Propelled by memories of his painful loss in the 2009 Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions title match, Rhino Page (pictured left) of Dade City, Fla., set a blistering pace as the 50th anniversary Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions got underway at Woodland Bowl Wednesday afternoon, averaging 252 for his first eight games to take a 19-pin lead over Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Page, the 2008 PBA Rookie of the Year, is now 31 and still recovering from wrist surgery in July of 2013. But on his way to an opening-round 2,016 pinfall total, he said, "I didn't look at the scoreboard all day. I just tried to stay in my own world.

"I should thank the PBA," added with a smile. "Last night at the hall of fame dinner, I watched the video of that shot (in 2009) a dozen times and it kinda put a little steam in me for today.

"That shot" was Page's 10th-frame four-count in the 2009 TOC title match, which cost him a victory. "I'd be lying if I said it doesn't still hurt. It's tough to revisit, but I've got a lot of years ahead of me."

More painful, actually, has been his comeback from chronic wrist pain since his surgery two years ago.

"I couldn't throw full-weight ball until the 2014 Masters," Page continued. "It hasn't been until last few months that I've felt really healthy enough to do the kind of things I used to do. For the past couple of years, I was throwing the ball with the idea of 'that didn't hurt, this didn't hurt,' but now I'm feeling pretty good."

Right on Page's heels was Liz Johnson (left), the only woman in PBA history to qualify for two television finals, who is trying to join 2010 Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., as the second woman ever to win a PBA Tour title.

Johnson finished at 1,997 pins, followed by Mike Scroggins (above right) of Amarillo, Texas, with a 1,976 total, Tom Smallwood (left) of Saginaw, Mich., at 1,955 and 2012 TOC winner Sean Rash (right) of Montgomery, Ill.

Defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia was in a tie for 21st place after the opening round, 154 pins behind Page. Belmonte, who won his third consecutive United States Bowling Congress Masters title Sunday in Green Bay, Wis., is the two-time reigning PBA Player of the Year.

Qualifying continues Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Thursday at 10 a.m. ET before the field of 113 is reduced to the top 24 players for three eight-match rounds of match play Thursday at 5 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The top five players after 48 games will compete for the $50,000 first prize and the second major title of the 2015 season Sunday at 1 p.m., live on ESPN. All qualifying and match play rounds are covered live on PBA's Xtra Frame online video streaming channel.

 

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50th PBA Tournament of Champions - First Round Standings

Players with position, hometown and 8-game total

1, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 2,016
2, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, New York, 1,997
3, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,976
4, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,955
5, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,950
6, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,947
7, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,943
8, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1,937
9, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 1,930
10, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,923
11, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,909
12, Dom Barrett, England, 1,907
13, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,898
14, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 1,890
15, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 1,878
16, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,875
17, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,874
18, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 1,871
19, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,865
19, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,865
21, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,862
21, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,862
23, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,855
24, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,854
25, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 1,850
26, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,849
27, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,845
27, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,845
29, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,842
29, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,842
31, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 1,840
32, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,839
33, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,837
34, Stuart Williams, England, 1,835
35, Blake Demore, Springfield, Mo., 1,830
36, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,820
36, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, Ariz., 1,820
36, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,820
39, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,816
40, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,815
41, J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 1,814
41, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,814
43, Paul Moor, England, 1,813
44, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 1,811
45, Toby Contreras, Lee's Summit, Mo., 1,806
45, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,806
47, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 1,802
48, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 1,801
49, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,795
50, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,794
51, Travis Celmer, Wernersville, Pa., 1,791
52, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 1,789
52, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,789
54, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 1,787
55, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 1,786
56, Mike DeVaney, Winchester, Calif. , 1,785
57, Bob Learn Jr, Erie, Pa., 1,784
58, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,779
59, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,771
60, Robert Smith, Moorpark, Calif., 1,769
61, Chris Hartung, Goshen, Ind., 1,767
62, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,763
62, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,763
64, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,762
65, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, TX, 1,759
66, Dave Wodka, Columbus, Ohio, 1,757
67, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,749
68, Todd Book, Russells Point, Ohio, 1,746
69, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,744
70, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,743
71, George Branham III, Indianapolis, 1,735
72, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,732
73, Sean Swanson, Springfield, Mo., 1,731
74, Lennie Boresch Jr, Kenosha, Wis., 1,729
75, B.J. Moore II, Apex, N.C., 1,728
75, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,728
77, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1,727
78, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 1,720
79, Jason Sterner, Covington, Ga., 1,719
80, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 1,717
81, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,716
82, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,714
83, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,710
84, Mike Fagan, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,708
85, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,704
86, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 1,696
87, T.J. Schmidt, Mishawaka, Ind., 1,694
88, Lee Vanderhoef, Rising Sun, Md., 1,690
89, Matthew O'Grady, Matawan, N.J., 1,688
90, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 1,687
91, Dean Billings, Rootstown, Ohio, 1,685
92, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,678
93, J.T. "Action" Jackson, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 1,672
94, Brian Nicodemus, Akron, Ind., 1,666
95, Tom Sorce, Richmond, Va., 1,655
96, Chad Lusche, Arvada, Colo., 1,654
97, Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,640
98, Chris Spoo, Boyton Beach, Fla., 1,628
99, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,624
100, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,623
101, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 1,621
102, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 1,615
103, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,611
104, Stephen Nowicki, Rochester, N.Y., 1,602
105, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,600
106, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,596
107, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,573
108, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 1,572
109, Larry Verble, Mason, Mich., 1,557
110, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,533
111, Larry Montgomery, Safety Harbor, Fla., 1,522
112, Kevin Vostry, Bolingbrook, Ill., 1,506
113, Carmen Salvino, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,481

300 Games (5) - Brian Voss, Dom Barrett, Scott Norton, Travis Celmer, Lonnie Waliczek.