Rory Clark defeated Don Benner in a two-frame rolloff at Dream Lanes Sunday to claim his first career MAST title.
Clark led the first half of the title match with strikes in four of his first six frames, but then opened the seventh and eighth frames, allowing Benner to double in his eighth & ninth frames to claim the lead. Clark bounced back by striking out his ninth & tenth frames for 206, leaving Benner needing a double in his tenth frame for the win. Benner got the first strike in the tenth, but left a 7-pin on his second shot, and converted the spare to get to 206 and force a two-frame rolloff.
In the rolloff, Clark started by striking in his ninth frame. Benner doubled his ninth & tenth, but then left a pocket 7-10 split in the eleventh and covered one pin to finish at 47. After striking on his first ball in the tenth, Clark left and then converted a 2-7 baby split to finish at 48 and earn the win.
Clark earned $457 for the win, with Benner taking home $323 for second. The other match play payouts Sunday were $182 for 3rd-4th, $124 for 5th-8th, and $104 for 9th-16th. Clark also earned $50 from the Bet to Win pot.
Forty-seven bowlers competed on the 2023 Wisconsin State Tournament Team pattern. The cut after four games of qualifying was 895. Mike Hoffman led qualifying at 1,005, earning him fifty bonus points in the M & J Truck and Auto Points Race. Despite the higher scoring pace, there were no honor counts Sunday.
Tour co-sponsor Matt Maly and M & J Truck and Auto added $300 to the prize fund for this event.
