Dom Barrett Leads PBA Wichita Classic Through Two Rounds
The last time the PBA Tour visited Northrock Lanes in Wichita, Kan., Dom Barrett left wearing a green jacket. The 2018 U.S. Open champion is on track towards another title as he leads the PBA Wichita Classic through two rounds of qualifying.
“I haven’t been here in five years since I won (the 2018 U.S. Open),” he said. “It was great walking in, the memories came back of having a great event and winning my second major.”
On the 45-foot Dragon oil pattern, Barrett racked up a total pinfall of 2,852 across two six-game blocks on Wednesday. He averaged 236.67 to eclipse other top-five finishers Jason Belmonte, David Krol, Bill O’Neill and Santtu Tahvanainen.
After a second place finish in Shawnee last week, Barrett said his physical game has rounded into form.
“You practice a lot at home and you try and get sharp, but nothing replicates the Tour,” Barrett said. “Last week it really started to click. I’m still keying off the same thing physically. (My) timing and pushaway has always been a key for me ever since I was a kid.”
Missouri’s David Krol sat in 11th after the first round of qualifying, but by the third game of the evening, he found himself in the lead. He began tonight’s block with a 257, then converted two spares to begin Game 2.
After that, Krol struck 31 consecutive times. He turned in games of 277, 300 and 265 to surge into the lead before ultimately settling in third place.
“I’ve never thrown 31 in a row before,” Krol said. “It’s just having a clear mind. I came in with the idea of getting to +300. After the first two games, I was at +150 already, so my arm swing was loose.”
Anthony Simonsen led the first round of qualifying, firing 815 his first three games of the tournament. Simonsen said urethane equipment looked okay during the practice session on Tuesday, but he slowly convinced himself that would be his plan of attack today.
“I’m big on ‘You don’t know if you don’t try’ so I gave it a go and was fortunate enough it worked out,” Simonsen said.
His plan worked again on the fresh, shooting 279 in Game 1 tonight, but he couldn’t match his morning’s torrid scoring pace.
With a total pinfall of 2,623, Andrew Anderson currently occupies the final spot in the cut.
The third round of qualifying begins at 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, Feb. 23. Six more games will decide the 22 players advancing to an additional six-game block on Thursday evening.
After all 24 games of qualifying, the field will be trimmed to the top 12 players for Friday’s round-robin match play competition.
Leaders after Round 2
- Dom Barrett, 2,852 (+452)
- Jason Belmonte, 2,847 (+447)
- David Krol, 2,832 (+432)
- Bill O’Neill, 2,817 (+417)
- Santtu Tahvanainen, 2,809 (+409)
- Anthony Simonsen, 2,804 (+404)
- Tom Daugherty, 2,778 (+378)
- Jakob Butturff, 2,767 (+367)
- Anthony Lavery-Spahr, 2,755 (+355)
- Tommy Jones, 2,750 (+350)
Full standings are available here.
Tournament Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 23
12 p.m. ET — Qualifying Round 3 (six games) — top 22 players advance
6 p.m. ET — Top-22 Qualifying Round (six games) — top 12 players advance
Friday, Feb. 24
11 a.m. ET — Round-robin Match Play Round 1 (six games)
3 p.m. ET — Round-robin Match Play Round 2 (six games) — top four players advance
7 p.m. ET — Stepladder finals
More information on the PBA Wichita Classic is available here.