By BILL SNIER
COLUMBUS — One semifinalist took a different approach to his pair of lanes after practice.
The other sensed problems after his wasn’t very kind during Saturday’s qualifying round.
Aidan Furukawa and Brady Adler had different approaches, but the same outcomes, during their semifinal matches of the 2026 Ohio Masters on Sunday at HP Lanes.
Furukawa, a 19-year-old Sunbury two-handed righty, decided using a backup ball approach against eventual, champion Simon Mote, a two-handed left-hander, served him best.
Why the move?
“The four shots I threw in practice all split on the right side,” said Furukawa, a junior architecture major at Savannah (Ga.) College of Art and Design. “I felt like if I went on the left side, I know what my ball is going to do and I can play a little defense at the same time..”
But the former Junior Gold champion and Sunbury Big Walnut High School graduate had just three strikes in his opening game and just four in Game 2 en route to a 412-391 loss to Mote.
“The pair was playing a little wonky and I felt like I had to throw a specific game with slowing the ball down and hitting it the right ways,” said Furukawa, who was making his first Masters appearance. “But either way, I didn’t make enough good shots at the line off my hand.”
A two-time Professional Bowlers Association regional winner, including one earlier this summer in Grove City, Furukawa said it has been “an up and down year with a lot of learning and adjusting … just trying to figure out what to do for the next level.”
With the PBA’s new rules going into effect for regional events, the nonmember still is permitted to bowl Elite regionals and will “do what I can.” But he plans to remain in school.
The No. 10 seed entering the day, Furukawa came out of the gates strong in the Round of 24 with 536 (257-279) in a win over Jeremy Saccone.
“I felt like the lanes today were about the same (as qualifying) … I got left a little quicker than I wanted to, but I felt I had to with the way others were playing them,” Furukawa added. “But overall, they were relatively similar … just a slightly different transition.”
PAIR IS TROUBLE FOR ADLER
The fact that there was a similarity was not lost on Adler, a 28-year-old Fairfield two-handed righty, who had a bad feeling when he had to face No. 21 seed Jacob Willard on Lanes 5 and 6 in the semifinals.
“On that same pair yesterday, I shot 152 … my only game under 200,” said Adler, a former Greater Cincinnati USBC Masters champion who was the No. 8 seed and had a first-round bye.
“Coming into that pair I knew it was going be rough.”
Adler, who last bowled the Ohio Masters when it was in Akron several years ago, was more troubled by his spare shooting during his 432-350 loss. He missed three in a row at one point in Game 1 and added another plus a split in Game 2 while producing only six strikes overall.
“The spare shooting got into my head mostly. I let the makables get into my head,” Adler said. “I tried some different things, but, honestly, I don’t know what would have worked.”
Adler felt having the first-round bye was beneficial.
“I thought it was an advantage to just be able to warm up,” Adler said. “You never know who you’re going to catch or who is going to be on fire. Facing No. 24 through No. 8 … it really doesn’t matter much. You still have to bowl the match.”
But having less play on the lanes Sunday also produced a challenge.
“I really didn’t have as much room as I did on other pairs yesterday,” said Adler, a titles specialist with Jake Sweeney Automotive Group in Cincinnati who averaged 233.8 during qualifying if you take out the 152 game.
OTHER ROUNDS
ROUND OF 24: Furukawa had the high two-game series of the round pairing Seeds 8 through 24 with a 536, including a high game of 279. No. 24 seed Charles Easton advanced with a 489-403 win over 2023 champion and No. 9 seed Ric McCormick. The lone youth player in the field, Marion Pleasant High School senior Bryan Brandt, was eliminated by D.J. Assaff 399-325.
ROUND OF 16: All three remaining past champions — Easton, Jeff Fehr and defending champ Graham Fach — were eliminated in this round. No. 1 seed Ryan Liederbach, who averaged 240 Saturday to earn the qualifying lead, shot just 374 (193-181) in a loss to No. 16 Matt Zitnik. Fach left a 4-7-10 split late in Game 2 to fall to No. 13 Frank Testa 495-463 as the latter had a string of strikes late after shooting 268 in Game 1 to take a 20-pin lead. No. 4 Michael Mossbarger, with a chance to win the match in the 10th frame of Game 2, left a 3-7-9 split to lose 431-422 to No. 19 Caelen Guthrie. Mote had the best set of the round with a pair of 279 games en rout to a 558-457 win over Steve Pennington.
ROUND OF EIGHT: Mote and Adler were the lone remaining top eight seeds to advance to the semifinals. Adler overcame a 33-pin deficit with a 256 to stop Zitnik. Guthrie failed to convert a spare in the 10th frame of Game 2 as Mote earned a 444-432 win. Willard outscored Testa 234-175 in Game 2 to stop the 43-year-old Massillon right-hander’s run. Furukawa eliminated No. 2 seed Michael Tang, who shot just 163 in Game 1 of the match.
NOTEBOOK
NEW LANES AT HP: The Ohio Masters was run on the new lane panels installed by the center earlier this year. We asked Tang, who operates TV Bowling Supply at HP Lanes and bowls there frequently, how things have changed since the installation. “There is not as defined a track. Before, it seemed like every single tournament bowled here ended up doing the same thing with the same types of bowling balls. You just had to find the right spot to throw it to,” Tang said. “At this point, I haven’t quite figured out what the house is asking for. It’s a combination of using a thicker type of oil with newer, slick panels. Learning how to deal with that combination has been interesting.” Of course, HP Lanes also hosts the OHSAA State High School Bowling Championships again in 2027.
NOTEBOOK: All of the matches began in Round 1 on fresh oil, but each pair had at least two more matches on it the rest of the day. The title match was bowled on fresh oil, with Mote and Willard receiving just two practice balls on each lane (Lanes 13-14) — the same as every other round except for a 10-minute warmup to start the day. … Dates for the 2027 Ohio Masters have been set for Aug. 21-22 with the site to be determined. … Again, our thanks to Dawn Altimore-Emerson and Paul Brown for their assistance during Sunday’s final rounds. … Vincent Ludwig live-streamed match play on Facebook. … The tournament was sponsored by Shrek Apex Roofing.