Two years in the making, it finally happened. After two cancellations, a venue change, countless replacements, tickets being sold and unsold and a multitude of other obstacles, the inaugural Bowlage Ryder Cup finally got underway at Lodi Lanes in Lodi, New Jersey yesterday, pitting 30 of the top bowlers against each other from the states of New York and New Jersey. And it certainly did not disappoint. With names such as Bohn, LeClair, Ventura, Novara, O'Grady, Pepe and Sacks headlining the event, it was bound to be a highly contested battle. But in the end, there could only be one winner . . . and that winner was the state of New Jersey, taking 18 of the 27 events to hoist the crown. However, contrary to what the final score may read, it was anything but easy.
The event kicked off with the 5 Baker Trios Matches in a Best of 5 format. The first two matches were split by the states, so it came down to the final match to determine who would take the lead into the doubles portion. And that final match was a doozy. The New Jersey side, featuring Anthony Buonanno, Steve Kotwoski and Matt O'Grady, got off to a good start, winning the first game 247 - 226, however the NY side, with Justin Kampf, Jeremy Milito and Paul Bajorski, took the second game. The third game saw the NJ team throw the front 11 strikes before a stoned pin gave them a 299 - 206 win and a 2 - 1 lead. However, once again, the NY side fought back and it came down to Game 5. In the 10th frame, Milito, needing to double to force Buonanno to double, threw the first strike. Buonanno matches and it came down to the final 2 shots. Milito's shot came up light and the NJ squad took a 3 - 2 lead heading into doubles.
In the doubles portion, NJ kicked it into gear, winning 6 of the 7 matches to take a commanding 9 - 3 lead heading into the highly anticipated singles portion. It might have been a clean sweep in the doubles section if not for the NY team of Brian LeClair and Sammy Ventura, two PBA50 members, who shot a Baker 300 in game 2 to lead them to a sweep. Unfortunately, despite their amazing teamwork, NY had their work cut out for them and really needed to have a strong singles showing.
Alas, that showing never came. Despite NY taking 3 of the first 6 singles matches, once again NJ proved too strong, winning 5 consecutive matches and clinching the cup with the required 14 wins before the final 3 singles matches even began. And so it was that the fine state of New Jersey won the 1st ever Bowlage.com Ryder Cup in convincing fashion with the final event tally being 18 - 9.
Below you can find the final scores of each match with the winner as well as the live broadcast courtesy of Mitchell Pincus and Makaveli Frederico. Again, congratulations to NJ for winning the 1st ever Bowlage Ryder Cup. The event for next year has already entered the planning stages Stay tuned for the release of information inside the Bowlage Facebook Group.
Match Results:
