Mike Fagan (pictured left) of Dallas made another statement in his bid to become Professional Bowlers Association Player of the Year, averaging 240.22 in building a 119-pin lead over defending champion Mika Koivuniemi (right) of Hartland, Mich., after 18 qualifying games in the PBA Tournament of Champions Thursday at Red Rock Lanes.

Fagan finished Thursday's Round of 36 qualifying with a total of 4,324 pins. Koivuniemi had a 4,205 pinfall total.

The 18 players who survived Thursday's qualifying will bowl another 18 games of head-to-head match play Friday to decide the four players who will compete for the $80,000 first prize in the ESPN stepladder finals Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

The Tournament of Champions is the final event of the PBA Tour's 2011-12 season.

Fagan, who had won only two titles in nine previous seasons as a PBA Tour player, is seeking his third title of the 2011-12 season, including his second major championship after winning the United States Bowling Congress Masters in January.

He also finished second in the U.S. Open, another major, losing that title to Pete Weber by one pin in February, and the 31-year-old Long Island, N.Y., native won the Brunswick Euro Challenge in France in March for his fourth career PBA title.

Australia's Jason Belmonte and Norm Duke (left) of Clermont, Fla., are the only players who have won three titles during the 2011-12 season. Finland's Osku Palermaa (right) has won twice.

Belmonte (4th; 4,148) and Palermaa (7th, 4,093), who rolled one of two 300 games in the round (Englnad's Stu Williams had the other) remained in title contention. Duke (3,853) finished 25th and missed the cut to match play.

"I just felt comfortable today," Fagan said. "My tempo was good, my speed control was good, my ball reaction was good. It's probably something that's never happened to me like this before.

"Things are just clicking this year," he added. "I'm getting smarter with my equipment and I'm adjusting faster. The difference between me and top players last year was probably one shot a game, and I'm fixing that.

"I know things aren't over," he continued. "I'm just going to try to keep doing the same things. I've learned in tournaments like this, when you have a good shot, you'd better take advantage because it might not be there the next round."

Koivuniemi, who snuck into the Round of 36 by a single pin in a four-player roll-off at the close of Wednesday's Elite Field round, bowled with Fagan throughout Thursday's qualifying, advancing from third place to second during Thursday's evening round while cutting Fagan's early lead in half.

Rhino Page (left) of Dade City, Fla., finished qualifying in third place with 4,172 pins followed by Belmonte (right) in fourth place with 4,148 pins and Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., in fifth with a 4,124 total.

Bowling fans can follow the final 18 games of match play Friday through the PBA's exclusive coverage on Xtra Frame, the PBA's online bowling channel; through live scoring on pba.com, and through the Professional Bowlers Association on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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PBA Tournament of Champions - Round of 36 Standings

Players with position, hometown and 18-game total. The top 18 advance to the match play finals on Friday.

1, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 4,324
2, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 4,205
3, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 4,172
4, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4,148
5, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 4,124
6, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 4,105
7, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 4,093
8, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 4,086
9, Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 4,044
10, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 4,034
11, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 4,027
12, Robert Smith, Los Angeles, 4,016
13, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 4,003
14, Stuart Williams, England, 3,975
15, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3,965
16 (tie), Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., and Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,957
18, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,953

Missed Cut:
19, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,940, $5,500
20, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 3,914, $5,200
21, Tony Reyes, San Bruno, Calif., 3,896, $5,000
22, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,887, $4,900
23, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,862, $4,800
24, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 3,854, $4,700
25 (tie), Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,853, $4,550
27, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 3,847, $4,400
28, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., 3,806, $4,300
29 (tie), Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., and Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,805, $4,150
31, Todd Book, Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3,801, $4,000
32, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,754, $3,900
33, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 3,730, $3,800
34, Dom Barrett, England, 3,687, $3,700
35, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,646, $3,650
36, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 3,539, $3,600

300 Games: Osku Palermaa, Stuart Williams.