That year, Fountain Bowl in Fountain Valley, California, hosted the BPAA Women's U. S. Open, and it elevated an already sensational young bowler to an elite level on the women's professional tour.
Anne Marie confided in a recent conversation with us that winning the '91 Open was a real turning point in her career because it was the first time she ever really believed in her ability and it boosted her confidence tremendously.
"It made me believe in myself much more," she said. "I had great support from people around me who all thought I could do it, but you don't really believe it yourself until it happens. And it was so much fun bowling at home. We had my mom and dad, my aunt and uncle, cousins, and many friends there. It was wonderful."
1991 was Duggan's eighth year on tour, and before winning her first major title at the Open, she had only three titles. It was few and far between, especially considering that she won her very first pro event in Houston in 1983 which propelled her to Rookie of the Year honors.
After winning the '91 U.S. Open, she won twice in '92, twice in '93, and three times in '94 including her second major, the Queens. It was her best year on tour. She made 11 TV shows in '94 and had four runner-up finishes . . . it all added up to earning the LPBT Player of the Year Award . . . and it all got started with that first major win at the Open in her hometown in 1991.
When it was all said and done, Duggan defeated event leader Leanne Barrette for the title, and she did it the hard way, climbing the five-player stepladder to win four matches. Barrette (now Hulsenberg) dominated the event qualifying and match play, finishing over 400 pins ahead of second place; yet Barrette and Duggan were tied after the first round of the event in 52nd place.
"We started slowly, but got it going in the long format," (56 games) she said. "I remember going into the last day, my husband Pat woke up in the middle of the night and said, 'I've got it.' That morning he drilled two strong Brunswick Black Phantoms, and it turned out to be the difference. "Pat is a critical thinker, and he talked a lot with Brunswick's Ray Edwards. The two of them together always knew what I needed."
Another bonus after winning her first major was a nice pro staff contract from Brunswick.
"I remember when Pat was drilling the balls, he said 'These are going to be monsters!' . . . so we joked all day that it was the monster balls that got me to the show and the title," said Anne Marie.
Or it might have been the Madonna song . . .
With 250 entries, the bowling center parking lot was very crowded, so the Duggan's parked their RV at Anne Marie's mom's house and drove over each day playing the song Vogue in the car . . .
"You're a superstar, yes that is what you are, you know it . . . come on, vogue . . . let your body move to the music"
Anne Marie said they changed the lyric to "bowl to the music" . . .
. . . Whatever it takes to get the job done.
Jim
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