Wolfe ties for 25th at U.S. Senior Masters bowling tournament

Skip Wolfe and the tricky lanes of Las Vegas seem to be a match made in bowling heaven.

The Dixon resident made the trek out west last week to compete in the United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters, held at Sam’s Town Hotel and Bowling. In a field of 260, Wolfe finished in a tie for 25th.

The Senior Masters is one of two majors on the senior bowling circuit, with the other being the United States Open. In June of 2105, Wolfe placed 13th in the U.S. Senior Open, at Suncoast Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Wolfe, 51, is around bowling year-round, although little as a competitor. He is a territory sales manager for Bob’s Business, a bowling supply company. He travels throughout Illinois, and whatever each bowling center needs, he provides.

His bowling is limited to once-a-week league play, if his schedule allows it, at Plum Hollow Lanes in Dixon, and a handful of regional tournaments. This year his schedule worked out so he could squeeze in the Masters, and he was thrilled to earn a spot in the round of 32.

“It’s an incredibly rewarding feeling to spend your life working really hard at the game,” Wolfe said, “and get to an age and a time in my life where I can concentrate, focus and work hard at what I’m doing. It’s just about making shots through the qualifying, and to end up making the cut, it’s a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.”

A practice session for the event was held on Monday, June 20, and each bowler was allowed 1 hour on the lanes. It was a critical time, as that was when competitors attempted to gauge lane conditions.

Wolfe brought 14 bowling balls, and tried eight or nine in the practice session. He ended up using eight in the actual competition.

Much like a U.S. Open golf course is known for exacting conditions that will punish marginal shots, so too were the lanes at Sam’s Town Hotel and Bowling. Sessions were held in the morning, afternoon and night, lane conditions were changing on the fly, and bowlers had to adjust – or pay the price.

“When you miss your target to the right by a board or a board and a half downlane, the ball doesn’t come anywhere near the pocket,” Wolfe said. “When you miss your target one board left downlane, the ball is through the nose and splitting. You typically can create a board to a board and a half at 40 feet down the lane to keep the ball in the pocket.”

The tournament began on Tuesday, June 21, the first of 3 days of qualifying. Each entrant bowled five games each day, and the 64 bowlers with the highest total pinfall advanced to the match play portion of the event.

Wolfe finished the first day at 1,050, an even 210 average per game. On Day 2, he came in at 1,043. On Day 3, he had his best performance with a 1,093, good for a 3-day total of 3,188, and an average of 212.53.

That was good for a tie for 48th in the 260-bowler field, and safely onto the next round. From there, it was match play – lose twice, and you’re eliminated.

“There’s a lot more pressure on every shot throughout every one of those games,” Wolfe said. “Everybody you’re bowling against is a tremendous player. You have to make great shots to have a chance to win.”

In the match play round, which began Friday, June 24, bowlers were seeded 1-64, based on their finish in the qualifying round. Wolfe, at No. 48, took on the No. 16 seed, David Cirigliano of Phoenix.

The format is a three-game series, high score wins, and Cirigliano edged Wolfe 628-600.

“We both bowled really, really well,” Wolfe said. “I have no regrets out of that match. I just got beat.”

In his second match, Wolfe met Darron Peters of Temecula, Cal., and rolled to a 713-598 victory.

“I bowled extremely well against Darron Peters,” Wolfe said. “I got lined up right away on that pair of lanes, had good ball reaction throughout the entire time, and just threw it great.”

In his final match on Friday, Wolfe came up against Robert Brown of Cody, Wyoming, and pulled out a 571-541 victory. That match was telecast live on BowlTV.

The win against Brown got Wolfe into the round of 32, which began on Saturday morning. He came up against Eddie Graham of Centerville, Ohio, and Graham was able to hang on for a 617-608 victory.

“It was right down to the eighth, ninth and 10th frames that last game,” Wolfe said. “I just didn’t get enough strikes. I didn’t double when I needed to double to get around him. I bowled great. I have no regrets. I made great shots, but there were a couple of 10-pins that didn’t go down. If they would have, I would have won that match and got to move on.”

Wolfe and seven other bowlers were eliminated in that first round on Saturday, and shared 25th place. Each received a check for $1,350 – about enough to cover expenses for the week.

For Wolfe, more important than a paycheck, it was seeing how he could compete against a field that was chock full of bowling legends. Of the 64 bowlers that qualified for match play, 13 (Parker Bohn III, Pete Weber, Rick Steelsmith, John Petraglia, Amleto Monacelli, Brian Voss, Bryan Goebel, Dave Arnold, Norm Duke, Eric Forkel, Harry Sullins, Warren Nelson and Walter Ray Williams) were members of the bowling hall of fame.

Weber, the son of bowling legend Dick Weber, ended up winning the tournament.

“Knowing that I’m bowling against the greatest bowlers, in some cases, that have ever lived, I couldn’t afford to give anything away,” Wolfe said. “I had to make the absolute best shot I could make every time I stepped on the approach to have a chance to make the cut.”