Bill O’Neill Paces Field Through Two Rounds of USBC Masters
Bill O’Neill leads the USBC Masters, the season’s third major championship, through two rounds of qualifying.
O’Neill ranked fifth after the first round, then surged into the lead with a strong second round. He leads the 390-player field with a total pinfall of 2,307 (+307) at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.
“Physically, this is the best I’ve felt all season,” O’Neill said. “The World Series (of Bowling) was bad. My ball reaction was great the whole time, and I couldn't hit it.”
O’Neill said he went home after his WSOB exit and worked with a friend named Sam, who O’Neill’s dad gave lessons to. He said Sam noticed that O’Neill’s first step and push-away were getting too long.
“Sam told me, 'This is what your dad would tell you to do,’ and he was spot on,” O’Neill said. “I had a handful of shots yesterday that I pulled a little bit left, but my hand was in a really good spot, so the ball just laid there and stayed flush. That’s the reason why things have gone better here than they went in Reno.”
Last year’s runner-up Patrick Dombrowski (+265) sits in second place with Sean Lavery-Spahr (+259), Tom Smallwood (+249) and Marshall Kent (+227) rounding out the top five.
Lavery-Spahr led Monday’s opening round of qualifying. He said his natural ability to get the ball over the front part of the lane has been key to his success on the 44-foot oil pattern.
“Getting the ball over the front part of the lane as much as I was allowed the ball to retain a little bit better and I caught a few more hits than a lot of others,” Lavery-Spahr said. “My swing was already loose from yesterday, so I managed the transition and shuffled through quite a few balls today. I made a lot of really good decisions faster than I probably would have if I was chasing some scores.”
All players will bowl 15 games of qualifying, featuring two five-game rounds on fresh lane conditions and one round on “burn” conditions, meaning the lanes are not re-oiled after the previous squad.
After qualifying, the field will be trimmed to the top 63 players and the defending champion.
DeeRonn Booker, who dominated the 2024 event in Las Vegas, is guaranteed a berth in the 64-player match play bracket. Booker (+1) is tied for 133rd place after the second round of qualifying.
EJ Tackett (+219) climbed into eighth place with a strong showing on the burn squad. Tackett, who has made six consecutive championship round appearances this season, looks to complete the Grand Slam with a Masters title.
Three-time Masters champion Anthony Simonsen, who won the event at Thunderbowl Lanes in 2023, sits one place behind Tackett. Jason Belmonte, who owns the record with four Masters titles, sits three spots back in 11th.
John Furey (+72), averaging 207.20, occupies the final berth inside the cut through two rounds.
Qualifying concludes on Wednesday and all three superstars take the lanes with C-squad at 8 a.m. Eastern time, followed by A-squad on the burn at 12:30 p.m. and B-squad at 6:30 p.m.
All rounds of qualifying and match play will be livestreamed on BowlTV.
The elimination bracket will continue in Saturday’s preliminary round, airing at 12 p.m. ET on FS1, to complete the field for Sunday’s four-player stepladder finals.
The top seed, who will have gone 6-0 in bracket match play, will need to be defeated twice in the championship match.
The USBC Masters finals will air live at 12 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX.
Round 2 Leaders | Five Games
- Bill O’Neill, 2,307 (+307)
- Patrick Dombrowski, 2,265 (+265)
- Sean Lavery-Spahr, 2,259 (+259)
- Tom Smallwood, 2,249 (+249)
- Marshall Kent, 2,227 (+227)
- Jake Peters, 2,225 (+225)
- Jean Perez, 2,220 (+220)
- EJ Tackett, 2,219 (+219)
- Anthony Simonsen, 2,217 (+217)
- Eric Jones, 2,214 (+214)
More information on the 2025 USBC Masters is available here.
USBC Masters Schedule
Thunderbowl Lanes | Allen Park, MI
All times Eastern
Wednesday, March 26
8 a.m. — C-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
12:30pm — A-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
6:30pm — B-squad Qualifying Round 3 (five games)
Top 64 players (or top 63 players and defending champion, DeeRonn Booker) advance to double-elimination match play
Thursday, March 27
10 a.m. — First round (left side of bracket)
12:30 p.m. — First round (right side of bracket)
2:30pm — All first round winners
5 p.m. — Match play continues
Friday, March 28
10 a.m. — Match play continues
2 p.m. — Match play continues
Saturday, March 39
12:00 p.m. (FS1) — Preliminary Round
Sunday, March 30
12:00 p.m. (FOX) — USBC Masters stepladder finals
More information on the 2025 USBC Masters is available here.