LIGHTS KAMRON ACTION! 14 Year Old Steals Spotlight At US Open

He looks like Justin Beiber, and throws like Pete Weber. Kamron Doyle, a mophaired 14-year-old from Brentwood, TN, became the youngest player ever to cash in a Professional Bowlers Association Tour event, finishing 61st at the 69th U.S. Open in North Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 23.

The 5-foot-5, 105-pound eighth grader averaged 202 over 18 qualifying games to reach the casher’s round in 59th place out of a field of 394 amateur and pro bowlers. After eight more games of qualifying, Doyle completed his record-setting journey with a 200.77 average on the sport’s most difficult lane conditions. He earned $1,340, which was placed in his USBC SMART scholarship account.

Doyle, who took up bowling at age 7, previously cashed in a PBA Southern Regional event in Canton, Ga., in 2010, which was a record for non-national tour events. “This is my first U.S. Open,” Doyle said. “I heard how tough it was from my ball driller, but I didn’t believe him. I do now. You have no idea how tough it is until you do it. It’s brutal. You can’t miss by a centimeter. The heads burn up. The ball hooks at your feet. The lanes are snot-tight in back. “But the biggest lesson I learned is you have to make your spares.”

Doyle bowled his first three qualifying rounds with PBA Hall of Famer Johnny Petraglia, a 14-time PBA Tour champion and one of only six players to complete the PBA Triple Crown. “I think [Kamron] is going to be terrific,” said Petraglia. “I remember bowling with Pete Weber in a pro-am in St. Louis when he was maybe 15, and I see the same kind of swing, the same fiery attitude, the same attributes Pete had when he was a teenager. “His horizon is high.”

Doyle, whose father is an orthodondist, has already packed nearly $22,000 into his SMART account (which allows bowlers under the age of 18 to compete in professional events without forfeiting their amateur status). He’s not sure where he’ll attend college, or what his plans are for the future. “I don’t know what I want to do yet,” Doyle admitted. “My dad’s an orthodontist, so maybe I’ll follow him. But if I’m good enough I may want to be a professional bowler.”