WECKBA would like to congratulate 2022 Molson Masters Champions, Dylin Hunter (OPEN Division) and Dave Forfitt (SENIORS Division). This year’s tournament was the 66th and was completed on Saturday March 26, 2022.

The Molson Masters is a tournament with a very long, rich history. It has been hosted at Palace Recreation, Crescent Lanes, Revs Bowlero, and now at Revs Rose Bowl. It is important that the local bowling community thank Nick Stein (Tournament Director), Jeremy Bas (Tournament Coordinator), and Tournament Sponsors (Molson’s, Penalty Box South, Revs Rose Bowl) for all their hard work in hosting this tournament.

The 66th Molson’s Masters Bowling Classic was back after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic. This tournament is normally dedicated to a past champion but this year the tournament was dedicated to Robert Scussolin from Cogeco who hosted the first TV telecast in 1985 and was instrumental in making sure that the tournament was broadcast yearly. Once again insurance agent Glenn Bondy from Desjardins Insurance offered to pay $1,000 to the first 300 game bowled with the second $1,000 being given as a donation to Drouillard Place. There was $11,250 in prize money for the 2022 tournament including $6,300 for the TV finals with $2,000 going to first place in the Open division and $800 going to first place in the Senior Division.

The Open finalists featured one former champ, one defending champ, one veteran seeking his first title and two first time TV finalists. Dylin Hunter led the Open Finalists. Dylin has bowled in this tournament just three times and each time he has made it to the TV finals finishing as a former champion in 2019. Darren Alexander, who is defending champion (2020), former champion (2015) and was high qualifier this year was the #2 seed looking for his third title. Randy Churchill JR was making his third appearance to the TV finals as the #3 seed. Pierre Belliveau, from London, made his first appearance to the TV finals as the #4 seed. Chatham’s Alex Formosa made his first trip to the TV finals as the #5 seed.

The Senior finalists featured one defending champ, and three first time TV finalists. Dave Forfitt, who won in 2013 was the #1 seed. Mike Voligny ran away from his group in match play to advance as the #2 seed. Chris Woodman threw a 222 in the last game in match play to win his group by 16 pins to make the TV finals as the #3 seed. Brian Neels, who was in a three-way tie as a first alternate, bowled a one game knock-out to make his way into match play when the defending champion Rick Vittone had to withdraw due to injury. In match play Neels defeated 2- time champ Rick Goyeau and 7-time champ Todd Sim to win his group and advance as the #4 seed by just 16 pins.

The Molson Masters runs over 4 weekends. It features a Senior Division (55+) and an Open Division. The tournament starts with two weeks of Qualifying, followed by one week of Match Play, and the fourth week is the TV Step Ladder Finals. To qualify in the Senior Division bowlers bowl 4 games over 4 pairs of lanes while the Open Division participants complete 5 games over 5 pairs of lanes.

The TV format is set up so that the Senior Division and the Open Division alternate the bowling in match play for the stepladder finals. The Open Division bowls the first match then the Senior division bowls a first match. Once you bowl a match and win then you sit and wait between the two different divisions. It makes it harder to bowl and stay consistent because lanes can change between the starting and stopping. Sometimes the #1 seeds might see this as an advantage because they do not have to bowl then sit and wait to bowl again.

SENIOR DIVISION – For Match Play – the top 15 Senior bowlers, plus last year’s Champion, are divided into 4 groups of 4 bowlers each. They bowl each bowler once in their division. Then they bowl a final position round within their own group. Each time a bowler wins their match he earns a 30-pin bonus added to their score. They move over to a new pair of lanes for each new game bowled. The top Senior bowler from each of the 4 Senior Division groups advance to the TV step ladder finals.

Senior Division – Match Play – Final Results

Senior Division – Step Ladder – TV Finals

In the Senior Division Step Ladder finals, the results were as follows:
Brian Neels (186) vs Chris Woodman (243)
Chris Woodman (169) vs Mike Voligny (163)
Chris Woodman (243) vs Dave Forfitt (245) – Dave Forfitt is 2022 Senior Molson Masters Champion

Brian Neels (4th seed) initially started bowling at Thunder Bowl in the county but now bowls at Super Bowl. Last season he carried a 201 average. Brian started bowling at age 6. He has bowled nine 300 games and two 800 series. His match play record was 2-2. He averaged 220 in match play. Neels had a very tough match play division with two past champions, Rick Goyeau and Todd Sim, in his group who had both won the tournament on many previous occasions, but he still squeaked through by 16 pins. He qualified as an alternate for match play in a three-way tie with a series of 836. He had to bowl a one game roll-off to qualify for a match play position when the defending champion Rick Vittone had to pull out due to injury. Brian was having difficulty with his health during the TV finals due to a problem with Vertigo, but he still gutted it out to bowl his match. This was Brian’s first time in the TV finals. Neels indicated that he wanted to thank Murray Rose for all the help he gave him as a junior bowler and for the late John Pavicic for helping him shape his game as a junior bowler.

