The U.S. Open is one of the five major tournaments in the Professional Bowlers Association, currently run jointly by the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) and Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA). Despite its status as a PBA Tour major, the tournament is open to qualifying amateurs as well as PBA members. The U.S. Open is considered one of the most difficult tournaments to bowl in today, due to its long format (56 games from opening qualifying through the match play rounds; 64 games if a player from the pre-tournament qualifier makes it through) and demanding oil patterns, which differ from most oil patterns the PBA employs.
Tournament history With the exception of 1997 and 2014, the U.S. Open has been held in some form every year since , the first event won by Detroit's John "The General" Crimmins. Prior to 1971, this event was known as the BPAA All-Star. In its early years, the BPAA All-Star was a 100-game tournament. Andy Varipapa is notable for winning back-to-back BPAA All-Star titles in 1947 and 1948, the second coming at age 57, which makes him this tournament's oldest winner. BPAA All-Star winners in the PBA era (1959–1970) were initially not credited with PBA titles for their victories. A rule change in 2008, however, retroactively awarded titles to the winners if they were PBA members at the time of their victories. Because the 1959 BPAA All-Star occurred before the PBA's debut, Harry Smith (1960) earned the first PBA title in a BPAA All-Star event.
The first modern-day U.S. Open tournament in the PBA took place in 1971 and was won by Mike Limongello. With five wins, Pete Weber holds the most U.S. Open trophies of all time, one more than Dick Weber (Pete's father) and Don Carter.Vint, Bill. "Pete Weber Wins Record Fifth U.S. Open to Surpass Father Dick Weber and Don Carter." Article at www.pba.com on February 26, 2012. Pete Weber is also the only player to win a U.S. Open title in four different decades (1988, 1991, 2003-04, 2006-07 and 2011-12). The only player to successfully defend a modern day U.S. Open title was Dave Husted, who won the event in 1995 and 1996. Since then, only two bowlers have come close to joining Husted. After winning in 2007-08, Norm Duke finished runner-up to Mike Scroggins in 2008-09. Scroggins then finished runner-up to Bill O'Neill in 2009-10. Since 1971, only eight bowlers have won multiple U.S. Open titles:
1. Pete Weber - 5 titles (1988, 1992, 2003-04, 2006-07, 2011-12) 2. Dave Husted - 3 titles (1982, 1995, 1996) T3. Marshall Holman - 2 titles (1981, 1985) T3. Del Ballard Jr. - 2 titles (1987, 1993) T3. Walter Ray Williams Jr. - 2 titles (1998, 2002-03) T3. Norm Duke - 2 titles (2007-08, 2010-11) T3. François Lavoie - 2 titles (2016, 2019) T3. E.J. Tackett - 2 titles (2023, 2025)
There has only been one time in modern-day U.S. Open tournament history that two former U.S. Open champions met in a final. In the 2010-11 U.S. Open Championship match, 2001-02 winner Mika Koivuniemi needed a spare and 9 pins in the tenth frame to defeat 2007-08 winner Norm Duke, but missed the 10-pin to the right and Duke would win 225 to 216. This would also be the only time two bowlers met in multiple U.S. Open Finals as Duke had defeated Koivuniemi 224 to 216 in the 2007-08 Final.
The 1987 U.S. Open, sponsored by Seagram Wine Coolers, offered a then-record total purse of $500,000, and was the first PBA tournament to award a $100,000 first prize (won by Del Ballard Jr.).
Unable to find viable sponsorship, the U.S. Open was canceled for 2014, amid speculation that the tournament may not return at all. However, the USBC and BPAA later reached a three-year agreement that brought the tournament back for 2015, 2016 and 2017. The USBC and BPAA secured Bowlmor AMF, at the time the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, as the title sponsor for 2015. The 2015 tournament took place November 2–8 in Garland, Texas.
