By NOLAN HUGHES
PBA Communications
KOKOMO, Ind. — After the first two rounds of the PBA Kokomo Classic, Packy Hanrahan sits atop the leaderboard.
The 27-year-old averaged more than 237 across 12 games at Heritage Lanes.
Players competed on the 37-foot Viper pattern for the first six-game round, and the 41-foot Harry Smith for the evening’s round.
Hanrahan threw a different Purple Pearl Urethane ball during each round. He said he used a stronger ball on the shorter pattern; on the longer pattern, he said he used one that retained more energy to allow himself to play a similar shape.
Indiana native EJ Tackett, who won the U.S. Open in Indianapolis and was second at last week’s Tournament of Champions in Fairlawn, sits in second place. Kris Prather, Graham Fach and Sean Lavery-Spahr round out the top five.
Prather averaged over 251 to lead the first round of qualifying. He started the block throwing a Pitch Black, but switched to a Reality Check at the end of Game 2.
“I had a really good idea as to what was going on, as far as where the oil was and where the friction was,” Prather said.
Anthony Simonsen and Jason Belmonte, who both made the championship round at Heritage Lanes last year, sit in 19th and 20th place. Belmonte defeated Nick Pate to win The Storm Cup: PBA David Small’s Kokomo Classic title last season.
Jakob Butturff occupies the 24th position, besting Tommy Jones and Darren Tang by four pins for the final spot in the cut.
The third round of qualifying begins at 11 a.m. Thursday morning. The top-24 players after Round 3 will advance to a fourth six-game round on Thursday evening.
The remainder of the tournament will feature a true dual-pattern format: Harry Smith on the left lane and Viper on the right lane.
For complete tournament scores, go to: