Good analysis George. I wasn't at this event, but what you say makes good sense.
The same thing happened at last years SPC, where A squad demolished it, as a lot of the extra oil to be applied outside 10 board was absorbed into the machines buffer roller. It wasn't until B and C squads that the roller reached a point of saturation and laid the full volume down outside 10. As the tournament went on, straighter became progressively greater.
Ironically, that situation happened because the house put the pattern down two weeks early and heir house bowlers, used to have 10 boards of Gobi Desert to bounce off squealed that they couldn't hook the ball. (Mainly because they're victims of their environment and can't hook the ball without the said 10 dry boards. Double irony there...)
What George suggests is the ideal situation. I'd say laying the pattern two days ahead would be a better result than not at all. Ultimately, what you really need is a bloody good laneman who knows the house in the season that the tournament is on. (Then pray it doesn't rain for a week.) Easier said than done.
Cheers,
Jason