Tom Hess Back To Work, Leading PBA50 Granville Financial Open
Aberdeen, North Carolina – Newly-minted PBA Hall-of-Famer Tom Hess continues to enjoy the spotlight. Three days after giving an emotional speech during the PBA Hall of Fame dinner in Fairlawn, Ohio, the Iowa native kicked-off his first senior tournament of the season by averaging 248 for seven games at the 2024 PBA50 Granville Financial Open.
“To stand on that stage and give that speech was 100% a dream come true. That's the only way to put it,” he said, choking back tears. “This is the tour that I earned my Hall-of-Fame status on, and I just feel like I belong here. It's nice to get back on this tour and be around the guys. It's just a breath of fresh air.”
The tall right-hander, who finished second to Chris Barnes at the 2022 PBA50 Granville Financial Open, is hoping to hold up another trophy. He felt “good vibes walking back into” Sandhills Bowling Center for Day 1 of qualifying on Monday, making his return to the PBA50. He’s breathing easy and already capitalizing on having one of the highest rev rates in the tournament.
“The kids’ tour was really a struggle, but it kept me sharp for when I came out here,” he said. “Unfortunately, I was not able to stay in the top 43 and remain eligible for the kids’ tour next year. I'll bowl the U.S. Open, the TOC, and the Masters, as long as I'm eligible. Maybe try to get a commissioner's exemption, but other than that, looks like my regular PBA career is over and I'm putting 100% of my focus now to the PBA50 Tour.”
That focus is off to a strong start at +336, holding a 138-pin lead over Barnes who is in second place at +198.
B-squad will take to the lanes first at 9 a.m. Eastern Tuesday for the final seven games of qualifying followed by Hess and the rest of the A squad at 3:30 p.m. After qualifying is complete, the top 44 players will move into Wednesday’s Advancers Round.
You can see the final day of qualifying on BowlTV.
Top 10 PBA50 Granville Financial Open standings:
- Tom Hess, 1,736 (+336)
- Chris Barnes, 1,598 (+198)
- Parker Bohn III, 1,596 (+196)
- John Janawicz, 1,571 (+171)
- Allan Pomatto, 1,569 (+169)
- Walter Ray Williams Jr., 1,563 (+163)
- Randy Weiss, 1,558 (+158)
- Troy McKinney, 1,541 (+141)
- Tom Adcock, 1,528 (+128)
- Dan Knowlton, 1,526 (+126)