August 26, 2023 Nolan Hughes

Anticipation fills the Florida air as the close of the 2023 PBA50 Tour draws near.

The PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions, returning for the first time this century, begins tomorrow at Orange Bowl Lanes in Lakeland, Fla. As the season’s final tournament, the TOC will determine the recipients of the PBA50 Player and Rookie of the Year awards.

The Player of the Year honor recognizes the top overall player in the season-long points standings, while the Rookie of the Year award goes to the freshman points leader.

Troy Lint and John Janawicz established themselves as the front-runners for PBA50 Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively, from the outset of the season.

Janawicz made a triumphant debut on the PBA50 Tour by winning the season-opening USBC Senior Masters. Lint wasn’t far behind with a third-place finish, which has, so far, been Lint’s worst finish in a major this season.

Lint’s dominance in major championships has kept him in the pole position since that Senior U.S. Open win in June — but Iowa’s Tom Hess has once again made a late-season push for the PBA50’s top honor.

In 2021, Hess won the season’s final two tournaments to capture both Player and Rookie of the Year honors. After his win earlier this week in Fort Myers — his second of the season — Hess has the opportunity to repeat history.

First place at the TOC awards 7,500 points and Lint leads Hess by 5,977 points on the season, which means Lint could secure the 1,523 points necessary to shut out Hess with a 14th place finish.

Meanwhile, Hess must win the tournament — and have Lint finish in 15th or lower — to seize the Player of the Year award from Lint’s grasp.

The elite freshman find themselves in a similar situation.

Janawicz, who holds a 5,185-point advantage over Jon Rakoski, could lock up Rookie of the Year honors with a sixth-place finish or better. Rakoski would need a win and Janawicz to finish in seventh place or lower.

The action begins Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Eastern. Players will bowl eight games on the 46-foot Petraglia oil pattern on Sunday and Monday, then cutting to the top-32 players. An additional eight-game block on Tuesday morning will determine the 16 advancers to round-robin match play.

The tournament and season will close out at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening with the five-player stepladder finals.

All rounds of the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Tournament of Champions will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

The champion will receive $15,000.

More information is available here. 

Tournament Schedule

Orange Bowl Lanes | Lakeland, Fla.
All times listed in Eastern.

Sunday, Aug. 27
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 1 (eight games)

Monday, Aug. 28
10 a.m. — Qualifying Round 2 (eight games)
Top 32 players advance

Tuesday, Aug. 29
8:30 a.m. — Advancers Round (eight games)
Top 16 players advance
2 p.m. — Match Play Round 1 (eight games)

Wednesday, Aug. 30
12 p.m. — Match Play Round 2 (eight games)
Top five players advance
6 p.m. — Stepladder finals