With the help of a 289 game Jim Murtishaw led a field of 269 players after first round qualifying Monday in the 2009 Professional Bowlers Association Senior U.S. Open at the Suncoast Bowling Center.

Murtishaw, of Menifee, Calif., had a 1,416 six-game pinfall (236 average) with games of 213, 191, 255, 235, 233 and 289. Rounding out the top five were Sam Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,406; Jimmy Johnson, Bellevue, Neb., 1,395; Vince Honeycutt, Monroe, Ga., 1,383 and Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., 1,362.

“I had a good look from the first game but I have to admit I was a little nervous,” said the 55-year-old Murtishaw. “After the second game I started to get comfortable and the lane conditions seemed to match up more with my game.

“I’m a little surprised I’m leading at this point because I missed practice because of a work commitment and had to learn how the lanes were playing mainly by watching the other players.”

Murtishaw, who owns a bowling pro shop, bowled on the national tour in the 1980s where he won the 1987 Bowlers Journal Florida Open and finished second in the Tournament of Champions that same year.

Murtishaw hasn’t bowled in a national professional event in about five years and credited his son Matthew’s interest in the sport for his return to competitive bowling.

“My son has developed an interest in bowling competitively and I’ve been working with him and that enthusiasm has rubbed off on me,” Murtishaw said. “Because of that I decided to bowl this tournament about three months ago.”

The Senior U.S. Open is the first of two back-to-back majors on the 2009 Senior Tour with the United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters to be held next week at Las Vegas’ South Point Bowling Center. The Senior U.S. Open offers $20,000 and a berth into the 2010 Tournament of Champions to the winner.

All players will return to bowl six-game qualifying blocks Tuesday and Wednesday after which the field will be cut to the top 67 who will bowl another nine-game qualifying round Thursday morning. The field will then be cut to the top 24 players for one round-robin match play round Thursday afternoon and two more eight-game rounds on Friday that will determine the top four for the stepladder finals scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Pacific.

 

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2009 PBA Senior U.S. Open - First Round Qualifying

