On
Tour with Brian Voss
GEICO Classic - Irving, TX (Feb.
7 - 11, 2007 )
Gosh, what a week. This was like the old days, at least scoring wise.
It took a scorer of +2 to make the cut, a mere 200 average. The Shark
pattern certainly played deep, but it was nothing like the last few
times. The surface we played on was wood, which apparently has been
around for 30 years or so. We also had topography issues. Because
of the pattern, most players started out playing either really straight
arorund the 3rd arrow, or already left of the 4th arrow. You can imagine
after 3 or 4 games, some guys were already lofting the left gutter.
It was tough to string a lot of strikes together, and when you did,
you made up a lot of ground.
I shot 30 over the first round using two different Blue Aliens. Even
though the surface was worn and there was plenty of hook, a little
shine on those balls provided all that I needed. The second round
I started out really good getting all the way up to 87 over, then
started to dwindle as the shot moved left of the 5th arrow. I managed
to hang in there, making the cut at 14 over.
I was paired against Bill Oneil, who was the qualifying leader after
the first round. I knew I would have to bowl well. The first game
he got a little lucky getting a strike right through the nose in the
8th frame, and then followed it up with a brooklyn in the 9th. Of
course, I left a ten pin in the ninth, and he ended up winning the
game. I won the next two games with a couple of 230's. We were playing
right around the 4th arrow on the right lane, and left of the 5th
arrow on the left game. As the games progressed, we ended up lofting
the left gutter again. He ended up beating me 4-2.
Overall, a good week, but once again, only kept pace with the points
race. I feel like I'm getting close, just have to keep practicing
again. And yes, I did use 15 pounds again, even when the shot got
left of the 6th arrow. No 8-10's!!!
BV
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