Beginning in 2017 with the U.S. Open held at Flamingo Bowl in Liverpool, New York, the tournament instituted a partial invitational field for the first time. Among those invited are top money leaders among PBA members, top performers from a variety of USBC events, members of Team USA and Junior Team USA, winners of the past ten U.S. Opens, the last three winners from each of the PBA's other major championships, and winners of the current year PBA Regional Tour U.S. Open qualifier tournaments. The "open" portion of the tournament is actually a pre-tournament qualifier (PTQ) with a maximum of 80 entries. Top finishers from the eight-game PTQ then join all those who accepted invitations to round out the starting field of 144 players. The 2018 event had 116 invitational entries and only 28 open spots available via the PTQ. In 2019, only 91 invitees entered the tournament, so 53 open spots were filled from the PTQ.
Format Starting in 2020, the starting field has been limited to only 108 players. After the starting field is determined, players bowl 24 qualifying games in three 8-game blocks on three different oil patterns. The top 36 in pinfall advance to the cashers round for 8 more games on a fourth oil pattern. The top 24 players after the cashers round then bowl 24 round-robin, head-to-head match play games, all on "pattern four" (which was 43 feet in 2026). In the match play round, players are awarded actual pinfall plus 30 bonus pins for every match won (15 bonus pins each in the case of a tie). The top five after the match play round advance to the televised championship finals, which is on the same oil pattern as match play.
Current champion
2026 Event The 2026 U.S. Open was held at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis, Indiana on March 3–8, with a pre-tournament qualifier (PTQ) on March 1. The tournament had a field of 108 players (after PTQ players added) and a prize fund of $299,750, with a $100,000 top prize. Patrick Dombrowski, the #2 seed, won his first PBA Tour title and first major. After eliminating former U.S. Open winner Chris Via in the semifinal match, Dombrowski defeated top seed Anthony Simonsen, another previous U.S. Open winner, in the final match, 197–195.
Prize Pool: 1. Patrick Dombrowski (Parma, Ohio) – $100,000 2. Anthony Simonsen (Las Vegas, Nevada) – $50,000 3. Chris Via (Blacklick, Ohio) – $25,000 4. Andrew Anderson (Holly, Michigan) – $15,000 5. Tim Foy Jr. (Seaford, Delaware) – $10,000
Past champions U.S. Open champions Year Winner Runner-up Championship match score 1971 Mike Limongello Teata Semiz 194–186 1972 Don Johnson George Pappas 233–224 1973 Mike McGrath Earl Anthony 234–222 1974 Larry Laub Dave Davis 258–237 1975 Steve Neff Paul Colwell 279–217 1976 Paul Moser Jim Frazier 226–195 1977 Johnny Petraglia Bill Spigner 279–232 1978 Nelson Burton Jr. Jeff Mattingly 204–201 1979 Joe Berardi Earl Anthony (2) 232–195 1980 Steve Martin Earl Anthony (3) 248–222 1981 Marshall Holman Mark Roth 200–179 1982 Dave Husted Gil Sliker 255–180 1983 Gary Dickinson Steve Neff 214–202 1984 Mark Roth Guppy Troup 244–237 1985 Marshall Holman (2) Wayne Webb 233–205 1986 Steve Cook Frank Ellenburg 245–211 1987 Del Ballard Jr. Pete Weber 247–209 1988 Pete Weber Marshall Holman 203–171 1989 Mike Aulby Jim Pencak 195–178 1990 Ron Palombi Jr. Amleto Monacelli 269–205 1991 Pete Weber (2) Mark Thayer 289–184 1992 Robert Lawrence Scott Devers 226–221 1993 Del Ballard Jr. (2) Walter Ray Williams Jr. 237–193 1994 Justin Hromek Parker Bohn III 267–230 1995 Dave Husted (2) Paul Koehler 266–245 1996 Dave Husted (3) George Brooks 216–214 1997 Not held 1998 Walter Ray Williams Jr. Tim Criss 221–189 1999 Bob Learn Jr. Jason Couch 231–215 2000 Robert Smith