October 2015 -
7
SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967
Johnson Wins
2015 U.S. Women’s Open
By Matt
Cannizzaro
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. -
Defending champion Liz
Johnson of Cheektowaga, New York, already may be in the
United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame, but she was
able to add another huge accomplishment to her legacy with
a win at the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Women's Open.
The 41-year-old right-hander defeated her Team USA
teammate Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, 190-189, to
claim her fourth U.S. Women's Open title, breaking a tie for
second place on the event's all-time win list behind fellow
USBC Hall of Famer Marion Ladewig, who won eight times.
Johnson earned $50,000 and the coveted green jacket for
the win, while O'Keefe took home $25,000 as the runner-up.
Johnson also became the first bowler to successfully de-
fend a U.S. Women's Open title since hall of famer Dorothy
Fothergill accomplished the feat in 1969, and she joins three-
time U.S. Women's Open winner Kelly Kulick (2010) as the only bowlers to win the
USBC Queens and U.S. Women's Open in the same year.
The finale at Brunswick Zone Carolier was a rematch of the 2007 title tilt, and
O'Keefe had a chance at redemption with two strikes and seven pins in her final
frame. After she left a washout and failed to convert, Johnson covered a 4 pin and
got seven on her fill ball to escape with the win.
"I made the best shot I could in the 10th, hoping to strike, so I didn't have to worry
as much," said Johnson, who also won the U.S. Women's Open in 1996, 2007 and
2013. "I shanked the last shot, but it was enough. This is going to take a while to
sink in, for sure. When the Tour folded in 2003, we had no idea all of this would
come back. It has been an incredible year, and I'm very grateful."
Johnson's win at the 2015 Queens in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in May kicked off the
2015 Professional Women's Bowling Association schedule. That victory secured her
spot in next week's season-ending The Smithfield PWBA Tour Championship pro-
moted by GoBowling.com, where she'll be seeded right into the semifinals as the
2015 PWBA points leader.
"This has been an amazing year, to say the least," said Johnson, who won last
week's PWBA Detroit Open, too. "I haven't made the Queens show when I've won
the U.S. Open, and I didn't make the U.S. Open show when I won the Queens
(2009), so I was pretty happy just to get here. But once you're there, you want to
take advantage. I didn't make the best shots I could have or should have, but I got it
done."
On the way to the championship match, Johnson used just one double and a flaw-
less spare effort to top four-time first-team collegiate All-American and 2015 PWBA
Lubbock Sports Open winner Jazreel Tan of Singapore, 199-177. Tan was the only
amateur in the top five and one of nine Team Singapore members in the field this
week.
Before facing Johnson, Tan overcame a 28-pin deficit to slip past Team USA mem-
ber Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, 172-165. McEwan held the com-
manding lead at the halfway point, but three consecutive opens starting in frame six
proved to be her undoing.
Tan started the day with a clean 195-190 victory against nearby Union, New Jer-
sey's Kulick. Despite a late open frame, Kulick had a chance to double in the 10th
frame for the win but left the 2-4-5 combination on her second shot, allowing Tan to
advance.
All competitors at the 2015 U.S. Women's Open bowled 24 games over three
days, while the top third of the field had eight more games to fight for a spot in the
top 24, who advanced for 24 games of round-robin match play.
Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, is hosting and
providing television sponsorship of more than $250,000 for the U.S. Women's Open
and the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open, which will be held at AMF Garland Lanes in
suburban Dallas/Fort Worth, Nov. 2-8.
For more information on the Bowlmor AMF U.S. Women's Open, visit BOWL.com/
USOpen.
2015 BOWLMOR AMF U.S.WOMEN'S OPEN
At Brunswick Zone Carolier, North Brunswick, N.J.
Sunday's results
Final standings
1, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 389 (two games), $50,000
2, Shannon O'Keefe, O'Fallon, Ill., 189 (one game), $25,000
3, Jazreel Tan, Singapore, 544 (three games), $14,500
4, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 165 (one game), $7,500
5, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 190 (one game), $5,500
Stepladder results
Match One -
Tan def. Kulick, 195-190
Match Two -
Tan def. McEwan, 172-165
Semifinal -
Johnson def. Tan, 199-177
Championship -
Johnson def. O'Keefe, 190-
189
Top: Shannon
O’Keefe, Right:
Jazreel Tan
Liz Johnson Champion with
her 4th U.S. Women’s
Open Title!
