Trying for his first PBA Senior Tour title since 2010, four-time Professional Bowlers Association Senior Player of the Year Tom Baker (pictured left) of King, N.C., averaged 258 to lead qualifying after the first round of the season-opening PBA Senior Sun Bowl In The Villages presented by Storm Sunday at Spanish Spring Lanes.

Baker, the winner of nine senior tour and 10 national tour titles, had a 2,064 eight-game pinfall total with games of 222, 257, 268, 279, 278, 278, 248 and 234.

"I can't remember when I bowled a block like that," said the 57-year-old Hall of Famer. "It's was one of those blocks where you have everything going for you. I had the right equipment, my timing was good and I had good carry and you can't ask for more than that."

While Baker did not win a title in 2011 he had top finishes of second, third and three fourth-place finishes.

"I've been bowling well, just haven't finished the deal," Baker said. "I qualified in the top eight every tournament and was in the top four in points last year so I think it just comes down to getting a few breaks in match play."

Baker holds a 19-pin lead over reigning Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr (right) of Eagle River, Alaska, in second with 2,045 and an average of 255.63. He had games of 213, 279, 277, 258, 289, 248, 257 and 224.

"I was so excited to be back out here I wasn't concentrating like I should have the first game," said Mohr. "I had to refocus and fortunately got back on track."

Eight-game qualifying continues Monday after which the 157-player field will be cut to the top 32 who will advance to match play Tuesday morning. Round of 8 and championship rounds will get underway Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.

 

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PBA Senior Sun Bowl in The Villages presented by Storm - First Round Results