Norm Duke 202–201 2001–02 Mika Koivuniemi Patrick Healey, Jr. 247–182 2002–03 Walter Ray Williams Jr. (2) Michael Haugen Jr. 236–198 2003–04 Pete Weber (3) Brian Voss 231–178 2004–05 Chris Barnes Patrick Allen 213–212 2005–06 Tommy Jones Ryan Shafer 237–223 2006–07 Pete Weber (4) Wes Malott 210–204 2007–08 Norm Duke Mika Koivuniemi 224–216 2008–09 Mike Scroggins Norm Duke 191–173 2009–10 Bill O'Neill Mike Scroggins 267–207 2010–11 Norm Duke (2) Mika Koivuniemi 225–216 2011–12 Pete Weber (5) Mike Fagan 215–214 2012–13 Wes Malott Jason Belmonte 214–156 2014 Not held 2015 Ryan Ciminelli Dominic Barrett 236–223 2016 François Lavoie Marshall Kent 228–194 2017 Rhino Page Jakob Butturff 256–222 2018 Dominic Barrett Jakob Butturff (2) 207–206 2019 François Lavoie (2) Sean Rash 221–172 2020 Jason Belmonte Anthony Simonsen 226–201 2021 Chris Via Jakob Butturff (3) 214–213 2022 Anthony Simonsen E. J. Tackett 232–165 2023 E. J. Tackett Kyle Troup 221–208 2024 Kyle Troup Anthony Simonsen 223–181 2025 E. J. Tackett (2) Andrew Anderson 238–184 2026 Patrick Dombrowski Anthony Simonsen 197–195
BPAA All-Star champions 1942 – John Crimmins 1943 – Connie Schwoegler 1944 – Ned Day 1945 – Buddy Bomar 1946 – Joe Wilman 1947 – Andy Varipapa 1948 – Andy Varipapa (2) 1949 – Connie Schwoegler (2) 1950 – Junie McMahon 1951 – Dick Hoover 1952 – Junie McMahon (2) 1953 – Don Carter 1954 – Don Carter (2) 1955 – Steve Nagy 1956 – Bill Lilliard 1957 – Don Carter (3) 1958 – Don Carter (4) 1959 – Billy Welu 1960 – Harry Smith 1961 – Bill Tucker 1962 – Dick Weber 1963 – Dick Weber (2) 1964 – Bob Strampe 1965 – Dick Weber (3) 1966 – Dick Weber (4) 1967 – Les Schissler 1968 - Jim Stefanich 1969 – Billy Hardwick 1970 – Bobby Cooper
U.S. Open oil pattern The U.S. Open featured what PBA.com describes as "the toughest lane oil design in all of bowling." The pattern is considered "flat," meaning equal amounts of oil are applied to every lane board. (A typical lane condition allows more oil in the middle section of lane boards, and lesser amounts on the outer boards.)
Many claim the oil pattern was responsible for the lack of left-handed winners in this tournament, because there isn't enough ball traffic on the left side to create a "track area."Pedersen, Randy. Transcript of 4/5/2009 U.S. Open broadcast on ESPN. When Mike Scroggins won the 2009 event in North Brunswick, New Jersey, he became the first left-hander in 20 years (Mike Aulby, 1989) to earn a U.S. Open title. Aulby's win was on an oil pattern where oil was applied more heavily on the outer boards (that is, those closest to the gutters), to the point where the outer parts of the lanes were effectively unplayable. In all, left-handers accounted for six victories (McGrath , Moser , Petraglia , Cook , Aulby , and Scroggins [2009-10]) and nine runner-up finishes (Anthony [1973, 1979, 1980], Davis , Devers , Bohn , Couch , Allen [2004-05], Scroggins [2009-10]) at the U.S. Open since 1971. It was also the only major title that left-hander and 43-time titlist Earl Anthony never won in his career, though he did finish runner-up three times. In recent years, lefty Jakob Butturff joined Anthony as the only 3-time runner-ups [2017, 2018, 2021] with no titles. Additionally, Anthony and Butturff are the only two bowlers to finish runner-up and in back-to-back years. The two most recent lefties to win the U.S. Open titles were Ryan Ciminelli and Rhino Page . In the 2017 U.S. Open Championship match, Page defeated Butturff, and it was the first time two lefties met in a U.S. Open final since McGrath defeated Anthony in the 1973 U.S. Open Championship match; Butturff and Anthony would both bowl 222.
See also U.S. Women's Open
References
External links PBA.com Site