Kevin Croucher (pictured left) of Grants Pass, Ore., averaged 239.6 to lead the 227-player field after first-round qualifying Monday in the Professional Bowlers Association Senior U.S. Open presented by the Suncoast at the Suncoast Bowling Center.

Croucher, winner of the 2007 Senior Decatur (Ill.) Open for his lone Senior Tour title, had a 1,438 six-game pinfall total with games of 216, 243, 222, 257, 233 and 267, and had only one open frame which came in the third game.

"You want to get as many pins as you can in the later blocks because they are generally higher scoring," said Croucher, bowling in the final block of the day. "Bowling the second or third block you can take advantage of the shot that develops when the lanes burn out. You just need to make all your spares and strike as much as possible."

Rounding out the top five after first-day qualifying were Bo Goergen (left) of Sanford, Mich., 1,424; Junichi Yajima, Japan, 1,421; Dale Traber (right), Cedarburg, Wis., 1,416 and Hugh Miller, Seattle, 1,396.

Croucher, whose best Senior U.S. Open finish was sixth which also came in 2007, has had a disappointing start to the 2011 season and decided to take some time off to work on his game which proved productive as he discovered a flaw in his delivery.

"I went back home and thanks to being able to use video I noticed that I was pulling up dramatically at the line," said the 55-year-old bowling proprietor. "You could see it right away and I was able to fix it simply by staying down at the line. Had I not been able to see it on video I don't know how long it would have taken me to figure it out."

In what is considered the toughest test on the Senior Tour, all players will bowl two more six-game qualifying rounds Tuesday and Wednesday after which the field will be cut to the top quarter of the field for another nine-game qualifying round Thursday morning.

The field will then be cut to the top 24 players for three eight-game round-robin match play rounds conducted Thursday and Friday to determine the top four for the stepladder finals scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT.

Bowling fans can check out coverage of the match play portions of the Senior U.S. Open on pba.com's Xtra Frame video service.

 

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2011 PBA Senior U.S. Open - First Round

