AKRON — For Shawn Maldonado, it came down to “trusting my gut.”
The 35-year-old Houston two-handed right-hander sat second after the opening six games of the KIA PBA Tournament of Champions. He got better by one spot Wednesday.
Maldonado had total pinfall of 1,418 during the second qualifying round, with a high game of 280, to take a 45-pin lead into today’s final qualifying round at AMF Riviera Lanes.
“Pairs played completely different than they did yesterday, but I was on top of it,” said Maldonado, whose only two PBA titles came during the 2021 season. “Every decision I made pretty much worked.
“There are a variety of ways to play these patterns. It came down to making good decisions, making good shots, trusting my gut and executing.”
First-round leader Dick Allen lost the lead following Game 5 of the second round following a 199 game. He now sits second with 2,799 to Maldonado’s 2,844.
The biggest jump of the day came from Tempe, Ariz., two-hander Jakob Butturff. The left-hander stood 17th after the first round, but together a block of 1,465 to jump to third at 2,785. He averaged 244.1 over his six games.
But the biggest jump came from Langhorne, Pa., right-hander Bill O’Neill. The 40-year-old 12-time LPBA Tour champion averaged 252.5 over the six games to climb from 38th after Day 1 to fourth at 2,767.
Also making a big move was defending champion Francois Lavoie of Canada, who climbed from 12th to fifth with 2,717.
“I was going through all kinds of balls,” Maldonado said, adding he used three balls, including a Hammer Purple urethane, during the round. “On the high end, it hooks from almost anywhere. But on the low end, some lanes hook in the middle where they are not supposed to. It was more confusing.”
Maldonado was plagued by a bulging disk in his back prior to the Players Championship in 2020. He missed that event and took four more weeks off.
He also had to change his physical game, taking his thumb out of the ball and going two-handed.
“I just couldn’t be as low to the lane as I used to be. I used to be real close to the ground,” said Maldonado, who turned pro in 2013. “I also didn’t take my thumb out of the ball until then. So I guess it has helped me.”
The bowlers will return for six more qualifying games at noon Thursday before the field is cut to the top 24 for the beginning of an eight-game match-play round at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Two more match-play rounds follow on Friday before the cut is made to the top five for Sunday’s stepladder finals, which will air on FS1 at 1 p.m.
NOTEBOOK: Tom Hess is the lone senior player in the top 24, sitting eighth with 2,699. … Jason Belmonte, who has not missed a top-five finish this season, is 10th with 2,690. … The biggest drop came from Tommy Jones, who had just 1,236 Wednesday, an average of 206 the included a 277 game, to fall from fourth to 24th. … Tickets for today’s rounds will be available at the door, $20 for the morning round and $25 for the evening.
For complete scores, go to https://www.r2sports.com/website/standings.asp?TID=38031
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