RENO, Nev — James Fairley of Rockingham, North Carolina, and David Farmer of Hamlet, North Carolina, have worked well together on the lanes at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, and they showcased that chemistry Wednesday on the way to the lead in Standard Doubles at the 2023 event.
The pair was consistent in their showing at the National Bowling Stadium, posting combined scores of 413, 398 and 405 to move to the top of the leaderboard with a 1,216 total.
Fairley, a 58-year-old right-hander, rolled games of 190, 219 and 212 for a 621 series, while Farmer, a 49-year-old right-hander, had 223, 179 and 193 for 595.
Daisy Spellman of Gresham, Oregon, and Scott Sepich of Portland, Oregon, previously held the lead with 1,203.
As they approached the leading total, Fairley struck on four consecutive deliveries, starting in the sixth frame. Farmer posted a double in the eighth and ninth frames.
Both players covered spares in the 10th to take over the top spot.
“Our teammates knew the number, but we didn’t,” said Farmer, who made his 10th USBC Open Championships appearance. “We didn’t do so well last year, so we were looking for some redemption.”
Fairley and Farmer have been bowling doubles together at the Open Championships for the past couple years after getting matched up, and they quickly built a bond on the championship lanes.
“About three or four years ago, we bowled together for the first time at nationals,” said Fairley, who made his sixth tournament appearance. “It just happened, and we decided from there we had good chemistry and wanted to continue to bowl together.”
They travel to the tournament as part of a six-team group representing The Perfect Fit Pro Shop at the Sandhills Bowling Center in Aberdeen, North Carolina, and the camaraderie among all the teammates is easy to see.
There’s trust in one another to help with the next move on the lanes or provide a well-needed laugh to lighten the mood after a bad frame.
Fairley and Farmer have different types of games – Fairley attacks the lanes a little more direct, while Farmer tends to open up the lanes with his higher rev rate – but the communication is constant to find the best look.
“If I’m throwing a bad shot, he tells me just to get the next one,” Fairley said. “We watch each other’s game and give each other advice. His game is totally different than mine, but I can see that sometimes he’ll put a little too much speed on the ball and can let him know that. It’s just the chemistry that we have together.”
They’ll now wait and see how their scores stands against the competition at the 2023 event, but the chance to win at the Open Championships is something that left them looking for the right words to explain the experience.
“It’d be priceless and a dream come true,” Farmer said.
Fairley added, “Wow is all I can say. We’ve been bowling for awhile to get to that point. Every time we come out here, that’s what we shoot for, so it would be awesome.”
Farmer added sets of 630 in team and 481 in singles for a 1,706 all-events total. Fairley had 524 in team and 509 in singles for 1,654.
Standard Doubles features bowlers with combined entering averages of 311-350.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
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