Five-time PBA Tour champion Ryan Shafer of Horseheads, N.Y., averaged 239.5 in the third round to surge into the Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by Storm lead Wednesday at the Suncoast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.

With a 4,037 pinfall total (228 average) for 18 games after three rounds, the 51-year-old Shafer (featured photo) took a five-pin lead over defending champion Michael Haugen Jr. of Phoenix, who led after the first two rounds.

Trying for his first PBA50 Tour title on the tour for players 50 and over, Shafer bowled a 1,437 six-game pinfall in the third round with games of 258, 236, 247, 228, 276 and 192.

“Until today it seemed like I was starting the rounds making the wrong decisions and then had to scramble to make the adjustments I needed to make,” said Shafer, who was 17th after the first round and 10th after the second round. “Today, I had a good look right from the start so I was able to get in a comfort zone and play my ‘A’ game pretty much the whole round.

Shafer (left), who finished fifth earlier this season in the PBA50 Johnny Petraglia BVL Open presented by Brunswick for his career best PBA50 Tour finish, has been using a different ball on each lane for every pair of lanes he has bowled on since early in the first round.

“It’s a tool I like to use quite a bit because my wrist isn’t as strong as it used to be,” Shafer said. “Because of that, I can’t make as many adjustments as I used to with my hand position so I can make up for it by changing my equipment more often to get the desired ball reaction.”

Haugen (right), the 2017 PBA50 Rookie of the Year and the winner of the Johnny Petraglia BVL Open, bowled 1,263 in his third round with games of 241, 221, 183, 200, 183 and 235 to finish with 4,032 after three rounds.

PBA Hall of Famer and 2010 Senior U.S. Open winner Mark Williams (left) of Beaumont, Texas, who was second after the first two rounds managed to hold on to third with a 3,998 pinfall for 18 games. He bowled 1,253 in the third round with games of 269, 178, 193, 197, 191 and 225.

“After that first game I really didn’t have a good feel until the end of the round,” the 60-year-old Williams said. “I was having a problem reading the lanes and not getting a good ball reaction for most of the round. But it’s all good. If I can be around the top five heading into match play I’d be happy with that.”

PBA50 Tour rookie Rolando Sebelen (right) of the Dominican Republic finished the day in fourth with 3,964 and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III (left) of Jackson, N.J., rounded out the top five with 3,933.

With one qualifying round remaining, the scramble is on for players to make the top 40 for Friday’s first match play round.

Other big movers in the third round were PBA Hall of Famers Brian Voss (right) of Centennial, Colo., Venezuelan native Amleto Monacelli and Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla.

Voss, who was 17th after the second round moved up to seventh with a 3,915 pinfall, Monacelli moved from 19th to eighth and Duke vaulted from 40th to ninth.

Monacelli (left), along with hall of famer Pete Weber, who finished the day in 41st, are trying to become the Senior U.S. Open’s first three-time winner. Monacelli won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 and Weber (right) in 2015 and 2016.

After Thursday’s fourth and final six-game qualifying round, the field will be cut to the top 40 players for modified round-robin match play which will begin Friday at 8 a.m. PT. After Friday’s second match play round at noon the top five players will be determined for the stepladder finals scheduled to begin at 4:15 p.m.

PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame is providing start to finish coverage of the Senior U.S. Open. For subscription and schedule information click here.

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Suncoast PBA Senior U.S. Open – Third Round Results

Players with position, hometown and 18-game total. n denotes non-member; ss-PBA60 player ages 60 and over.

1, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 4,037
2, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 4,032
3, ss-Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 3,998
4, Rolando Sebelen, Dominican Republic, 3,964
5, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,933
6, ss-Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 3,930
7, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 3,915
8, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,900
9, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,876
10, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 3,873
11, Allan Sennevall, Sweden, 3,863
12, n-Paul Fleming, Bedford, Texas, 3,855
13, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 3,847
14, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 3,846
15, Eric Forkel, Henderson, Nev., 3,843
16, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 3,841
17, n-Steven Badovinac, Parker, Colo., 3,835
18, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 3,831
19, (tie) n-Steven Smith, San Diego,and
Ricky Schissler, Brighton, Colo., 3,820
21, (tie) Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y.,and
Eddie Graham, Kettering, Ohio, 3,815
23, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 3,806
24, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 3,803
25, ss-Rick Minier, Houston, 3,794
26, Mike Kanada, Camarillo, Calif., 3,791
27, ss-Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,777
28, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3,767
29, (tie) n,ss-Ben Hoefs, Mobile, Ala.,and
Robert Lawrence, Austin, Texas, 3,750
31, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 3,745
32, (tie) Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y.,and
Jeff Johnson, Freeport, Ill., 3,743
34, Pat Nolan, Japan, 3,737
35, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 3,732
36, Andrew Frawley, Australia, 3,724
37, Keith Lesko, Prosper, Texas, 3,723
38, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 3,718
39, Mark Mazzulla, Brentwood, Calif., 3,696
40, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 3,690
41, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,683
42, ss-Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., 3,678
43, ss-David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 3,677
44, ss-Toby Contreras, Lee’s Summit, Mo., 3,655
45, n-Paul Renteria, Henderson, Nev., 3,645
46, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 3,644
47, ss-John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 3,641
48, n-Dave Cirigliano, Phoenix, 3,638
49, (tie) Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif.,and
n-David Bolles, Stockton, Calif., 3,637
51, Joseph Petrovich, Tracy, Calif, 3,635
52, Troy Kendrick, Las Vegas, Nev., 3,625
53, Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., 3,618
54, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 3,611
55, (tie) Peter Knopp, Germany,
ss-Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo.,and
ss-Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, 3,608
58, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3,606
59, (tie) ss-Junichi Yajima, Japan,and
n-ss-Darwin Wimer, Mesquite, Nev., 3,604
61, Hakan Fast, Sweden, 3,599
62, n-Barry Zimmerman, Grand Forks, N.D., 3,595
63, ss-Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 3,592
64, (tie) Olle Svenson, Lerum, Sweden,and
Marty Deh, San Jose, Calif., 3,589
66, Andrew Warren, Austin, Tex., 3,587
67, (tie) Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore.,and
Lennart Nyman, Sweden, 3,584
69, ss-Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 3,579
70, n-Marv Sargent, Temecula, Calif., 3,575
71, n-John Hricsina Jr., Las Vegas, 3,566
72, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 3,564
73, (tie) David Allen, Las Vegas,and
Tony Johnson, Canton, Ohio, 3,560
75, ss-Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,559
76, Jan Larsen, Sweden, 3,558
77, n-Bob Baer, Henderson, Nev., 3,554
78, Scott Greiner, Sunrise Beach, Mo., 3,553
79, Daniel Miyamoto, Mililani, Hawaii, 3,548
80, n-Jimmie Pritts Jr., Mathuen, Mass., 3,546
81, (tie) ss-Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis.,and
Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 3,541
83, n-Klaus Lischka, Germany, 3,531
84, ss-Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,530
85, (tie) ss-Warren Nelson, Hemet, Calif.,and
n-Joe Baca, Brentwood, Calif., 3,527
87, (tie) ss-Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio,and
n-Tish Johnson, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3,523
89, Christer Petersson, Gothenburg, Sweden, 3,521
90, n-Dana Wright, St. Paul, Minn., 3,519
91, ss-Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 3,509
92, Darron Peters, Temecula, Calif., 3,506
93, Doug O’Bryant, Ball Ground, Ga., 3,504
94, Klas Thunberg, Sweden, 3,502
95, n-John Marsala, St. Louis, 3,495
96, n-Anthony Figuiera, Gardena, Calif., 3,494
97, (tie) ss-Bruce Hall, Westborough, Mass., and
Rob Rice, Sunnyside, Wash., 3,492
99, (tie) ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., and
Mike Mineman, St Louis, 3,490
101, Warren Eales, Chandler, Ariz., 3,474
102, ss-Skip Pavone, San Jose, Calif., 3,470
103, ss-n-David Graber, Las Vegas, 3,469
104, ss-Kerry Fulford, Ft. Worth, Texas, 3,458
105, ss-Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 3,443
106, ss-Crister Danielsson, Sweden, 3,439
107, Tony Rodriguez Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 3,438
108, ss-John Parry, Oak Park, Calif., 3,429
109, n-ss-Bill Oakes, Lawton, Okla, 3,428
110, Jonny Hall, Sweden, 3,416
111, Greg McDaniel, Kimball, Neb., 3,412
112, Don Herrington, Ballston Lake, N.Y., 3,407
113, (tie) ss-Lew Elting, Carlsbad, Calif., and
ss-Russ Simmons, Fontana, Calif., 3,400
115, ss-Randy Turner, Shallowater, Texas, 3,384
116, n,ss-Ron Hosler, Englewood, Colo., 3,380
117, Jon DeLaney, McKinney, Texas, 3,377
118, ss-Don Lane, San Francisco, 3,376
119, ss-James Storts, Westfield, Ind., 3,374
120, ss-Henry Dawson, Elma, Wash., 3,372
121, n-Dennis Klein, Phoenix, 3,367
122, Doug Kempt, Arcadia, Calif., 3,358
123, ss-Raymond Scrivens, Jr., Athens, Pa., 3,356
124, n,ss-Paul Appling, Camarillo, Calif., 3,345
125, n-Jeff Row, Humbolt, Ariz., 3,333
126, ss-Ray Valdovino, Sacramento, Calif., 3,332
127, n-Mike Yuwiler, Las Vegas, 3,328
128, ss-Robert Donovan, Prattsville, N.Y., 3,317
129, Timothy Regan, East Northport, N.Y., 3,299
130, ss-Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 3,283
131, ss-Steven Jansson, Barnes, Wis., 3,278
132, Daniel Knafo, Valencia, Calif., 3,269
133, n,ss-Robert Callari, Cordova, Tenn., 3,264
134, n-Marty Hinton, Henderson, Nev., 3,259
135, ss-Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 3,250
136, ss-Rodney Garrick, San Francisco, 3,248
137, Norm Spurlock, Kenner, La., 3,234
138, n,ss-Jay Gneiting, Aberdeen, Idaho, 3,231
139, n,ss-Nelson Sand, Maple Valley, Wash., 3,228
140, Richard McNeill, Yorktown, Va., 3,220
141, Charles Allen Jr., Pell City, Ala., 3,214
142, John Kidwell, Indianapolis, Ind., 3,211
143, Jon J.J. Jensen, Olympia, Wash., 3,195
144, Ron Anderson, Canyon Country, Calif., 3,185
145, Joe Beck, Montgomery, Ala., 3,179
146, ss-Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 3,159
147, ss-Ross McDonald, Las Vegas, Nev., 3,132
148, n,ss-William Mcgee, Great Falls, Mont., 3,131
149, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 3,121
150, Frank Paganelli, Las Vegas, Nev., 3,100
151, ss-Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 3,095
152, ss-Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 3,038
153, John Austin Jr., League City, Texas, 2,985
154, n,ss-Dale Knight, Las Vegas, 2,908
155, ss-Galen Keas, Alda, Neb., 2,885
156, n-Sean Couse, Henderson, Nev., 2,873