By JILL WINTERS
PBA Communications
ABERDEEN, N.C. — Last year when it came to match play day at the PBA50 Granville Financial Open, Michael Haggitt was playing golf. This time around he is glad he will be on the lanes inside Sandhills Bowling Center.
The tall left-hander posted scores of 228, 249, 230, 256, 235, 257, 235 and 279 for a two-day total pinfall of 3,748 to take over the lead at the 2022 PBA50 Granville Financial Open, averaging 234.25.
The Springfield, Ohio, native was looking for a ball that would get through the fronts and read the backends, so he relied on a Hammer Web Pearl and Columbia 300 Speed.
“I was hoping the lanes would stay the same as yesterday and they did,” he said after averaging 246 on the day. “The more the pattern is laid out the flatter they get. As long as I can still control the backend with the fronts, I should be good.”
His best finish in a PBA50 tournament came at the 2021 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open in Clearwater, Fla.. He finished in fifth place.
There were two perfect games on Tuesday. Walla Walla, Wash., resident Russ Hunt rolled a 300 in the first game of the day and defending PBA50 Player of the Year Tom Hess shot one in Game 6.
Hess had a memorable final six games to end qualifying. He had 235, 279, 247, 300, 247 and 247.
“The first game I don’t think it was the ball it was more me pressing,” Hess said. “I switched to a (Roto Grip) Gem game two, which I should have started with today. Then I switched to an (900 Global) Altered Reality. That is when the strikes just started piling on.”
Hess went 355 over for six games, averaging 259.16, to move into second place with 3,745 total pinfall, just three pins behind Haggitt.
He admits his “achilles heel” has been trying to get comfortable but if he can do that early Wednesday, he likes his ability to repeat shots and put up more big scores.
Hess also credits PBA50 Tour manager Kelly Kulick with being a huge asset to him over the first three events on the schedule.
“Having a Hall of Fame set of eyes behind you, talking you off the ledge when you need talked off the ledge, and working you through what is going on pair-to-pair is absolutely unmeasurable,” he said. “Kelly has been unbelievable.”
The top 36 will bowl five-games in the advancers round starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The top 24 will then advance to three-game total pins bracket match play rounds until the top five are determined. The stepladder finals will start at 7 p.m. and can be viewed exclusively on BowlTV.
The final bowler to make the cut is new USBC Hall of Fame inductee Bob Learn Jr. with 3,418, just 44 pins out of the cut spot for match play. Last week’s PBA National Championship winner Parker Bohn III is fourth with 3,722.
Among area players, Akron’s Don Hogue finished 63rd with 3,307, and Ashtabula’s Dave Johnson was 62nd with 3,309.
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