By GENE J. KANAK
USBC Communications
ALLEN PARK, Michigan – Bowling isn’t typically the first sport that comes to mind when discussing the concept of home-field advantage; nevertheless, most players will tell you that it’s much better to feel like the crowd is rooting for you instead of against you.
Even though Tom Smallwood’s hometown of Saginaw, Mich., is a couple hours away there was no doubt who had the most fan support at Thunderbowl Lanes during Thursday’s opening rounds of match play at the 2025 United States Bowling Congress Masters.
Much to the delight of his sizable gallery, Smallwood rode that support to a record of 2-0 on Day 1 of match play, which allowed the 47-year-old right-hander to end the day as one of just 16 players still without a loss.
The other 16 athletes still alive in this year’s Masters field have lost a match and will have to battle their way through the tournament’s Elimination Bracket if they are to make their dreams of becoming 2025 Masters champion come true.
Even though Smallwood managed to remain in the Winners Bracket at the end of Thursday’s opening rounds of match play, his day was hardly stress free.
Both of his three-game, total-pinfall matches came down to the 10th frame of Game 3 and saw Smallwood staring down the possibility of being shut out if his opponent could double.
Neither foe pulled it off, however, and that allowed Smallwood to walk away with a pair of victories, 675-658 over 2002 Masters champion Brett Wolfe of Mesa, Ariz., and 598-594 over Kyle Sherman of O’Fallon, Mo.
Smallwood will be back on the lanes Friday morning at 10 a.m. for a Round 3 matchup against No. 53 seed Gary Haines of Babylon, N.Y.
Haines earned his spot in the Winners Bracket bout by topping Charles Easton of Toledo (648-589) during Round 1 and then vanquishing Team USA’s Packy Hanrahan of Wichita, Kan. (646-618) in Round 2.
Smallwood, Haines and the 14 other competitors still in the Winners Bracket will come to Thunderbowl Lanes on Friday looking to win at least their first three matches as that would allow them to reach the Winners Bracket final and guarantee themselves no worse than the No. 2 seed for the 2025 Masters stepladder finals, which will take place in the famed Thunderbowl Arena live on FOX this Sunday at noon.
If Smallwood were to earn a spot on that telecast, he likely would have the lion’s share of the capacity crowd in his corner, which he would greatly appreciate even though he admits it would be something of a double-edged sword.
“I live a couple hours away, but I’ve bowled at Thunderbowl a lot, I’ve had success here and it’s really where my career began,” Smallwood said. “Whenever I bowl here, I have a lot of people watching me, but it’s kind of a double-edged sword. You love having the cheers, but you feel worse when you bowl bad because you feel like you’re disappointing everybody.”
But Smallwood didn’t disappoint anyone on Thursday, and now he’s in prime position to make a run at capturing this year’s Masters title.
Nevertheless, he knows that quest won’t be easy as there are several outstanding players sitting at 2-0 right alongside him.
That list includes three-time Masters champion Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas, who won the event in 2016, 2022 and 2023; reining Professional Bowlers Association Tour Player of the Year EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Ind., who already has four wins this year, including the season’s first two majors (U.S. Open; PBA World Championship); and current and future stars like Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., Brandon Bohn of Jackson, N.J., and Bailey Mavrick of Peru, Ind.
“I’m feeling great. This is the best I felt all season, physically,” O’Neill said. “I’ve got to keep doing exactly what I’m doing, go through my routine, my visualization process, and let it take care of itself.”
“The first round (of qualifying) was interesting to say the least since I didn’t have any practice,” Tackett said. “I put myself in a great position where on Day 3, I didn’t really have to press, just come out and not do anything stupid. That’s the name of the game. It doesn’t have to be pretty. I just have to win.”
Tackett has made six consecutive championship rounds entering this event, a new PBA record. But he is only focused on one mission.
“I want to win another championship,” he said. “(The other accolades) are not something that I sit and think about or dwell on. I’m here to win a championship and all the other stuff that comes with it will take care of itself,” he said. “I’m sure (the intimidation factor) probably plays a little bit, but I don’t ever bank on that. I have to go and beat my opponent, whether it’s a seasoned veteran or a new face. Anybody can beat anyone at any given time.”
Smallwood has the utmost respect for the aforementioned competitors and for all other opponents he may possibly draw on Friday, so he certainly won’t be taking anyone lightly.
“Everyone who makes the cut out here can shoot 750 at you,” Smallwood said. “Also, the lanes are hard when they’re fresh, and the burn is even harder because you’re following someone else.
“I could’ve easily have been 0-2 today, but instead I’m 2-0. This whole week is that way. A hit here or there is what determines whether you get through or not.”
Defending champion DeeRonn Booker of Albuquerque, N.M., also navigated the 44-foot 2025 Masters oil pattern well enough to get through on Thursday; however, he did so via the Elimination Bracket.
That’s because Booker lost his opening-round match to No. 1 seed O’Neill by a final score of 706-574.
Nevertheless, showing the heart that led him to the winner’s circle last year in Las Vegas, Booker rebounded, collecting victories over Brent Boho of Collinsville, Ill. (602-548), and Brad Miller of O’Fallon, Mo. (746-718), to keep his hopes of a Masters repeat alive.
“I’m feeling a lot better being here, than the process of getting here,” Booker said. “It’s really tough when you’re not having a good season to try to come back and defend one of the hardest tournaments in the world to win. I had to just tell myself, ‘remember who you are and remember what you’ve done.’ Because a lot of times, we forget that we can still do great things, even though we’re not having the greatest time right now.”
Booker said last year’s motivation was to earn a spot out of the pre-tournament qualifiers. While this season has been a struggle to find a new one, he rediscovered the feeling with his Thursday wins.
“To see people, sign autographs, and take pictures with fans, I was able to find my reason again,” Booker said. “That gave me a boost and a little bit more confidence to trust in my ability. There’s still a lot of bowling, so I’m not going to sit here and say, what-ifs. I’m just going to keep going one match, one frame, one ball at a time.”
At this point, however, Booker would probably be more than happy just to win four matches on Friday to advance to Saturday’s Elimination Bracket finals telecast, which will take place in the Thunderbowl Arena and be aired live on FS1 at noon.
Those matches will implement a knockout-style format with the winners of the first two games advancing to the finals of the Elimination Bracket. The advancers then will take on players who lost in the semifinals of the Winners Bracket with each winner earning a spot in the opening match of the stepladder on Sunday.
The two players who emerge victorious from Friday’s Winners Bracket semifinals will earn automatic spots on Sunday’s broadcast with a three-game total-pinfall match determining the top seed. This match will be broadcast at BowlTV.com.
With only four players advancing to the stepladder, the top seed will need to be defeated twice on FOX to be denied the title.
The 2025 Masters champion will take home a spot in the tournament’s storied history, a major title on the PBA Tour and the $100,000 top prize.