AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin, posted an impressive average of 221.38 to take first place in the afternoon flight, just ten pins ahead of Nick Pate’s 220.13. (Press photos)
On the first day of qualifying, Coldwater’s Plamor Lanes more than lived up to its reputation as one of the most difficult venues on the PBA Tour.
Coldwater, Ohio – For years, PBA Tour bowlers have left Coldwater’s Plamor Lanes claiming they were “Coldwatered.”
Simply put, every one of the 93 bowlers at this weekend’s 16th annual Bowlerstore.com Classic – presented by Moxy’s Extra Pair – believed so on Saturday during the first day of qualifying for Sunday’s championship round.
Pat Dombrowski of Parma, Ohio, finished first in the morning qualifying round with an average of 214.
The strikes came hard as hole after hole hit, leaving solid 7s and 10s.
The bowlers tried to adapt and found their way on one pair of lanes, only to move to another pair of lanes and throw their adaptation overboard like last night’s dishwater.
“Each pair of lanes is like bowling in a completely different bowling center,” said Pat Dombrowski of Parma, Ohio, who took the lead after the morning qualifying flight.
“It’s a tough place,” he added with a wry smile. Ironic because Dombrowski, one of the most consistent players on tour who has yet to win a national title, averaged 218.63 in eight matches, putting him 70 pins ahead of second-place finisher Kevin Bienko.
The spares were even tougher, and there were tough spares aplenty – splits galore that forced the tour’s best players to give their all to score. Only ten of the 32 bowlers in the morning flight managed an average of 200 or more.
Frustrating? The best on the same tour have missed a single pin spare, trying to adjust their shots to the oil pattern… hook the ball or throw it straight… softer, harder… Plamor gave them everything.
Bowlerstore.com of Versailles is the main sponsor of the 16th annual Bowlerstore.com Classic presented by Moxy’s Extra Pair.
Devin Burtze of Elyria had the lowest score with an average of just 129.25, finishing 566 pins behind Dombrowski.
The afternoon flight saw many of the same results, including world number one EJ Tackett, who struggled in his first four matches to master the kind of ball transport that would produce strikes. One pocket hit after another turned into a solid ten pin spare conversion. Visibly frustrated, he missed the four or seven as he set up for the ten pin.
Minnesota native Nick Pate finished second in the afternoon flight with an average of 220.
At one point, Tackett was -20 points behind the leaders, an impressive points duel between Tour veterans Nick Pate of Inver Grove, Minnesota, and AJ Johnson of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
But Tackett eventually found something that helped him get back in the game and make the cut. He finished with a 204.13 average and +33 pins for the eight matches. With the evening flight still to be completed on Saturday night, his advancement to the championship round on Sunday was far from certain.
Meanwhile, the Johnson-Pate duel captured the attention of a packed stadium at Plamor, actually rivaling the Olympic basketball final between France and the United States broadcast on the televisions above the bowling center.
The popular Johnson has one national PBA title (2023) to his credit, ten regional PBA titles and is an eight-time member of Team USA.
Pate has never won a PBA national title, but has two regional titles to his credit and is a five-time member of Team USA.
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EJ Tackett, by the way, has eighteen tour titles, including five majors (including the 2016 PBA World Championship, the 2017 Tournament of Champions, the 2023 US Open and the 2024 PBA World Championship) … and is a former winner of the Coldwater Tournament in 2016.
Lurking on the evening flight is three-time winner of the last three regional events, Ryan Liederbach, who just this week won the Kremer Roofing Classic at Community Lanes in Minster. Liederbach is playing for his fourth consecutive victory, an extreme rarity on the PBA Tour.
Ryan Liederbach of Northfield, Ohio, bowled in Saturday night’s flight, seeking his fourth consecutive PBA regional title.
Sunday’s qualifying begins at 11 a.m. at Plamor, admission is free, and the competition between the world’s best players is one of the highlights of the west-central Ohio sports season. It’s a grueling day of bowling that culminates with the traditional step-ladder finals, with first place receiving a $10,000 prize.
The build-up never lets up, the tournament is one of the toughest on the tour. And the players you interview say they wouldn’t have done it any differently.
‘Cold watered’.
Tournament notes:
The attendance at the weekend’s tournament was the best of any Bowlerstore.com Classic in recent memory. Not only has the event earned a reputation as a coveted title over the years, but almost every bowler you ask says the attendance and the people who come to the Coldater tournament make it one of the most entertaining stops of the year.
The Bermudian bowler, who drives a taxi for a living, will likely be back in that cab next week. David Maycock bowled in the afternoon flight and averaged 184.88, -121 pins behind flight leader AJ Johnson.
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