Princeton Masters will open Saturday with a heavy heart

The Princeton Masters will kick off this weekend at Pin Splitter Lanes with a heavy heart.

Longtime tournament director Dave Camp, a friend of every bowler, was killed in an auto accident Nov. 29, 2024, while riding with his family test-driving a car in Ottawa.

Randy Allen, the Princeton Men’s Association President, will step up as tournament director and knows there his a big void to fill.

“Losing Dave was a terrible loss for me, not only as a friend, but as a tournament director. There’s already a huge hole in our hearts,” Allen said.

To honor Camp, the Mike Young Sportsmanship Award will be renamed the Camp-Young Sportsmanship Award.

“Mike was Dave’s uncle, so it just seemed fitting,” Allen said.

AJ Egan upended defending champion JT Dant 210-203 in last year’s title game. It was Egan’s third Masters championship in five years, also winning in 2019 and 2022.

Also in last year’s step-ladder finals, Mike McClure came on strong from the No. 5 position to defeat No. 4 Drew Carpenter (258-222) and No. 3 Sam Lawrence (258-179).

Other bowlers to keep an eye on include past champions Joe Zokal and Randy Hanson along with young guns Chris Layton and Garrett Allen.

The first balls will roll at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for this weekend’s opening round. The finals will be contested Jan. 11-12.

Michael Camp rolled the only 300 game of last year’s tournament, his 14th overall, but will not be competing as he continues to recover from injuries he suffered in the accident that claimed his father’s life.

“I’m hoping he’s back in full force in next year’s tournament,” Allen said.