The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000. A PBA rule change in 2008 retroactively awarded a PBA title to any Masters winners prior to 1998 who were PBA members at the time of the victory.
History
The tournament began in 1951 as the ABC Masters, conducted by the American Bowling Congress. The ABC merged with the WIBC and YABA to become the USBC in 2005, after which the tournament was renamed USBC Masters. The Masters began as an invitational event showcasing national and local bowling stars and has grown to become one of bowling's most prestigious events. While the event has evolved over the years, its trademark qualifying and double-elimination match play format has remained largely unchanged. All bowlers compete in 15 games of qualifying, with the top 63 qualifiers joining the previous year's champion in the double elimination match play bracket. All head-to-head matches consist of 3 games, highest total pinfall wins. Hundreds of competitors turn out for the Masters each year with their sights set on a prize fund that has recently been as high as $350,000, including a $50,000 top prize. The field, which now includes women, also features representatives from all 50 states and a handful of foreign countries. The Masters is open to PBA members and any USBC member that meets average requirements, and is a part of the World Bowling Tour. After the Masters in January 2004, the tournament was moved to the fall, resulting in two Masters events during calendar year 2004. Then in 2008, the tournament was moved back to the spring, which is why there was no Masters during 2008. Mike Aulby is the first player to have won the USBC Masters three times, but was eventually passed by Jason Belmonte. Belmonte is the only player to win three Masters in a row, and he won again in 2017 to become the only player to win four Masters titles. Walter Ray Williams Jr. is the oldest person to win the USBC Masters, capturing the 2010 event at age 50. In 2016, Anthony Simonsen, aged 19 years and 39 days, became the tournament's youngest winner, as well as the youngest to win a PBA major of any kind.
Note: In May 2008, the PBA announced it was revising its all-time records to include ABC Masters championships prior to 1998 as PBA titles, if the champion was a PBA member at the time.
