By BILL SNIER
FAIRLAWN — Matthew Ogle used a 753 series over his final three games to jump from fourth to third during qualifying for the PBA Tournament of Champions on Wednesday morning.
Wednesday night, he was the only bowler among the final 24 to go 5-0 to start match play as the 39-year-old Louisville, Ky., two-handed right-hander went 6-2 overall and took over the lead at AMF Riviera Lanes.
Ogle, who went to full-time status on the PBA Tour just last season, has 6,004 total pinfall to hold a 93-pin lead over defending PBA Player of the Year EJ Tackett (5,911). Others in the top five include two-handed righty Anthony Simonsen (5,858), two-handed lefty Eric Jones (5,842) and righty Jake Peters (5,762).
“It was very unexpected. I had a great look all week, but it was a different block so you don’t know what is going to happen,” said Ogle, who owns two PBA titles, with his first singles crown coming last season during the World Series of Bowling (Shark Championship).
“Everything just clicked, everything just came together. I had a great ball rep (Greg Ostrander) who’s making all the right decisions. I’m just worried about striking and execution.”
Ogle turned in the second best pinfall night in match play (1,830), averaging 229 and finishing with a 6-2 record after his 5-0 start. Matt Sanders, whose morning roll may have preserved his spot among the PBA’s 43-player exempt tour for 2025, handed Ogle his first loss 225-192.
“I finished fourth here last year and I’ve bowled pretty good in this building,” said Ogle, whose fans from Avon would let out a loud “Boom” every time he threw a strike.
“I just wanted to make match play. I haven’t had a very good year so to be where I’m at, I’m excited about it.”
Tackett, who claimed his second PBA World Championship last week in Michigan, compiled a 5-2-1 match-play mark and averaged 219 to remain second after being in the same position following qualifying.
“I feel like I bowled better than the scores showed. I had a really good game to finish (258), but I definitely left a few pins out there,” said Tackett, who was the No. 1 seed for the 2023 TOC stepladder finals after leading the entire tournament.
“I made a couple of silly mistakes in Game 7 on the good lane. It’s pretty hard out here and it’s easy to make those silly mistakes. But spare shooting is kind of frustrating me right now.”
Tackett also is being bothered by a sore right shoulder that he hurt during Tuesday’s qualifying rounds. A friend performed massage therapy on it both Wednesday morning and during the break.
“I figure it’s some tight muscles. Today, it got progressively better so I’m hopeful for (Thursday) that I can come in and feel OK,” said Tackett, who got some treatment advice from ball rep Tim Mack, who had two shoulder surgeries in his career.
“If I can feel as good or better than this block, I’ll be all right with that. It’s manageable,” the 23-time PBA champion said. “I was still able to win matches, which was huge to get those bonus pins. You don’t have to bowl really big scores here to win matches.”
JONES’ RUN
That is unless you’re Jones, who led the match-play round by averaging 239.0 and knocking down 82 more pins overall than Ogle on the shift (1,912). The 19-year-old, who reached the final five of the PBA World Championship last week and topped Monday’s pre-tournament qualifier, was just 21st after qualifying.
“I don’t know … I just got locked in,” said Jones when asked the reason for his match-play run. “I threw a different ball to start, and I decided to play a little bit farther left than I had been since there were fewer lefties on the fresh.
“I threw a strong ball and it set up better, and it was so strong that it burnt out (the lane) better and gave me a little more hold.”
During one five-game stretch, Jones shot 1,279 — an average of 255.8 — and went 4-1, losing to Simonsen 259-242.
Even Tackett was impressed.
“Eric Jones kind of got the short end of the stick. He was 4-3 and bowled a bunch of big games, but that’s how match play goes sometimes,” Tackett said. “I’ve been on both sides of it, more on Jones’ side, during my career. But if you keep bowling good games, eventually you’re going to win some matches.”
After Simonsen, Jones also lost to Kyle Sherman 257-224 before winning his final match 193-192 over defending champion and four-time TOC winner Jason Belmonte, who stands 12th in the field (5,676) after a 4-4 record.
“I got locked in and a had a bunch of good games in a row, But having two 250s thrown at me in a row, that was silly,” Jones said. “But I also had a bunch of 260s so I’m not furious about that. But I don’t want to be locked into the same thing (Thursday) because every block has been different.”
But Jones admitted he is tired physically from the past three weeks.
“It’s harder mentally to miss these opportunities. This is what I want to be doing,” Jones said. “Physically, it is exhausting. But it’s more exhausting getting beat up on every week. This week, I’m doing some of the beating up.”
Meanwhile, Ogle is trying to make this week pay off while also keeping track of the lawn care service he owns in Kentucky.
“I texted with my guys today and they say everything is taken care of,” said Ogle, who has three employees. “My wife has backed me 100 percent in doing this. She holds the homestead down while I’m out here enjoying myself and making us some money.”
And he wants to continue that run through Thursday’s two rounds of match play, with the final five for Sunday’s 1 p.m. stepladder finals (live on FOX) being determined after the final eight games.
“I’ll have the same game plan. With bowling on the high side, they should be tighter and genuinely hook more, so I have to be slower,” said Ogle, who lost to Belmonte 237-170 during the stepladder finals of the 2023 TOC during the latter’s run to a record title.
“I figured last year I had a pretty good year, so I would try it again. I just want to keep the momentum going and keep doing what I’m doing.”
NOTEBOOK: Match-play rounds two and three begin at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m, respectively, with both being eight games. Tickets are $15 per session or $25 for an all-day pass. … Qualifying leader Brad Miller went 3-4-1 in match play and stands sixth with 5,753. Marshall Kent, who led after the first two qualifying rounds, is eighth with 5,745. … The field struck on 53 percent of its shots during match play, with a 91 percent spare conversion rate while averaging 209 overall. … Sanders, who began his final qualifying round in 41st place, shot 1,413 during the final six games to make match play. He sat 44th on the PBA points list heading into the event and may have preserved his spot for next season. “That was possibly one of best rounds I’ve ever had on tour, if not the best,” Sanders told pba.com. … Miller didn’t participate in the World Series of Bowling, and thinks it helped his run this week. “Other players were used to having a hook spot, and then this week we don’t have that,” Miller said. “I also didn’t bowl any games last week so I’m completely fresh and I’m not used to bowling on an easier condition. Everything literally just worked out,” Miller told pba.com. … All rounds of qualifying and match play will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
See complete scores here: