Nick Morgan of Sacramento, Calif., averaged 247.7 to take the first round lead in the PBA50 Greater Birmingham Open presented by Ebonite Monday at Lightning Strikes Lanes in Trussville, Ala.

Morgan, coach for the University of California-Davis bowling team, had a 1,982 eight-game pinfall with games of 241, 247, 235, 278, 235, 268, 268 and 210. He holds an 88-pin lead over PBA Hall of Famer and 2012 PBA50 Tour Rookie of the Year Amleto Monacelli (right) in second with 1,894.

"I felt comfortable right away," said the 56-year old Morgan, who won the 2008 Senior Northern California Classic as a non-member. "I only had to make a six-board adjustment the whole block and used the same ball and when you can do that you can do some good things."

Morgan recently retired from UPS to compete full-time on the PBA50 Tour. "This is something I've always wanted to do," he said. "I drove all the way from California to Florida to start the season so my plan is just to keep going and hope for the best."

Two more Hall of Famers, Wayne Webb (left), with a 1,829 pinfall and reigning PBA50 Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. (right), with 1,822, finished the round in third and fourth, respectively.

Williams defeated Monacelli 276-216 in last week's Sun Bowl in The Villages title match to win his fifth career PBA50 Tour title and first of the season. Webb finished fifth in the tournament.

"I'm bowling real well and I think it's just a matter of time before I win," Monacelli said. "I just need to make sure I continue to react quickly to the changes and make the right adjustments and hopefully get a few breaks."

Qualifying continues Tuesday with another eight-game round after which the field will be cut to the top 32 for match play which begins at 8 a.m. Central on Wednesday. Championship rounds will get under way at 7 p.m.

 

Related Articles

2013 PBA50 Tour Schedule & Champions

 

PBA50 Greater Birmingham Open - First Round Qualifying

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

1, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 1,982
2, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,894
3, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 1,829
4, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,822
5, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 1,809
6, Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 1,805
7, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1,803
8, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,793
9, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 1,791
10, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 1,771
11, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp, Mich., 1,767
12, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 1,764
13, (tie) Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., and Timothy Kauble, Marion, Ohio, 1,752
15, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 1,746
16, (tie) a-Richard Bowen, Pell City, Ala., and Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 1,740
18, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,734
19, (tie) Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., and Jeff Schrum, Cherryville, N.C., 1,721
21, a-Keith Nance, Calera, Ala., 1,716
22, Todd Haney, Spartanburg, S.C., 1,707
23, (tie) Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., and a-David White, Collierville, Tenn., 1,703
25, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 1,701
26, Jim Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 1,696
27, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,694
28, Marc Lineberry, Camanche, Iowa, 1,693
29, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 1,691
30, Doug O'Bryant, Jasper, Ga., 1,686
31, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,685
32, Rick Minier, Houston, Texas, 1,677
33, Danny Weikel, Dallas, N.C., 1,676
34, (tie) Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., and Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., 1,674
36, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 1,673
37, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,670
38, William Peters, Dayton, Ohio, 1,667
39, Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 1,666
40, Dave Bernhardt, Romeo, Mich., 1,663
41, Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 1,661
42, a-Tony Churchey, Madison, Ala., 1,658
43, (tie) Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, and
Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 1,650
46, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 1,644
47, Ken Shealy, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 1,641
48, Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., 1,640
49, Tommy Martin, Arlington, Tenn., 1,639
50, Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,636
51, Bob Pazur, Venice, Fla., 1,634
52, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,629
53, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,623
54, Ernie Segura Jr., Taylor, Mich., 1,618
55, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,616
56, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,614
57, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,613
58, a-Jerry Childers, Springville, Ala., 1,608
59, a-Louis Manzella Jr., Mt. Olive, Ala., 1,606
60, Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., 1,603
61, William Banks, Laurel Hill, N.C., 1,601
62, William Keenan, Jr., Orlando, Fla., 1,595
63, (tie) Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., and Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 1,593
65, Larry Graybeal, Elizabethton, Tenn., 1,582
66, James Souder, Greeneville, Tenn., 1,581
67, Tom Kennedy, Shepherdsville, Ky., 1,568
68, a-Jimmy Jean, Kathleen, Ga., 1,566
69, a-Rodney Graves , Huntsville, Ala., 1,561
70, Larry Williams, St. Augustine, Fla., 1,548
71, a-Charles Bianco, Fayette, Ala., 1,540
72, Charles Jones, Dacula, Ga., 1,538
73, a-Wayne Austin, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 1,535
74, Larry Popp, Marion, Ohio, 1,534
75, Ed Cutter, Manassas Park, Va., 1,531
76, Chuck Best, Buda, Texas, 1,528
77, David Taylor, Seminole, Fla., 1,526
78, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 1,517
79, Joe Beck, Montgomery, Ala., 1,515
80, Dave Schultz, Jackson, Wis., 1,508
81, Rudy Garcia, Ft. Worth, Texas, 1,503
82, Timothy Bates, Orlando, Fla., 1,494
83, Steve Evans, Cumming, Ga., 1,487
84, Dale Lee, Brandon, Fla., 1,482
85, Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., 1,467
86, Ken Waters, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,460
87, Dyer Honeycutt Jr., Southside, Ala., 1,450
88, Nick Panicaro, Ocala, Fla., 1,448
89, Mark Jones, Amelia, Ohio, 1,439
90, a-Charles Allen Jr., Pinson, Ala., 1,417
91, a-William Taylor, Empire, Ala., 1,414
92, Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., 1,400
93, Scott Thomsen, Hastings, Neb., 1,373
94, Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., 1,322