PLANO, Texas - Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, may reside nearly 1,100 miles from Plano Super Bowl, site of the 2017 U.S. Women's Open, but she's felt right at home this week in Texas.
The 47-year-old right-hander is among the 24 competitors who advanced to round-robin match play at the 2017 event, finishing qualifying Friday in third place with a 32-game total of 7,280.
Woessner, who has been inducted into four halls of fame in Ohio, journeys south to Texas several times each year to compete in tournaments with her father, John.
Plano Super Bowl often has been the host center for those trips, and she has used the information gathered from those visits to find the ball motion necessary to average better than 227 through four rounds at the U.S. Women's Open.
Having her father's support in person throughout the week also has helped create a positive environment on and off the lanes.
"I love having my dad here," said Woessner, who posted a record all-events total (2,330) on her way to a pair of titles at the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships. "He's always a great supporter and a great bowler in his own right. I've been able to learn so much from him. Even though I've never lived down here, I've probably bowled here with him 20 or 25 times throughout the years. I'm very comfortable and confident in this center, which certainly has helped this week."
Also helping with her confidence this week was a recent practice session with USBC Hall of Famer John Gaines, who helped Woessner during the PWBA Orlando Open last month.
"I struggled a little bit this season but have been throwing the ball better the last few events," Woessner said. "I worked with John at the Orlando stop, and we focused on when I would collapse my shoulder. I've really been focusing on that and making sure I stay back, and it's been working great for the last couple of weeks."
Woessner has been a steady performer at the U.S. Women's Open over the past several editions, advancing to the match-play portion at the event each year since 2010.
Match play didn't go as well as Woessner would have liked at the 2016 event in Addison, Illinois, where she finished with a 11-12-1 record to finish in 19th place, but she intends to utilize a different mindset in hopes of making a championship-round appearance Sunday.
"I got ahead of myself last year, and this is an event where you need to have patience," Woessner said. "There have been a lot of strikes this week, but you just don't strike on every pair, so I've been working and focusing on grinding through those games and not looking too far ahead."
Three-time defending champion Liz Johnson of Deerfield, Illinois, holds the lead heading into match play with a 7,398 total. Shannon O'Keefe of O'Fallon, Illinois, the 2007 and 2015 runner-up at the U.S. Women's Open, is second with 7,347.
Bryanna Coté‚ of Red Rock, Arizona, earned the final spot in match play after firing 245 in her final game to finish in 24th place with 6,987, a 218.34 average.
Match play will kick off Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern with the first of three eight-game blocks and continue Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern.
At the conclusion of Saturday's competition, 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win in match play, will determine the five players for Sunday's live TV finals, airing on CBS Sports Network at noon Eastern.
All competitors at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open bowled 24 qualifying games over three days to determine the 38 players advancing to Friday's cashers' round.
All qualifying and match play rounds of the 2017 U.S. Women's Open can be watched live on Xtra Frame, the online bowling channel of the Professional Bowlers Association.
