Hess has early lead at PBA50 Lightning Strikes Lanes Open
Fort Myers, Florida – Tom Hess had an unforgettable first season on the PBA50 Tour last year being named PBA50 Bowler of the Year and PBA50 Rookie of the Year. Already he has rolled that success over into the first event on the schedule.
During day one of qualifying at the PBA50 Lightning Strikes Lanes Open, Hess shot 227, 258, 279, 279, 227, 279 and 247 for 1,796. The Iowa native averaged a blistering 256.57 over seven games on Tuesday.
“I was trying too hard in the beginning,” Hess said as he left several 10-pins in game one. “I decided to relax my hand and just let it go. From there the ball started going through the pins and it started striking.”
Hess did a lot of striking first with his Storm Proton PhysiX then with his Global 900 Altered Reality from game five through seven.
At this tournament last year, Hess made the cut but lost early, so he is looking for a better outcome. He has a 44-pin lead over Tom Adcock who is averaging 250.29.
Hess doesn’t see the scores coming down much over the next couple of days. The top eight bowlers on the leaderboard are averaging 240 or higher and 57 bowlers are averaging at least 220.
“Guys are going to have to keep striking to make it,” Hess predicts.
Leading the way for the A squad was Mike Preston who averaged 249.14. The Gainesville, Florida resident competes only in the Florida tournaments each year on the PBA50, and he was thrilled with his opening scores.
“I just got locked in, never really had to move and never changed bowling balls for the entire time,” he said of the reaction from his Hammer Obsession Tour. “Lightning Strikes hosts a bunch of tournaments, and I am just comfortable in this house.”
The right-hander hopes to see a similar look on the lanes Wednesday so he can get locked in again, and if he can, he likes his chances of competing for his first ever PBA50 title.
Qualifying rounds continue with seven more games Wednesday starting with the B squad at 8 a.m. Eastern. After the A squad finishes, one-third of the field will move on to the advancers round with all pins carrying over to Thursday.
You can watch the PBA50 action exclusively on BowlTV.
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PBA50 LIGHTNING STRIKES LANES OPEN TOP 10 THROUGH 7 GAMES
- Tom Hess 1,796
- Tom Adcock 1,752
- Mike Preston 1,744
- Parker Bohn III 1,712
- Brad Angelo 1,704
- Jon Rakoski 1,704
- Jeff Johnson 1,695
- Dino Castillo 1,680
- David Covington 1,679
- Michael Haugen Jr. 1,665