By NOLAN HUGHES
PBA Communications
ALLEN PARK, Mich. — With two rounds of qualifying of the PBA Scorpion Championship in the books, the southpaws have made their mark. Left-handers occupy the first seven spots in the standings through 10 games on the 42-foot Scorpion pattern.
Packy Hanrahan leads the way, averaging more than 243, with a 2,432 (+432) total pinfall. Jesper Svensson sits two pins behind, while Keven Williams, James Blomgren and Urbana’s Graham Fach round out the top five.
“I really liked the longer formats and it gives you more time to adjust and figure it out,” Hanrahan said. “I’d like to think that I’m picking up on some of the tricks that are working and finding what moves the work across the house. I feel like this center is very speed (sensitive). I feel like you can throw a lot of good shots and 10-pin or 7-pin a lot, but if you can match up the speed and the ball roll, then it seems like all of those flat 10-pins or flat 7-pins just strike.”
Despite Hanrahan’s struggles this season, sitting 28th in points through the USBC Masters, Hanrahan said the PBA Elite League has helped increase his confidence throughout the year. He said the extra competition and experience under the lights has helped him sharpen his game and bring his focus to the next level, especially in pressure situations.
Hanrahan also credited the mentorship of Chris Barnes, his teammate on the KingPins. Hanrahan said Barnes told him the following before the KingPins’ first televised match in February:
“We want you to be the anchor, but you’ve got to want to be the anchor. If you want it, go get it. But I don’t want to hear you say that you don’t want it because we need you there — and I know that you can do it.”
“Hearing that from a guy that is essentially what I like to call like my bowling dad, makes you believe even more,” Hanrahan said.
In the PBA Scorpion Championship, Sweden’s Rasmus Edvall tops the right-handers at +357 in eighth place, followed by Ethan Fiore and Jason Belmonte at +356.
Fiore, a 19-year-old native of Tampa, Fla., has competed in the PBA South Region for three years. He made the leap to the national tour in last month’s PBA Delaware Classic, but did not advance through the pre-tournament qualifier. He also bowled the USBC Masters.
“My first two events, I wanted to absorb the experience and take in all I can,” Fiore said. “I asked a couple of guys about what they went through when they were learning and tried to apply it for this event. Bowling the regionals, we don’t use a ton of surface and we don’t use these steep angles, so you can’t really practice this type of stuff. I wanted to get out here and experiment during a practice session or maybe the first block and just see what everyone else does. I’ve been getting farther left quicker, throwing a slower ball speed, and using a lot more surface. It’s definitely a different aspect for me.”
Fiore said he dropped out of high school before his senior year to pursue his dream of professional bowling.
“This is my third year and I really just wanted to bowl,” he said. “I really, really wanted to do the regional tour and eventually get out here. I like to see instant gratification. I like to see a lot of success early, but I didn’t expect this quickly, especially with me being only three events deep.”
Through 30 games of the PBA World Championship, which includes qualifying across the Cheetah, Scorpion and Shark Championships, Justin Knowles has averaged more than 245 to lead the field with a total pinfall of 6,131 (+1,131).
Knowles led PBA Cheetah Championship qualifying and the first round of the PBA Scorpion Championship. Though he lost Tuesday in the Round of 16 to miss the Cheetah Championship finals, the eastern Michigan native said he is bowling with a ton of confidence right now.
“I thought I’d wake up this morning and be a little upset about yesterday, but man, I woke up in a good mood again. I’m just feeling good and I think the pins are feeling that. They’re falling for me and I’m getting a lot of hits on my good shots,” Knowles said after the first round on Wednesday. “I made a ball change after a double to start a game that I probably never would have made 100 times out of 100. I’ve bowled so much in here, it’s so easy to be comfortable. I trust in everything.”
After Thursday’s third round of Scorpion Championship qualifying, which begins at 11 a.m. Eastern, the top 16 players will advance to elimination match play.
Kyle Troup (+315) struggled his final two games on Wednesday, shooting 190 and 183 after a 766 start, and holds 16th place.
The defending champion Jakob Butturff sits in 18th place and 30 pins outside the current cut number.
Qualifying resumes at 11 a.m. ET and elimination match play for the 16 advancing players begins at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The four players who win two matches, plus the highest-qualifying player defeated in the Round of 8, will advance to the PBA Scorpion Championship finals.
Scorpion Championship Leaders After 10 Games
- Packy Hanrahan, 2,432 (+432)
- Jesper Svensson, 2,430 (+430)
- Keven Williams, 2,409 (+409)
- James Blomgren, 2,404 (+404)
- Graham Fach, 2,377 (+377)
- Deo Benard, 2,371 (+371)
- Justin Knowles, 2,361 (+361)
- Rasmus Edvall, 2,357 (+357)
- Ethan Fiore, 2,356 (+356)
- Jason Belmonte, 2,356 (+356)
Full standings are available here.
World Championship Leaders After 30 Games
- Justin Knowles, 6,131 (+1,131)
- Jesper Svensson, 6,029 (+1,029)
- Jason Belmonte, 6,002 (+1,002)
- Deo Benard, 5,984 (+984)
- Graham Fach, 5,967 (+967)
- Packy Hanrahan, 5,964 (+964)
- Matt Russo, 5,942 (+942)
- James Blomgren, 5,914 (+914)
- Marshall Kent, 5,914 (+914)
- Nate Purches, 5,895 (+895)
Full standings are available here.