Ryan Ciminelli (pictured left) of Cheektowaga, New York, continued his strong run at the 2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open on Saturday, leading the field by 461 pins to earn his fifth TV appearance in a major tournament.

Ciminelli earned the top qualifying spot for Sunday's TV finals with a 13,445 pinfall total for 56 games, including bonus pins, to outdistance United States Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, Missouri.

2015 U.S. Open finalists: R-L Ciminelli, Weber, Duke, Barrett and Malott.

Sunday's stepladder finals will be televised live on CBS Sports Network starting a 1 p.m. (Eastern). The winner will take home the top prize of $50,000.

"If you would have told me that I would ever in my life lead the U.S. Open into the show, I would have told you that you were crazy," Ciminelli said. "It's just not that tournament for me, it hasn't been for the nine years I've been out here. But everything went right, things fell into place.

"What I've accomplished might sink in over the next week or so, but for right now I'm just going to put that aside and focus on one match."

Dominic Barrett of Colchester, England, qualified third followed by two-time U.S. Open winner Norm Duke of Clermont, Florida. Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, who won the U.S. Open the last time it was held in 2013, will have the opportunity to defend his title on the TV show.

"As far as defending the title, obviously that's one of the things we all want to be able to do and not only that but to do it close to home," said Malott (right), who rolled a perfect game Saturday. "I have a feeling a lot of family and friends will make the trip to come and see it."

Weber (left), who already has the record for most U.S. Open titles with five, would pass Earl Anthony for most major titles if he wins Sunday. Weber and Anthony each have 10 major titles.

"When I am out here just bowling I try not to think about that because I don't need to put any more pressure on myself," Weber said. "It would be great to go around Earl in major titles. It's Earl Anthony … come on."

The starting field of 275 bowlers at the 2015 U.S. Open completed 24 qualifying games over three days, before the field was cut to the top 92. The 32-game pinfall totals determined the 24 players for the 24 games of match play.

Bowlmor AMF, the largest operator of bowling centers in the world, committed to hosting and providing television sponsorship of more than $250,000 for the U.S. Open and U.S. Women's Open.

 

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2015 Bowlmor AMF U.S. Open - Match Play Round 3 (seventh round overall)

Players with position, hometown, won-lost-tied record and 56-game total; 30 bonus pins for a win, 15 bonus pins for a tie; top 5 advance to the stepladder finals; places 6-24 show earnings; (a) denotes amateur

For complete results, click here.

1, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 19-5-0, 13,445
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 14-10-0, 12,984
3, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 16-8-0, 12,852
4, Dominic Barrett, England, 14-10-0, 12,846
5, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 13-11-0, 12,816

Missed Cut:
6, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 15-9-0, 12,670, $5,000
7, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 14-8-2, 12,568, $4,500
8, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 12-12-0, 12,560, $4,000
9, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 15-8-1, 12,559, $3,500
10, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 14-10-0, 12,535, $3,400
11, Walter Ray Williams Jr, Oxford, Fla., 12-12-0, 12,528, $3,300
12, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 10-14-0, 12,527, $3,200
13, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 12-12-0, 12,494, $3,100
14, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 8-15-1, 12,466, $3,000
15, Mika Koivuniemi, Howell, Mich., 11-13-0, 12,429, $2,900
16, Aaron Lorincz, Saginaw, Mich., 12-12-0, 12,412, $2,800
17, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 11-13-0, 12,375, $2,700
18, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 9-15-0, 12,322, $2,600
19, Francois Lavoie (a), Wichita, Kan., 9-15-0, 12,263, $2,500
20, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 8-15-1, 12,209, $2,400
21, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 11-13-0, 12,186, $2,300
22, DJ Archer, Kingwood, Texas, 7-16-1, 12,125, $2,200
23, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 10-14-0, 12,107, $2,050
(tie) Stuart Williams, England, 9-15-0, 12,107, $2,050.

300 games - (1) Wes Malott.