

Finland's Osku Palermaa (l.) and Australia's Jason Belmonte (r.), the top two-handed bowlers in the world, led the field of 24 finalists into the opening round of match play in the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions Thursday at Woodland Bowl. Palermaa, a three-time PBA Tour champion and winner of the 2011 PBA World Championship, averaged 244.88 for his 24 qualifying games, finishing with a total of 5,877 pins to lead Belmonte by 146 pins.