The United States Bowling Congress wants to put an end to bowling’s ‘Oilgate.”
The governing body believes it’s a non-issue as it responded to allegations on Wednesday that last week’s USBC Masters tournament at Sunset Station’s Strike Zone Bowling Center in Henderson, Nev., favored the right-handers.
Barry Gurney, the well-respected 70-year-old bowler from West Hills, had said that the lane conditions hampered the left-handers, who as a whole turned in feeble performances.
Gurney said the heavy use of oil on the lanes’ left side saturated the balls used by the left-handers, giving the right-handers a distinct advantage.
In an email on Friday, the USBC said “oiling is not a perfect science and we make educated estimates. Strike Zone actually has had a history of lefties doing very well. Some may say they were a little tough on the left side this time around and we respect that point of view.”
Virtually all the lefties got wiped out before they reached the finals. Left-hander Hugh Miller, who owns seven PBA Tour titles and averaged 224 last season, for instance, failed to get past the second round of qualifying. He averaged 198.4 in the first round of qualifying to reach the second round, but his 208.9 average fell short of qualifying for the third round.
And Eric Forkel, another top-flight lefty with five PBA national titles and one major championship, failed to make the finals after being knocked out in the third round of qualifying.
But the USBC made no apologies. “There will always be debates about oil patterns and scoring,” the USBC wrote in its email. “If the number of lefthanders advancing was high, one could argue the right side had a disadvantage. We hear this often from both sides as it is simply part of the sport.”
Gurney, a prolific left-hander, speculated there was a growing tendency to hold back the lefties from maintaining the domination that they’ve long exhibited.
The USBC disagreed.
“The goal is to make a (oil) pattern competitive for all styles from both sides,” the USBC wrote.
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