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total

1, Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 1,416
2, Sam Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,406
3, Jimmy Johnson, Bellevue, Neb., 1,395
4, Vince Honeycutt, Monroe, Ga., 1,383
5, Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., 1,362
6, Mike Terrell, Newport News, Va., 1,356
7, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 1,341
8, (tie) Steve Cook, Granite Bay, Calif., and Bill Hewlett, Meridian, Idaho, 1,333
10, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 1,329
11, Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 1,328
12, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,327
13, Bob Handley, Winter Park, Fla., 1,323
14, Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., 1,320
15, Bill Spigner, Vernon Hills, Ill., 1,311
16, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,309
17, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 1,308
18, (tie) Dave Bernhardt, Shelby Township., Mich., and Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 1,305
20, Dan Duskin Sr, Atlantic, Iowa, 1,301
21, Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., 1,299
22, Char Hammel, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,298
23, (tie) Ron Garr, Ridgedale, Mo., and Wayne Webb, Sacramento, Calif., 1,297
25, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,296
26, Gus Yannaras, Milwaukee, Wis., 1,295
27, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 1,292
28, Ron Boroff, Mansfield, Texas, 1,289
29, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 1,288
30, Marv Sargent, Temecula, Calif., 1,287
31, Mark Glover, Woodbridge, Va., 1,286
32, Bob Knipple, Long Beach, Calif., 1,285
33, Ken Konczos, Sagamore Hills, Ohio, 1,279
34, Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 1,278
35, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 1,277
36, (tie) Rick Winther, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Terry Leong, Las Vegas, Nev., and Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1,268
39, Gary James, Spring, Texas, 1,265
40, Daniel Winter, Rockford, Ill., 1,264
41, Russ Freeman, Lake Villa, Ill., 1,262
42, Dean Jones, Austin, Texas, 1,259
43, Jimmy Young, Atlanta, Texas, 1,257
44, (tie) Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., and Frank Tardio, Palatine, Ill., 1,256
46, (tie) Vaughn Doody, Las Vegas, Nev. and Keith Kolozsi, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,255
48, Steve Lickliter, Beckley, W. Va., 1,250
49, Pete Couture, Titusville, Fla., 1,248
50, Russell Michaud, Hudson, N.H., 1,244
51, Max Shellabarger, Roy, Utah, 1,243
52, John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich., 1,242
53, Rick Cashell, Dedham, Mass., 1,241
54, (tie) Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., and Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, and Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., 1,240
57, (tie) Gerry Keslar, Tonganoxie, Kan., and Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, and Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1,237
60, (tie) Bob Puttick, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,236
62, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 1,235
63, Nicholas Maturo, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,234
64, (tie) Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., and Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,233
66, (tie) Marty Deh, San Jose, Calif., and Howard Partell, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,232
68, Dave Sill, Cary, Ill., 1,231
69, (tie) Gary Skidmore, Albuquerque, N.M., and Dennis Psaropoulos, Lake Worth, Fla., 1,229
71, Ralph Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,228
72, Scott Hansel, Stockton, Calif., 1,227
73, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 1,226
74, Guy Gorman, Elko, Nev., 1,225
75, C.K. Moore, Redding, Calif., 1,222
76, Craig Kisro, Granada Hills, Calif., 1,221
77, (tie) Randy Lightfoot, St. Charles, Mo., and John Gould, Orangevale, Calif., 1,218
79, Kerry Fulford, Brownwood, Texas, 1,217
80, Larry Laub, Lincoln, Calif, 1,216
81, Dave Flemming, Fairborn, Ohio, 1,215
82, Mike Mineman, Belleville, Ill., 1,214
83, Bob Amoruso, Glenview, Ill., 1,213
84, Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 1,211
85, (tie) Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., and Norb Wetzel, Fond du Lac, Wis., and Douglas Kirkman, Clovis, N.M., 1,210 88, Matt Surina, Everett, Wash., 1,209
89, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 1,208
90, Curtis Aemisegger, Wauconda, Ill., 1,207
91, (tie) Tom Baker, King, N.C., and Michael Warren, Dallas, 1,206
93, Jeff Jamison, Boulder City, Nev., 1,205
94, Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, Wash., 1,204
95, (tie) Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis., and Don Sylvia, Vero Beach, Fla., 1,201
97, Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., 1,200
98, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 1,198
99, (tie) Dave Gualeni, Roswell, N.M., and Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 1,195
101, Ross Larsen, Riverside, Calif., 1,191
102, Edward Roberts, Braintree, Mass., 1,189
103, Matt Buxton, Jefferson City, Mo., 1,187
104, (tie) Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., and Rick Darnell, Lihue, Hawaii, 1,186
106, (tie) Darwin Wimer, Mesquite, Nev., and Larry Graybeal, Elizabethton, Tenn., 1,184
108, Greg Shields, Independence, Mo., 1,183
109, (tie) Frank Gallo Jr., Newport News, Va., and Michael Larson, Gardena, Calif., 1,181
111, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 1,180
112, (tie) Shannon Starnes, Fort Worth, Texas, and Pete Danyo, Toms River, N.J., 1,179
114, (tie) Warren Nelson, North Las Vegas, Nev., and Gene Vincent, Decatur, Ill., 1,178
116, D.A. Carbone, Broomfield, Colo., 1,177
117, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1,175
118, Don Robinson, Boise, Idaho, 1,171
119, Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., 1,170
120, (tie) David Zonfrilli, Las Vegas, Nev. and Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,169
122, (tie) Frank DeFilippo, Las Vegas, Nev. and Johnny Cook, Oneonta, Ala., 1,168
124, Lamonte Lovering, San Mateo, Calif., 1,167
125, (tie) Rodney Tramp, Porterville, Calif., and Rod McLean, North Las Vegas, Nev., and Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 1,166.
128, (tie) Randy Rau, Belleville, Ill., and Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, and Leo Plaia, New Orleans, 1,165