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total

1, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,438
2, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 1,424
3, Junichi Yajima, Japan, 1,421
4, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,416
5, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 1,396
6, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 1,381
7, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 1,378
8, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,367
9, Ricky Beck, Box Elder, S.D., 1,366
10, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,344
11, John Chapman, Canada, 1,334
12 (tie), John Kirker, Taftville, Conn., and Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 1,320
14 (tie), Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., and Kerry Fulford, Brownwood, Texas, 1,317
16, David Knight, Folcroft, Pa., 1,309
17, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 1,303
18, Don Moser, Murrieta, Calif., 1,299
19, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 1,298
20, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 1,294
21, David Blades, East Wenatchee, Wash., 1,293
22, Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 1,290
23 (tie), Anthony Chmura, Chaplin, Conn., and Barry Zimmerman, Grand Forks, N.D., 1,289
25, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,288
26 (tie), Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., and Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 1,286
28, Pete Thomas, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1,281
29, Peter Knopp, Germany, 1,280
30, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 1,278
31, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 1,271
32 (tie), Eric Forkel, Las Vegas, and Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 1,270
34, Jim Moran, Las Vegas, 1,269
35, Peter Marien, Lisbon, Conn., 1,268
36 (tie) Jace Peterson , Elkhorn, Wis., and Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 1,267
38 (tie), Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., Paul Nilsen Sr., Murrieta, Calif.,
And Jorge Gutierrez, Las Cruces, N.M., 1,265
41, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 1,264
42 (tie), Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., and Rich Cook, Olympia, Wash., 1,262
44, Howard Loosbroock, Henderson, Nev., 1,255
45, Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 1,253
46, Harry Mickelson , Yakima, Wash., 1,252
47, Radar Presley, Atlanta, 1,251
48 (tie), Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., and Gary Skidmore, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,250
50, Nick Tjotjos, Westlake, Ohio, 1,248
51 (tie), Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa., and Bill Stewart, Plainwell, Mich., 1,247
53 (tie), Mark Glover, Woodbridge, Va., and Matty Robinson, Columbia, S.C., 1,246
55, Marv Sargent, Temecula, Calif., 1,245
56, Don Hicks, West Babylon, N.Y., 1,244
57, Jim Gordin, Modesto, Calif., 1,241
58, Dean Jones, Las Vegas, 1,240
59, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 1,239
60, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 1,238
61, Terry Leong, Las Vegas, 1,237
62, Doug Kempt, Monrovia, Calif., 1,235
63, Koichiro Tamaki, Japan, 1,232
64, John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich., 1,230
65, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 1,225
66, Carl Labayan, Long Beach, Calif., 1,224
67, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 1,221
68 (tie), Frank DeFilippo, Las Vegas, and Mike Locorriere, Las Vegas, 1,218
70, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,217
71 (tie), Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Howard Partell, Las Vegas, 1,216
73, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,215
74 (tie), Matt Surina, Puyallup, Wash., and Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 1,214
76, Marc Lineberry, Camanche, Iowa, 1,213
77, Rodney Tramp, Porterville, Calif, 1,212
78, Don Lane, San Francisco, 1,210
79, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1,206
80 (tie) Chuck Best, Buda, Texas, and Phil Gessner, Spring, Texas, 1,205
82, Jim Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 1,203
83 (tie), Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., and Randy Robertson, Evansville, Ind., 1,202
85, Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., 1,201
86 (tie), Hal Wilber, Las Vegas, and Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis., 1,197
88 (tie), George Tignor, Winchendon, Mass., and John Younger , Ledyard, Conn., 1,196
90 (tie, )Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., and Russ Freeman, Antioch, Ill., 1,191
92, Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., 1,189
93 (tie), Roger Painter, Woodbridge, Va., and Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 1,188
95, (TIE) Jeff Suma, Auburn Hills, Mich., and John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1,187
97, Dave Washburn , Las Vegas, 1,185
98, John DiSantis, Wilmington, Del., 1,183
99 (tie), Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., and Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 1,179
101, Warren Blankenship, Ardmore, Okla., 1,175
102, David Graber, Las Vegas, 1,171
103 (tie), Thomas Andres Sr., Highland, Calif., and Paul Appling , Camarillo, Calif., 1,170
105, Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio, 1,169
106 (tie), Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., Edward Roberts, Braintree, Mass., and
Daniel Miyamoto, Mililani, Hawaii, 1,168
