Massachusetts pair leads doubles at Bowlers Journal Championships

LAS VEGAS – The new top score in Open Doubles at the 2024 Bowlers Journal Championships belongs to Aaron Major of Taunton, Massachusetts, and Tony Bennett of Worcester, Massachusetts, after the pair posted the first combined score north of 1,500 this year at the South Point Bowling Center.

Major, a 26-year-old left-hander, led the way with his set of 763, with games of 288, 269 and 206. Bennett, a 39-year-old right-hander, was not far behind with a set of 745, featuring games of 279, 225 and 241. The duo finished with a 1,508 total.

Dave Beres of Greenfield, Wisconsin, and Chris Pierson of West Bend, Wisconsin, previously held the top spot in Open Doubles with 1,492.

“I felt like he bowled amazing, and I was just trying to keep up,” Bennett said. “I saw his look and realized that we can put up some serious scores.”

The duo made their way to Las Vegas to compete at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, and they swung by the Bowlers Journal Championships before their team squad that day to get some games in and solidify their game plan for doubles and singles.

The Bowlers Journal Championships is contested on the same oil pattern used in doubles and singles at the USBC Open Championships.

“We bowl the Bowlers Journal as a way to prepare for doubles and singles, and to bowl with friends,” said Major.

Taking the lead came as a bit of a surprise for the pair, since they were unsure of the leading total. But, they knew there was a chance for a big number.

“After the last shot – when people started cheering and clapping – is when we kind of figured something out, and then they told us that we took first,” Bennett said. “I didn’t know what the number was, but going into the final frames I started doing the math, and that’s when I realized we could be bowling a 1,500.”

“I didn’t know what the number was that we had to beat – I just knew what we could get to,” Major said. “We left a lot out there the last game, so we could have put up a really big number, but I did not expect to take the lead.”

There may have been a moment of shock upon hearing the news about taking the lead, but as a team, they feel like they work well together.

“We definitely fed off of each other,” Bennett said. “We both had a great look at the end of practice.”

Both bowlers also held their own as they went into bowling at the Open Championships.

Bennett was able to finish with an all-events score of 1,842, with sets of 601 in team, 641 in doubles and 600 in singles. Major finished with 1,988. His sets consisted of 669 in team, 697 in doubles and 622 in singles.

The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.

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