Storm Idaho Open Power Rankings 12 - 9
The Storm Northwest Tour heads to Burley Idaho for the Storm Idaho Open. In a center that saw an epic battle between Gio and Josh Link on the pink lit pins, we look to crown a new champion. As with just about every center on the circuit, Snake River Bowl will show its teeth with its unique lane surface that is sure to challenge all who attempt to conquer this event. Let's dive into who we think has the best shot at taming this viper.
12. Clay Rees - Clay falls to just in the power rankings this week coming off a missed cut in Ronan. Clay has had a few up and down tournaments since winning the CB Masters missing cuts at the Idaho Masters and now Ronan. Can Clay bounce back after a forgettable Utah Open where he finished tied for 31st? Clay has had quite a bit of success in this center and on a pattern like we are bowling on this weekend, and would expect to see him Sunday. How far will he make it will depend on his confidence and the adjustments he makes.
11. Kendle Miles - Kendle is coming off a solid finish at the Utah Open finishing 11th. Kendle has had success at Snake River Bowl as well, finishing 8th at this event last year. Kendle seems to always find himself just a game or 2 away from breaking into the step ladder. What is it that's preventing us from seeing him more often? Consistently we see Kendle nab top 15 finishes and having a shot at the show with 2 to go, and falls just a hair short. We talked and he feels he is 1 move away from breaking out. Whether that's a ball change, or a speed and rotation change, he’s gonna have to figure that out. We absolutely want to see Kendle make a show, and we are hoping it’s this weekend.
10. Giorgio Clinaz - Gio is another big name falling very far down our list. It feels harsh to put him number 10 as the defending champion. Bluntly, Gio has been in a slump. His performances just aren't up to par for the caliber of player he is. We sat down with Gio and talked about some of his struggles which you’ll see in our interview with him, but what is it gonna take to break out of it? He had a decent finish in Ronan, but far from where he expected to be. Gio’s ball roll really helps in this center where the hook is in some really odd places. The surface is very speed sensitive and he controls the direction that's there with how forward he rolls it. Hard to sleep on the defending champion, but if Gio is looking to go back to back, he's going to need to shake those demons very quickly.
9. Marcia Kloempken - After finishing 8th place at the Storm Utah Open and really it was much tighter than that as she caught a tough pair and shot 157, Marcia is riding a wave of momentum. She matches up really well when they are tough, can keep the ball in front of her, and made some really clutch shots down the stretch at the Utah Open. We know in the past at this center, playing straight for longer has been successful, we saw that with Lindsay Boomershine making the show 2 years ago. If Marcia can make some good decisions late on Sunday she has a real shot of making a very deep run. We hope to see some of that fire on the show!
The 2023 Storm Idaho Open begins at 8 AM Saturday March 4th with the first of 6 qualifying squads LIVE on Championship Bowling’s YouTube page! For the full schedule check our pinned post on Facebook and Instagram.