109 (tie), Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., and Karl Simonis, Mesa, Ariz., 1,166
111, Jeff Jamison, Boulder City, Nev., 1,163
112, Donna Tuttle, King, N.C., 1,162
113, Lee Rucker, Fort Myers, Fla., 1,161
114 (tie), Jim Lee, Rogersville, Tenn., and Ron Sandusky, Visalia, Calif., 1,160
116 (tie), Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., and Gary Bessette, Summerdale, Ala., 1,158
118 (tie), Ralph Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Michael Clemence, Las Vegas, 1,156
120, James Martin, Vero Beach, Fla., 1,154
121, William Keenan, Jr., Orlando, Fla., 1,153
122, Mike Landrith, Maricopa, Ariz., 1,152
123 (tie), Frank Weiler, San Bernardino, Calif., and Marvin Dickey , Mineral Wells, Texas, 1,149
125, Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., 1,148
126, Lee Taylor, Las Vegas, 1,147
127 (tie), Butch Hrouda, Dickinson, N.D., and Brendan Bierch, Grafton, Mass., 1,146
129, Max Shellabarger, Layton, Utah, 1,144
130 (tie), John Thullen, Whiteland, Ind., and Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 1,143
132 (tie), Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., Gary Coultas, Huntington Beach, Calif., and
Jimmy Johnson, Bellevue, Neb., 1,142
135, Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., 1,140
136 (tie), John Dassi , Las Vegas, Larry Grandt, Gurnee, Ill., and
Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 1,138
139, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 1,137
140, Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 1,136
141, Ray Shuel, Canada, 1,135
142 (tie) Nicholas Maturo, Las Vegas, Don Jackson, Bonita, Calif., and
Edwin Case, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,134
145, Fred Kouri, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,133
146, Mike Webb, Red Oak, Iowa, 1,128
147, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 1,127
148, Steve Davis, Manteca, Calif., 1,125
149, Michael Lucente , Warren, Mich., 1,122
150, Glen Morgan, Seminole, Ala., 1,121
151, Howard Frostman, Washburn, Wis., 1,119
152, Bill Stempke, Moorpark, Calif., 1,117
153, Jim Stevens, Eagan, Minn., 1,116
154, Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 1,115
155, Rick Salyer, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,113
156, Ed Jablonski, Las Vegas, 1,112
157 (tie) John Forst, Salt Lake City, and Walter Rampton, Las Vegas, 1,111
159, Bob Puttick, Canada, 1,110
160, Warren Nelson, Fresno, Calif., 1,109
161, Glen Smith, Seattle, Wash., 1,108
162, Melvin Shirey, Sun City West, Ariz., 1,107
163, (tie)Fred McClain, Lincoln Park, Mich., and Herbye Mitchell, Granbury, Texas, 1,106
165, Jim Cameron, Aliso Viejo, Calif., 1,104
166, Sam Perrotta, Lincoln Park, N.J., 1,103
167, Bob Knipple, Long Beach, Calif., 1,101
168, Kazz Tsujinaga, Japan, 1,100
169, Pedro Flores, Salida, Calif., 1,098
170, Shannon Starnes, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,096
171 (tie), Rudy Moreno, Reno, Nev., and Alan Anderson Jr., Albany, N.Y., 1,095
173, Fred Cole, Visalia, Calif., 1,094
174, Marvin Nezvensky Jr., Pueblo, Colo., 1,092
175 (tie), Larry Galloway, Fresno, Calif., Lee Tucker, Camarillo, Calif., 1,090
177 (tie), Murray Hickman Sr., Las Vegas, and D.A. Carbone, Broomfield, Colo., 1,088
179, Rich Wilkinson, Bennington, Neb., 1,086
180, Rickey Smith, Milton, Fla., 1,082
181, Darwin Wimer, Mesquite, Nev., 1,080
182 (tie), Gerry Chinn, Castaic, Calif., and Mal Helmuth, Elk Grove, Calif., 1,079
184, Ross McDonald, Clarksville, Md., 1,078
185, Robert Maki, Ishpeming, Mich., 1,073
186 (tie), George Abrahamsen, Laguna Beach, Calif., and Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va., 1,068
188, Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 1,063
189, Jay Boyle, Garnet Valley, Pa., 1,062
190, Ron Boroff, Mansfield, Texas, 1,059
191 (tie), Dean Hebner, Vancouver, Wash., and Bill Argenbright, Fisherville, Va., 1,057
193, Brad Newhouse, Las Vegas, 1,053
194 (tie), Thomas Smith, San Bernardino, Calif., and Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 1,052
196, Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., 1,050
197, George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 1,049
198, Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 1,047
199 (tie), Dewaine West , Temecula, Calif., Dan Winter, Rockford, Ill., and Lamonte Lovering, San Mateo, Calif., 1,046
202, Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., 1,043
203, Rob Mautner, Las Vegas, 1,042
204 (tie), Glenn Masukawa, Henderson, Nev., and Dan Clausse, Reno, Nev., 1,041
206, Mike Foreman, Las Vegas, 1,039
207 (tie), James Turner, Lubbock, Texas, and Darrel Curtis, Las Vegas, 1,037
209, Bill Kaiser Jr., Las Vegas, 1,036
210, Van Fenner, Reno, Nev., 1,032
211, Don Michaelsen Sr., Plant City, Fla., 1,026
212 (tie), Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., and John Tavano, Sebring, Fla., 1,024
214, Ross Larsen, Riverside, Calif., 1,023
215, John Shreve Sr., Elyria, Ohio, 1,020
216, Rich Cutler, Valley Springs, Calif., 1,012
217, Fred Baldwin, Sturgis, Mich., 1,004
218 (tie), Dave Cook, Temecula, Calif., and Randolph Kerr, Troutdale, Ore., 1,002
220, Phil Prieto Jr., El Paso, Texas, 997
221, Robert Walters, North Las Vegas, Nev., 993
222, Ed Bordenka, Las Vegas, 991
223, Tom Greco, West Palm Beach, Fla., 971
224, Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., 967
225, Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., 957
226, Steve Lennard, Palmdale, Calif., 927
227, James Gregware Jr, Rensselaer, N.Y., 870