbinski, 190-188
Match Two
– Maldonado def. Simonsen, 238-217
Semifinal
– Lavoie def. Maldonado, 300-211
Championship
– Lavoie def. Kent, 228-194
(Continued on page 12)
Marshall Kent