Chris Woodman (3rd seed) started bowling at Bowlero, but now bowls at Revs Rose Bowl. Last season he carried a 207 average. Chris has been bowling for 35 years. He has bowled four 300 games and two 800 series. His match play record was 2-2. He averaged 226 in Match play. He qualified 3rd for match play with a series of 934. Woodman was on fire in his first game of the TV finals. Chris made it all the way to the final match of the TV finals with each of the final two games needing a double in the 10th frame to win each match. In the final game he did not get the double and ended up being the runner up. This was Woodman’s first time to the TV finals.

Mike Voligny (2nd seed) bowls at Revs Rose Bowl. Last season he carried a 207 average. Mike started bowling at age 5. He has bowled fifteen 300 games and three 700 series. His match play record was 3-1. He averaged 224 in match play. He qualified 2nd for match play with a series of 936. In the TV finals match, Voligny had a chance to win the game in the 10th frame but a split cost him the match. If it was any consolation, he forced his opponent to throw a double in the 10th frame to win the match. This was Voligny’s first time to the TV finals. Mike indicated that his mother was his support system. She saved all his bowling shirts and all his awards. His mother passed away five years ago so he was bowling in this tournament in honour of his mother.

Dave Forfitt (1st seed) bowls at Revs Rose Bowl and Super Bowl. Last season he carried a 228 average. Dave started bowling at age 25. He has bowled thirty-six 300 games and eleven 800 series. A rarity in this age, Forfitt uses the same ball for his strike and spare shooting. His match play record was 4-0. He averaged 236 in Match Play. He qualified 5th for match play with a series of 910. In the TV finals match, Dave just had to bowl one game in the final match. It came down to the final frame where Dave bowled a 245 to beat Chris Woodman by two pins to win the Molson masters Senior championship for a second time. This was Forfitt’s fourth time to the TV finals. He was high qualifier in 2014 (Senior), runner-up in 2014, 2019 (Senior), and a prior champion in 2013 (Senior). Dave had the following to say about his Molsons experience “I bowled in the open division 5 times but never made the TV finals. I bowled the senior division 5 times and made the TV finals 4 times. Bowling in the Molson’s is always fun, but it can be challenging. I find trying to qualify the toughest. Once you make the cut the competition gets tougher, but I tend to relax a bit more. TV finals are one game which can go either way so you must focus on finding a line quickly because if you blink it could be over. “

OPEN DIVISION – For Match Play – the top 39 Open bowlers, plus last year’s Champion, are divided into five groups of eight bowlers each. They bowl each bowler once in their division. Then they bowl a final position round within their own group. Each time a bowler wins their match they get a 30-pin bonus added to their score. You move over to a new pair of lanes for each new game bowled. The top Open bowler from each of the 5 Open Division groups advance to the TV step ladder finals.

Open Division – Match Play – Final Results

Open Division – Step Ladder – TV Finals

In the Open Step Ladder finals, the results were as follows:

Alex Formosa (201) vs Pierre Belliveau (194)
Alex Formosa (235) vs Randy Churchill JR (248)
Randy Churchill JR (247) vs Darren Alexander (252)
Darren Alexander (214) vs Dylin Hunter (247) – Dylin Hunter is 2022 Open Molson Masters Champion

Alex Formosa (5th seed) bowls at Bowlerama in Chatham and is just 23 years of age. Last season Alex carried an average of 213. Formosa started bowling 5-pin at age 4 then switched to 10-pin at age 10. He has bowled three 300 games and one 800 series. Like Dave Forfitt Alex uses the same ball for his strike and spare shooting. His match play record was 6-2. He averaged 209 in Match Play. Alex struggled in the first half of match play but in the second half he bowled strong allowing him to make it to through to the TV finals by 14 pins. He qualified 38th for match play with a 1099 series. In Formosa’s first game of the TV finals, he was able to advance to the second- round match due to a string of strikes which put him ahead of his opponent by 7 pins even though he opened with a split in the 9th frame. The second game of the TV finals Alex was not so lucky as the 7-10 split in the 9th frame cost him the match. He is a strong bowler so he will be bowling in the Molson Masters for many years. This was his first time to the TV finals.

