By DAVE SCHROEDER
USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS — Parker Bohn III of Jackson, N.J., set a 12-game scoring record Friday and continues to lead after two rounds of the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Super Senior Classic at Sam’s Town Bowling Center.
Bohn, a 62-year-old left-hander, totaled 2,977 pins for his 12 games of qualifying (248.1 average). That total was 50 pins better than the 12-game mark set by Finland’s Timo Raatikainen last year.
The USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer, who also led after Round 1, holds a 61-pin lead over fellow lefty John Marsala of St. Louis (2,916). Bowling on the fresh pattern Friday morning, Bohn put together games of 212, 227, 237, 279, 227 and 266 in his quest to win his first title at this venue.
“I started with the two balls that worked best yesterday, which were a Black Hammer and a Spawn,” Bohn said. “I wasn’t seeing the lanes quite the way I wanted to my first game, so I switched balls in the middle of that game. I bailed that game out and, slowly after that, things went on the uptick. I felt like I was seeing the lanes really well coming down the homestretch. I think I had maybe 770 or 780 those last three.”
Bohn, who owns 35 PBA Tour titles, 11 PBA50 Tour titles and one PBA60 title, talked about the scoring pace of the event thus far.
“Whether the scores are high or low, you still want to make good shots,” Bohn said. “When they are a little higher like they are so far here, it’s all about getting lined up and getting the ball clean off your hand. Once you do that, it’s a matter of letting the lane hold the ball or recover the ball back to the pocket. If you’re lined up properly and you make good passes, you can produce some scores.”
Marsala, who won this event in 2023, had an interesting Round 2. In his odd-numbered games of the block (Games 1, 3 and 5), Marsala shot 228, 218 and 202. In his even-numbered games (Games 2, 4 and 6), he shot 289, 279 and 299. His six-game total of 1,515 was the best of Round 2 and moved him from fifth to second.
Bohn and Marsala competed on B Squad and bowled on the fresh Friday morning. The next three bowlers in the standings bowled on A Squad and competed on the burn in Round 2.
Raatikainen didn’t let the fact that Bohn erased his record hold any sway over his performance. The right-hander, who features a delivery where he keeps his thumb out of the ball, remained in third place after Round 2 (2,824). Raatikainen finished tied for seventh in this event last year.
Lefty Dennis Horan Jr. of Oakley, Calif., moved up from 13th place into fourth by averaging 240.5 in Round 2. Horan, who won four titles on the PBA Tour, checks in with 2,803 pins.
Completing the top five is right-hander Tom Adcock of Forsyth, Ill., with a pinfall of 2,787. Adcock was 15th after Round 1.
Former North Canton resident Tim Elsass, now residing in Ellington, Conn., is 29th in the 206-player field with 2,635.
Bohn has seemingly done just about everything in the sport, but he still has at least one goal left to accomplish.
“I said a couple years ago that I’m on the chase to get to 100 titles,” Bohn said, referring to total wins in PBA Tour, PBA50, PBA60 and PBA Regional competition. “I know Walter Ray (Williams Jr.) has done it and I’m not looking to catch his number, but I’d like to get to 100. I still have a long way to go, but it would be one more thing I could check off the list.”
Qualifying consisted of two six-game blocks over Thursday and Friday for the 206-player field, with one squad being contested on the fresh 42-foot oil pattern and one block on the burn each day.
The top 52 bowlers after 12 games of qualifying now advance to Saturday’s cashers’ round at the 2026 Super Senior Classic.
Defending champion James Campbell of Loudon, Tenn., is safely inside the cut number in 19th place (2,672). Curt Guinn of Hodges, S.C., earned the 52nd and final spot for the cashers’ round. Guinn totaled 2,573 pins for his 12 games of qualifying (214.42 average).
The advancers will bowl another six-game block, starting Saturday at noon Eastern, with total pinfall for 18 games helping place the top 12 into one of two match-play groups.
Group 1 will feature the qualifiers who placed as an odd seed (1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11), while Group 2 will consist of the even seeds (2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12). The match-play round will get underway Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
Each participant in match play will bowl six head-to-head games in their group, including a final position round. Each victory will be worth 30 bonus pins.
At the end of match play, the top finisher in each group – based on 24-game totals including bonus pins – will earn a spot in Sunday’s main stepladder finals. The player with the top pinfall total will be the No. 1 seed for the main stepladder, while the other group leader will be the No. 2 seed.
The second-, third- and fourth-place finisher in each match-play group will have the opportunity to work their way into the main stepladder through a group stepladder Sunday at Sam’s Town. The group stepladder will begin at noon Eastern.
The bowlers in the third and fourth position in each group will face each other in a single-game match, with the winner advancing to take on the competitor in the second position. The winners of the final match in the group stepladder will advance to Sunday’s main stepladder and face each other in the opening match, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The winner of the 2026 Super Senior Classic will take home an $8,000 top prize, while the runner-up collects $6,550.
After the conclusion of the Super Senior Classic, the top bowlers age 50 and older will take to the lanes at Sam’s Town for the 2026 USBC Senior Masters.
The Senior Masters is the second major championship on the 2026 PBA50 Tour schedule and will be held from June 1-7.
BowlTV is providing livestream coverage of both events.