Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater, Ohio, relishes its reputation as a center that’s extremely difficult to strike in. And once again, the sport’s top professionals will take on the challenge.

The PBA Tour heads to Coldwater for the 2019 PBA Bowlerstore Classic starting Thursday with all the action broadcast live on FloBowling.

Here are a few key points to get you ready for what is sure to be a low-scoring event:

Coldwater is always a challenge

The players know when they step into Coldwater they should have limited expectations of what the scoring pace will look like. This year should be no different.

Last year, it took just a 195.12 average to make the cut after qualifying, while only a handful of players even averaged 200 or better for the event.

So what makes Pla-Mor so difficult?

“Every lane is unique,” said former Team USA member and PBA rookie Tim Pfeifer, who finished 63^rd in last year’s event. “The middles hook, the gutters don’t hook and the pin carry is extremely challenging.

“The people there love it,” Pfeifer continued. “I think they’d be disappointed if we showed up and had a scoring pace like we did in Wilmington.”

Butturff mastered the challenge

One player who didn’t have any trouble mastering the Coldwater challenge last year was Jakob Butturff.

The left-hander averaged 218.17 for 17 games leading up to the stepladder finals and then defeated Tom Daugherty, 217-182, in the championship match.

“This win means everything,” Butturff told the PBA after the win. “Every time I come in here, it’s amazing. The fans want to see us bowl and they give us their all. They’re what keeps our sport going.”

Butturff skipped the PBA Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic over the weekend but will be back this week to defend his title.

The format and lane condition

Since Pla-Mor only has 16 lanes, the field is split up into three squads for qualifying on Thursday. Each squad will bowl eight games on fresh to determine the top third of the field that will advance.

The advancers, estimated to be 32 players, will bowl a four-game cashers round Friday morning. The top 16 will advance into the three-game Round of 16 with the top eight then moving into the two-game Round of 8.

When the dust settles after 17 games, the top four players will bowl for the title in the stepladder finals, which are estimated to begin at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday.

The pattern being used this week is the 34-foot Del Ballard pattern, which will have 23.85 mL of oil and a ratio of 1.54:1.

How to watch

Every round of the PBA Bowlerstore Classic, including the stepladder finals, will be broadcast live exclusively on FloBowling.

What the schedule looks like

Here’s the schedule for this event, all times listed are Eastern:

Thursday, Aug. 22
8 a.m. - Squad A Qualifying (eight games)
1:30 p.m. - Squad B Qualifying (eight games)
7 p.m. - Squad C Qualifying (eight games)

Friday, Aug. 23
11 a.m. - Cashers Round (four games)
1:30 p.m. - Round of 16 (three games)
3 p.m. - Round of 8 (two games)
5 p.m. - Stepladder Finals (top four)