Senior Masters Match Play

My first match was against Don Blatchford. I started out with a good reaction, finishing ahead 221-200 after game 1. In game 2, I chopped the 3 off the 3-6 (how I don't know) in the middle of the game, followed by ringing the head pin around the 7 on the washout. This happened about the same time as Don's reaction got pretty good, and he struck out for 235 to my 173. I couldn't catch up the last game, as Don shot about 690 to my 610.

The second match was against hall of famer Dave Soutar. Dave had a horrible reaction on the left lane and I didn't have a very good reaction on that lane either. All the left lanes on the low end hooked very early, and it was a battle to get the ball down the lane. However, I had to stay with a ball strong enough to get off the break point and not sail through it. With the help of 3 washout conversions, I survived 571-549.

The third match was against Kent Wagner, who I faced in this tournament last year. I was still on the low end of the house, where I really didn't have a good reaction. By late in the first game I realized Kent had a pretty good reaction, so I needed to make a ball change to keep up. I went to a stronger solid, moved right to go 20-10 (which is really steep for me). This worked until the end of the 2nd game, when the head oil went away. I tried to fight through it, but a couple of opens later I had to make another ball change. Down 95 after 2, I finally went to a weaker pearl and got back to a decent reaction. Kent's reaction vanished, and in the 9th frame I was clean with a 4-bagger and still had a chance. However I was a little short in the 9th, leaving a 2-4-7 to dash my chances.

This was a really good tournament - I was able to play steep angles deep on the lane with confidence. This is the best my armswing has felt in a very long time, and I'm looking forward to the next 3 stops.