131, (tie) Robert McDonald, Addison, Ill., and Jim Hutchinson, Ludlow Falls, Ohio, and Buzz Goodman, Syosset, N.Y., 1,163
134, Jerry Keily, Littleton, Colo., 1,162
135, Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., 1,161
136, (tie) Carey Hofmann, Phoenix, and Randy Corey, Henderson, Nev., 1,160
138, J.P. Muller, Gervais, Ore., 1,159
139, (tie) Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., and Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 1,154
141, (tie) Sam Zurich, Grant, Fla., and Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 1,153
143, Robert Callari, Bloomfield, N.Y., 1,152
144, Tom Smith III, Newark, Del., 1,151
145, (tie) Bob Faragon, Schenectady, N.Y., and Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,150
147, (tie) Gordon Stuntz, Hellertown, Pa., and Stan Wells, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,149
149, Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 1,148
150, Jace Peterson, Elkhorn, Wis., 1,145
151, Dan Clausse, Reno, Nev., 1,143
152, Glen Smith, Seattle, Wash., 1,142
153, Gale Voshell, Dover, Del, 1,141
154, (tie) Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., and Marvin Nezvensky Jr., Pueblo, Colo., 1,140
156, (tie) Dwight Tincher, Perris, Calif., and Russ Davies, Las Vegas, Nev., and Ray Shuel, Canada, 1,138.
159, (tie) Murray Hickman, Las Vegas, and Jim Gordin, Modesto, Calif., 1,135
161, Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 1,134
162, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,132
163, Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., 1,131
164, (tie) Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., and Joe Staton, Alta Loma, Calif., 1,130
166, Skip Pavone, San Jose, Calif., 1,129
167, Michael Chrzanowski, Shepherd, Mich., 1,127
168, (tie) Claes Gauffin, Sweden, and Fred Kouri, Apple Valley, Calif., and Hilton Nunez, Jarabocoa, Dominican Republic, 1,126
171, (tie) Jay Aono, Boise, Idaho, and Bob Purzycki, Pompton Plains, N.J., 1,124
173, Michael Johnston, Lakeville, Minn., 1,122
174, Jeff Suma, Auburn Hills, Mich., 1,118
175, (tie) Jim Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., and Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., and Kent Whitson, Sausalito, Calif., and Daniel Emmett, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,117
179, Lee Tucker, Camarillo, Calif., 1,116
180, (tie) Fred Cole, Visalia, Calif, and Brien Show-Yin, Melbourne, Australia, 1,115
182, Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 1,113
183, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,111
184, Tom Addison, LaVista, Neb., 1,109
185, Ross McDonald, Clarksville, Md., 1,108
186, Sam Perrotta, Lincoln Park, N.J., 1,104
187, George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 1,103
188, Tim Ruelle, Racine, Wis., 1,102
189, Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., 1,101
190, Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 1,100
191, (tie) Steve Schroeder, Carlsbad, Calif., and Marc Clyburn, Pittsburg, Calif., and Clay Ory, Clovis, Calif., 1,097
194, (tie) Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., and Gary Bessette, Summerdale, Ala., and Herbye Mitchell, Grandbury, Texas, and Thomas Smith, San Bernardino, Calif., 1,096
198, (tie) Jim Moran, Las Vegas, and Wayne Richards, Fernley, Nev, 1,093
200, (tie) Dave Washburn, Las Vegas, Nev., and Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., and Will Friedrich, Green Bay, Wis., 1,092
203, (tie) Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., and Mark Fennell, Seattle, 1,090
205, (tie) Allen Meskan, Addison, Ill., and Les Shirwindt, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,088
207, Don Torok, South Bend, Ind., 1,087
208, Jerry Watkins, Bloomfield, N.M., 1,086
209, (tie) Ed Bordenka, Las Vegas, and Rudy Moreno, Reno, Nev., 1,084
211, Rod Michael, Florissant, Mo., 1,083
212, Dennis Fitzsimonds, San Diego, 1,081
213, Gregory Smith, Baltimore, 1,080
214, Rick Talley, Enid, Okla., 1,078
215, Don Lane, San Francisco, 1,075
216, James Link, Mt. Dora, Fla., 1,074
217, Dewaine West, Temecula, Calif., 1,071
218, (tie) Tony Cangialosi, Dolan Springs, Ariz., and Jeff Cordeiro, Castaic, Calif., and Pat Danforth, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,070
221, Dave Zebrowski Sr., New York Mills, N.Y., 1,069
222, (tie) Dave Smith, Las Vegas, Nev., and Mike Pullin, Rochelle, Ill., 1,067
224, David Kebely, Bothell, Wash., 1,065
225, (tie) George Psaropoulos, Jupiter, Fla., and Edward Regehr, Hesperia, Calif., 1,063
227, (tie) Dave Francis, Sebring, Fla., and Bob Andersen, Forest City, N.C., 1,062
229, Greg Waldon, Manhattan, Mont., 1,060
230, F. Dale Rider, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,058
231, Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 1,055
232, Lee Taylor, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,053
233, Donnie Todd Sr., Somerset, Ky., 1,051
234, Melvin Shirey, Sun City West, Ariz., 1,049
235, Lito Dela Cruz, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,047
236, Wayne Creasy, Bloomsburg, Pa., 1,045
237, Ted Karbownik, Clarkston, Mich., 1,042
238, Tim Shirlock, Canyon Lake, Calif., 1,041
239, (tie) Rick Salyer, Kingsport, Tenn, and Val Benson, Bronx, N.Y., 1,040
241, John Di Santis, Wilmington, Del., 1,038
242, (tie) William Elvery Mines, New Brunswick, N.J., and Earl Yohn, Shermans Dale, Pa., and Jay Boyle, Garnet Valley, Pa., 1,034
245, Hubert Harrison, Middletown, Ind., 1,033
246, Avery LeBlanc, Plano, Texas, 1,028
247, (tie) Eugene Helbing, Glendale, Ariz., and Chuck Haus, Linden, Mich., 1,026
249, Fred Strasser, Pismo Beach, Calif., 1,020
250, Radar Presley, Atlanta, 1,018
251, (tie) Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., and Gary Friedman, Farmingdale, N.Y., 1,015
253, (tie) Scott Rosenthal, Las Vegas, and John Reed, Pueblo, Colo., 1,013
255, Chuck Olsen, St. George, Utah, 1,006
256, Darrel Curtis, Las Vegas, Nev., 1,002
257, Gene Johnson, Brier, Wash., 999
258, Ralph Morton, Apache Junction, Ariz., 993
259, Gerry Chinn, Castaic, Calif., 986
260, Terry Tuttle, King, N.C., 982
261, Rickey Smith, Milton, Fla., 980
262, J. Wayne Shank, Winter Park, Fla., 975
263, (tie) Robert Walters, North Las Vegas, Nev., and Michael Ferguson, Houston, 968
265, Dale Ballou, Seaside, Ore., 967
266, Randolph Kerr, Troutdale, Ore., 948
267, Rodney Chong, Harbor City, Calif., 926
268, Glenn Masukawa, San Ramon, Calif, 916
269, John Garry, Las Vegas, Nev., 869