It's been common knowledge for some time and officially was announced last week in the 2012-13 PBA schedule that the United States Bowling Congress Masters would be in New Jersey in 2013.
But it was news to me that the Masters would again be at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J. in 2014.
According to this USBC news release, the Masters will be Feb. 18-24, 2013 and on dates still to be determined in 2014.
Carolier has hosted numerous major tournaments, including last year's historic U.S. Open won for a record fifth time by Pete Weber.
"Major tournaments at Brunswick Zone Carolier have been very successful over the years and many of our bowlers have been asking for the event to move back east," USBC Managing Director of Media and Events Pete Tredwell said in the release. "It will have been 14 years since the Masters was held on the East Coast, and we are excited to bring the event back to an area where competitive bowling is very strong."
The Masters was last in the eastern U.S. in 1999 in Syracuse, N.Y.
It will be interesting to see what impact the move east has on entries. I expect — and hope — that they will be big.
The release also repeats that the 2013 Masters will see some format changes, with no cashers round and all competitors bowling 15 games of qualifying, and the stepladder finals featuring five players in a 2-hour show.
"To accommodate the change from four to five players making the show, the final match in the Masters elimination bracket will consist of four players battling for the final three spots on the show," the release states. "The four players will bowl one three-game match on the same pair of lanes with the high score earning the No. 3 seed, the second high score No. 4 and third high score fifth. The lowest scoring player will be eliminated."
This is the format that was used at the end of this year's USBC Queens.
