Richie Teece leads Day 1 at the 2023 U.S. Open
The supremacy of C-squad was the story of the first day of the 2023 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling!
Eight of the top-10 players on the flat, 49-foot oil pattern came from C-squad, including tournament leader Richie Teece. The 33-year-old surged in front of Shawn Maldonado, who bowled on his pair all day, in the final frame.
After a slow start, Teece finished with games of 255 and 256 to take the overall lead. In fact, his three games over 250 matched all of A- and B-squads combined.
“It’s a very sensational feeling, and my first time leading the U.S. Open,” Teece said.
But Teece is not naive to the fragility of holding the lead through eight of 24 qualifying games.
“Having a small buffer always helps, but bowling this tournament for the last five or six years now, I know how quick that buffer can go,” he said.
Maldonado, Thomas Larsen, Tomas Käyhkö and François Lavoie round out the top-five players after eight games.
B-squad kicks off the second day of qualifying at 8 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
Full standings from Day 1 are available here.
2023 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling! Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 1 | Qualifying - Round 2 (eight games) | BowlTV
8 a.m. — B-squad
1 p.m. — C-squad
6 p.m. — A-squad
Thursday, Feb. 2 | Qualifying - Round 2 (eight games) | BowlTV
8 a.m. — C-squad
1 p.m. — A-squad
6 p.m. — B-squad — field cut to top 24
Friday, Feb. 3 | Round-robin match play | BowlTV
10 a.m. — Match play (eight games)
5 p.m. — Match play (eight games)
Saturday, Feb. 4 | Match play and TV finals
9 a.m. — Match play (eight games) - field cut to top nine | BowlTV
4 p.m. — TV finals, seeds 5-9 | FS1
Sunday, Feb. 5
2 p.m. — TV finals | FOX