Brad Angelo On Top at PBA50 Fort Myers Classic
Fort Myers, Florida – The PBA50 is back, and Brad Angelo is glad to start the season at Lightning Strikes Bowl. He won his first title at the center in 2022, and his lowest finish is sixth place. Last year, he was a runner-up to Tom Hess.
He shot 269, 249, 234, 278, 247, 224 and 224 for 1,725, averaging 246.43 to make his way to the top of the leaderboard. When asked why he does so well at this particular Florida stop, he had two thoughts.
“I think because it is usually the first stop of the tour. I am not sad and missing home yet, so I am clear-headed,” Angelo said. “As we get deeper into the season, I start missing home and I am just going through the motions and not present. And my physical strength may be a natural match-up here.”
As a lead instructor with BowlU, Angelo practices what he teaches. With his clear mind, he relied on his strategic understanding and observation skills to see what exactly was happening on the lanes and adapted quickly. He made good choices, took advantage of a few breaks that kept several strings of strikes going and he was rewarded.
“I teach it all the time, so when I am on the lanes competing that is the stuff that is on the forefront of my mind. When I look back on my career, I have been able to live my dream for a long time,” he said. “I just want to take my experience and be able to pass it on to people so maybe they have a chance to live the same dream that I have been fortunate enough to live.”
Coming into the tournament, he did something he doesn’t typically do. He bowled the entire practice session to test our new equipment and try to get loose, since he usually only bowls three games a week. So far, his decision making is paying off.
Sammy Ventura’s game was also on point on Monday. He led those on A-squad averaging 243.71. He bowled 276, 289, 234, 256, 224, 235 and 192 for 1,706. The key to his success was using a money ball that saw the lanes really well. After posting 799 for his first three games, he surprised himself. This was the best he recalls bowling since 2019 when he led qualifying at the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open in Clearwater, Florida.
“It feels good. Father Time is undefeated. He is sitting on my doorstep, but he was not coming to lunch with me today,” Ventura said. “It feels good mentally. I was so in tune with the lanes. It was like I was changing channels, and I had all the buttons. To bowl good to start the season in the first block will give me confidence for the rest of the year.”
Behind Angelo and Ventura are Danny Wiseman, Parker Bohn III and Tom Daugherty in the top five. Daugherty, who is making his PBA50 debut, rolled one of two perfect games shot during day one of qualifying. Mika Koivuniemi had the other.
Angelo and B-squad will take to the lanes first at 9 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday for the final seven games of qualifying followed by Ventura and the rest of A-squad at 3 p.m. After qualifying is complete, the top third of the field will move into Wednesday’s Advancers Round. You can watch the final day of qualifying only on BowlTV.
Top 10 PBA50 Fort Myers Classic standings:
- Brad Angelo, 1,725
- Sammy Ventura, 1,706
- Danny Wiseman, 1,698
- Parker Bohn III, 1,697
- Tom Daugherty, 1,690
- Mark Clark, 1,674
- Michael Haugen Jr., 1,652
- Bill Watson, 1,645
- Mika Koivuniemi, 1,645
- William Fabian, 1,638