Players with position, hometown and 8-game total. a-indicates amateur

1, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 2,064
2, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 2,045
3, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,979
4, Fred Kaczmarczyk, Martinez, Calif., 1,952
5, (tie) Steve Neff, Homosassa Springs, Fla., and Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,945
7, Joel Carlson, Omaha, Neb., 1,943
8, Johnny Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,915
9, (tie) Tommy Brodowski, New Hyde Park, N.Y., and Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,913
11, Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 1,911
12, George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 1,905
13, Randy Robertson, Evansville, Ind., 1,900
14, Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 1,894
15, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 1,887
16, Paul McCordic, Sugarland, Texas, 1,882
17, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1,881
18, Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., 1,879
19, Chuck Richardson, The Villages, Fla., 1,873
20, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,865
21, (tie) Steve Calyore, Naples, Fla., and Ricky Beck, Box Elder, S.D., 1,863
23, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 1,859
24, (tie) Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., and Ron Garr, Ridgedale, Mo., 1,855
26, Randy Shewmake, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1,852
27, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,851
28, Larry Popp, Marion, Ohio, 1,850
29, Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,846
30, Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 1,844
31, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 1,838
32, Jerry Lau, St. Peters, Mo., 1,837
33, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,836
34, James Souder, Greeneville, Tenn, 1,833
35, (tie) Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, and Tony Reynaud, Harwinton, Conn., 1,830
37, Ron Jacobson, Jupiter, Fla., 1,823
38, Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa., 1,822
39, Peter Knopp, Germany, 1,816
40, a-George Gomez , Orlando, Fla., 1,812
41, Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, Wash., 1,810
42, Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 1,805
43, Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 1,804
44, (tie)Phil Gessner, Spring, Texas, and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,803
46, Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., 1,801
47, Robert Callari, Bloomfield, N.Y., 1,800
48, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 1,799
49, J.C. Quintana, Miami, 1,791
50, Thomas Young, Houston, 1,786
51, Bill Argenbright, Fisherville, Va., 1,785
52, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 1,783
53, Jim Lesiuk, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 1,778
54, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,772
55, Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,770
56, Bruce Hall, Los Altos Hills, Calif., 1,767
57, Steve Lickliter, Beckley, W. Va., 1,764
58, (tie) Marty Berke, Allentown, Pa., and Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,757
60, Ron Dixon, Boynton Beach, Fla., 1,755
61, Ron Glick, Morganville, N.J., 1,754
62, Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 1,753
63, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 1,751
64, (tie)Timothy Bates, Orlando, Fla., and Fred Ferreira, Kings Park, N.Y., 1,744
66, Tony Majcher, Rolling Meadows, Ill., 1,740
67, Bob Andersen, Forest City, N.C., 1,737
68, (tie) Tim Lawrence, Inverness, Fla., and Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio, 1,736
70, Darrell Adams, Flintstone, Ga., 1,735
71, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 1,734
72, Chuck Gardner, Charlotte, N.C., 1,729
73, (tie) Danny Gould, Palm Bay, Fla., and Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,728
75, Keith Glasgow, St. Petersburg, Fla., 1,727
76, Dave Bernhardt, Romeo, Mich., 1,726
77, Bob Handley, Winter Park, Fla., 1,725
78, a-William Keenan, Jr. , Orlando, Fla., 1,724
79, Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,715
80, (tie) Vince Honeycutt, Buford, Ga., and Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 1,714
82, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,712
83, Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 1,711
84, Bob Caputo Sr., The Villages, Fla., 1,709
85, Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 1,707
86, Pete Couture, Titusville, Fla., 1,705
87, Wayne Bolin, Lumberton, N.C., 1,702
88, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,698
89, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,697
90, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 1,690
91, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 1,689
92, Dennis Farris, Swanton, Ohio, 1,687
93, (tie)) Lee Rucker, Fort Myers, Fla., and Michael Truitt, Orland Park, Ill., 1,674
95, Widmar Vargas, Riverview, Fla., 1,665
96, Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., 1,663
97, Mark McNutt, Alpharetta, Ga., 1,662
98, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 1,659
99, (tie) Dennis Amato, Pine Brook, N.J., and Howard Frostman, Washburn, Wis., 1,658
101, Arturo Hernandez, Venezuela, 1,654
102, Dave Paquin, Kannapolis, N.C., 1,653
103, Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., 1,651
104, Nick Panicaro, Naples, Fla., 1,650
105, Stephen Lippman, Palm Harbor, Fla, 1,647
106, Gary Shultis, Levittown, N.Y., 1,641
107, Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 1,638
108, (tie) Bill Ursillo, Bluffton, S.C., Rich Giragosian, Charlotte, N.C., and Donna Tuttle, King, N.C., 1,637
111, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 1,633
112, Tony Myers, Pensacola, Fla., 1,630
113, Jim Price, Harrrisburg, N.C., 1,625
114, (tie) Miguel Varela, Venezuela, and Linda Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,623
116, Vince Mazzanti Jr., Levittown, Pa., 1,622
117, Steve Fuhrman, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,621
118, Brian Cooper, Visalia, Calif., 1,620
119, Gale Voshell, Dover, Del., 1,619
120, a-James Martin, Vero Beach, Fla., 1,612
121, Tommy King, Oakdale, N.Y., 1,610
122, Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., 1,603
123, John Rovelli, The Villages, Fla., 1,601
124, Bob Worley, Naples, Fla., 1,599
125, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,592
126, Angel Zugarramurdi, Venezuela, 1,589
127, Rod Michael, Florissant, Mo., 1,588
128, George Patel, England, 1,581
129, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 1,579
130, James Rhoads, Sun City Center, Fla., 1,572
131, Larry Lichstein, Ft. Myers, Fla., 1,567
132, Gerald Teel, The Villages, Fla., 1,566
133, Charlie Toney, Oak Hill, W.Va., 1,558
134, Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., 1,557
135, Paul Lemond, Casper, Ind, 1,548
136, a-Roger Tramp, Deltona, Fla., 1,547
137, Adel Antonio Gomez, Venezuela, 1,546
138, Bobby Dunn, Augusta, Ga., 1,543
139, Rich Wilkinson, Bennington, Neb., 1,520
140, Steve Bova, Massapequa, N.Y., 1,516
141, Bruce Himschoot, Sanford, Fla., 1,505
142, Kevin Schofield, Canada, 1,504
143, Frank Manley Jr., Fletcher, N.C., 1,500
144, Bob Pazur, Venice, Fla., 1,496
145, Patsy DellaPenna, Palm Harbor, Fla., 1,487
146, Richard Esposito Sr., Clearwater, Fla., 1,484
147, Dan Howsmon, Lutz, Fla., 1,480
148, Peter Brainard, Tampa, Fla., 1,462
149, a-Brian DiCicco, Ridgefield, Conn., 1,459
150, Gary Lambert, Orlando, Fla., 1,453
151, Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., 1,448
152, Michael Bobbitt, Galax, Va., 1,442
153, Rick Bucceri, Deltona, Fla., 1,439
154, Edward Kramarcik Sr., Lake Mary, Fla., 1,426
155, Lindell Woolard, Tallahassee, Fla., 1,382
156, Kerry Fulford, Brownwood, Texas, 1,376
157, Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va., 1,360

300 Games (5) - John Petraglia, Fred Kaczmarczyk, Don Sylvia, Lee Rucker, Lennie Boresch Jr.