Pierre Belliveau (4th seed) bowls at Heritage Lanes in St. Thomas and Hi-Way Bowl in Sarnia. Last season Pierre carried an average of 199. He has bowled one 300 game and one 799 series. Pierre is left-handed and uses a very short approach on the lanes. His match play record was 5-3. He averaged 231 in Match play. He qualified 4th for match play with a 1200 series. In Belliveau’s first game of the TV finals he lost a close first game match by 7-pins. Unfortunately, he was unable to match the string of strikes thrown by his opponent in the second half of the first game. This was his first time to the TV finals.

Randy Churchill JR (3rd seed) bowls at Super Bowl and is known as a power bowler. Last season Randy carried an average of 229. Churchill JR started bowling at age 7. He made Team Canada and bowled in El Salvador at age 19. Churchill JR has a sanctioned 258 triplicate which is one of the highest in Canada. Randy has bowled thirty- two 300 games and four 800 series. His match play record was 5-3. He averaged 233 in Match play. He qualified 17th for match play with a 1156 series. In Randy’s first game of the TV finals, he beat his opponent by 13 pins with a 248 game when his opponent opened with a 7-10 split in the 9th frame. The second game of the TV finals Churchill JR threw a 7-10 split in the 6th frame to ultimately lose the match by 5 pins. Both he and his opponent matched with strikes to finish their games, but the split proved to be costly. This was his third time to the TV finals. This is the first father son duo to make the TV finals.

Darren Alexander (2nd seed) bowls at Super Bowl and Alley Pub & Grill (formerly J&D) in Tilbury and is known as an elite bowler in the local bowling community. Last season Darren carried an average of 237. Alexander started bowling at age 3. He became interested in bowling because his grandparents introduced him to the game many years ago. Darren is very involved in bowling besides just bowling in leagues:

•  has been a member of Team Canada the last 3 years
•  has been on staff with Roto Grip the last 4 years
•  is a member of the Canadian Athletes 10 pin Council
•  partners with Haley Lundy with their DH Bowling YouTube channel

Alexander has bowled sixty-nine 300 games and forty-two 800 series. His match play record was 7-0-1. He averaged 235 in match play. He qualified 1st for match play with a tournament record series of 1322. He was high qualifier for 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2022. He was the prior Open Champ in 2015 and 2020 (Defending Champ). In Darren’s first game of the TV finals, he beat his opponent by 5 pins for a 252 game when his opponent opened with a 7-10 split in the 9th frame. The second game of the TV finals Alexander left the 10-pin spare in four consecutive frames to convert along with the 4-6 split in the 10th frame. These frames proved to be costly, because his opponent was stringing strikes while Darren was converting spares. This was his sixth time to the TV finals. Darren is a powerful bowler so we will be seeing Darren in the TV finals for many years to come. Brian Neels and Darren Alexander became very close friends over many years. Darren would go watch his grandparents and Brian bowl when he was a little kid. Brian helped Darren become a better competitor and better bowler helping him to keep his cool. People that bowl with Darren describe him as a person who has a great deal of experience over the years about bowling. He seems to know how to read the lanes, understand when they are starting to break down and where to roll the ball based on the lane conditions.

Dylin Hunter (1st seed) bowls at Super Bowl and is known as a power bowler in the local bowling community. Last season Hunter carried an average of 225. Dylin started bowling at age 8. He attended Adrian College in Michigan and was an All-American bowler (2014-15 thru 2017-18). He has bowled three 300 games and six 800 series. His match play record was 6-1-1. He averaged 241 in match play. He qualified 25th for match play with a series of 1119. He was the Open Champ in 2019. In 2020 he ended up in 4th place in the TV finals. In his one game TV final match this year, he bowled a 247 game against his opponent. It came down to the final five frames where Dylin bowled a 247 vs 214 to beat Darren Alexander to win the Molson Masters Open championship for a second time. This was his third time to the TV finals. Dylin is a very young powerful bowler who will be participating in the TV finals for many years to come. People who bowl with Dylin say he has his father’s demeanor in that he is calm, friendly, and great to bowl against no matter how he is bowling.This year’s tournament did not disappoint as we had a mix of some previous champions and some relatively new bowlers to the stepladder final. Most of the matches the momentum kept going back and forth between competitors right until the final ball in the 10th frame. In most of the games a split in a late portion of the game or a string of strikes was the deciding factor in the match.Some of these bowlers indicated that they had a past bowler who inspired them to be the bowler that they are today. Hopefully this younger generation of bowlers, continues the trend to inspire the next generation of future bowlers coming up through the ranks.It is important that we congratulate each of the step ladder final tournament participants. Each of them considers it an honour to make it to the finals. They all experienced nervousness and had trouble reading the lanes just like the rest of us. Each of these competitors reached a major milestone. It was exciting to watch the TV finals as each of these competitors made the matches nerve racking right down to the final ball.

Catherine Wilbur