Chris Barnes (pictured left) of Double Oak, Texas, finished strong to overtake Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr. at the end of the first round of match play in the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour Motor City Open, the kick-off event in the inaugural PBA World Series of Bowling, Wednesday night at Taylor Lanes.

Barnes, the 2007-08 PBA Player of the Year, finished the opening eight games of match play with a 257-254 victory over Rhino Page of Topeka, Kan., for a 23-game total of 5,376 pins and a 53-pin lead over third-round leader Weber. Sean Rash (pictured right) of Wichita, Kan., was third with 5,284 pins followed by Williams at 5,268 and Doug Kent of Newark, N.Y., with 5,229 pins.

"No one was waiting for me," Barnes said. "The lanes are hard. Not many pairs of lanes here play the same. There are so many minefields. But I had a couple of good runs and that helped.

"I did a lot of bowling over the summer," he continued. "I'm pretty much where I was when we stopped bowling in April, so I was able to take advantage of the situation and put up some pretty good scores. I also got my share of good breaks."

Weber, 46, had the lead until the final match while Williams, 49, was in second place heading into round-robin match play, slipped back two places.

Andres Gomez (left) from Colombia is 10th with 5,167 and the second international bowler in the top 24, Osku Palermaa (right), Finland, is 13th with 5,141.

The top 24 will bowl their final two eight-game match play rounds Thursday to reduce the field to five for the stepladder finals.

 

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PBA Motor City Open - Round One Match Play (fourth round overall)

Players with position, hometown, W-L-T record and 23-game total including bonus.

1, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5-2-1, 5,376
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 5-3, 5,323
3, Sean Rash, Wichita, Kan., 5-3, 5,284
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 3-4-1, 5,268
5, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 6-2, 5,229
6, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 3-5, 5,206, $100
7, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 4-4, 5,194
8, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 5-3, 5,178
9, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 5-3, 5,168
10, Andres Gomez, Bogota, Colombia, 4-4, 5,167
11, John May, Lincolnton, N.C., 6-2, 5,166
12, Dave Arnold, Dublin, Calif., 5-3, 5,148
13, Osku Palermaa, Espoo, Finland, 5-3, 5,141
14, Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., 4-4, 5,129
15, Rhino Page, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 2-6, 5,112
16, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 4-4, 5,099
17, Jeff Carter, Springfield, Ill., 4-4, 5,086
18, Dave D'Entremont, Middleburg Heights, Ohio, 4-4, 5,063
19, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 3-5, 5,044
20, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3-5, 5,016
21, Dan MacLelland, Saginaw, Mich., 3-5, 4,976
22, Troy Wollenbecker, Miami, 3-5, 4,963
23, Mike DeVaney, San Diego, 2-6, 4,954
24, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 2-6, 4,930