Professional Bowlers Association Hall of famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured) is on a quest to add yet another milestone to an already legendary career.

Williams moved into the third round lead of the PBA Senior U.S. Open presented by the Suncoast at the Suncoast Bowling Center Wednesday with a 4,183 18-game pinfall total (232.3 average).

The 51-year-old Williams hopes to become the only player in PBA history to win U.S. Open titles on both the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour and Senior Tour. But there's still a long way to go in the tournament with another nine-game qualifying round and three eight-game match play rounds yet to be contested before the top four will be determined for the stepladder finals.

In Wednesday's six-game round Williams had a 1,460 pinfall with games of 226, 238, 224, 267, 269 and 236.

"Generally I'm executing well but occasionally I'll throw a bad shot," said the 2010 PBA Senior Rookie of the Year. "Fortunately I'm keeping the bad shots to a minimum. When I was striking I was able to put together a lot of strings of strikes—I had eight in a row in both the 260 games."

Williams heads a list of 56 players who have advanced to Thursday morning's final nine-game qualifying round which will determine the top 24 players who will advance to round-robin match play beginning Thursday afternoon and continuing Friday. When match play is completed the top four players will be determined for the stepladder finals set for Friday at 3:30 p.m. PT.

"I try to win every tournament I bowl but naturally I would be very happy to be the first to win the U.S. Open on both tours," Williams said. "As far as the number of games, we're just a little over a third of the way through the tournament but this is obviously a good foundation heading into the final qualifying round.

"Unless I shoot myself in the foot I should make the cut to match play but when you get there you have the bonus pins (for match wins) and that always brings another element into it."

The career record holder with 47 PBA Tour titles and most PBA Player of the Year crowns with seven, Williams has regained top form on the Senior Tour after his worst PBA Tour season in 2009-10 in which he failed to win a title after a record 17 consecutive seasons with at least one win.

Williams, who is coming off a win in the recent Senior Mark Roth Allentwon Open, leads first-round leader Kevin Croucher (left) of Grants Pass, Ore. in second 94 pins back with 4,089, and second-round leader Bo Goergen (right) of Sanford, Mich., in third with 4,079.

Other notables making the cut were 2010 Senior Player of the Year and 2008 and 2009 Senior U.S. Open winner Wayne Webb (left) in eighth; 2009 Senior Player of the Year and 2010 runner-up Ron Mohr (right) in 10th; Four-time Senior Player of the Year and 2005 and 2006 Senior U.S. Open winner Tom Baker in 17th, and defending champion Mark Williams in 40th.

Peter Knopp of Germany took the 56th and last place to advance with 3,646 or an average of 202.56.

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

 

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2011 PBA Senior Tour Schedule and Champions

 

2011 PBA Senior U.S. Open - Third Round

Players with position, hometown and 18-game total. The top 56 advance. s-indicates super seniors out of the regular prize fund cashing for $700.

1, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 4,183
2, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 4,089
3, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 4,079
4, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 4,056
5, John Chapman, Canada, 4,003
6, Ricky Beck, Box Elder, S.D., 3,960
7, Eric Forkel, Las Vegas, 3,951
8, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 3,945
9, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 3,936
10, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 3,913
11, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,909
12, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,902
13, Junichi Yajima, Japan, 3,901
14, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,899
15, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 3,881
16, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, 3,877
17, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 3,866
18, Brian Voss, Alpharetta, Ga., 3,859
19, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 3,847
20, Barry Zimmerman , Grand Forks, N.D., 3,827
21, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 3,813
22, Marv Sargent, Temecula, Calif., 3,809
23, Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., 3,806
24, Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., 3,803
25, Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 3,790
26, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3,768
27, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 3,765
28, Jeff Jamison, Boulder City, Nev., 3,762
29, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 3,752
30, Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 3,749
31, Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3,741
32, Karl Simonis , Mesa, Ariz., 3,739
33, Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa., 3,727
34, Daniel Miyamoto, Mililani, Hawaii, 3,725
35, Russ Freeman, Antioch, Ill., 3,724
36, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3,723
37, Don Moser, Murrieta, Calif., 3,720
38, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 3,714
39, Thomas Ream, Tampa, Fla., 3,695
40, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 3,694
41, Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 3,693
42, Jim Gordin, Modesto, Calif., 3,690
43, John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich., 3,688
44, Jim Moran, Las Vegas, 3,685
45, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 3,680
46, Don Hicks, West Babylon, N.Y., 3,677
47, Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 3,676
48, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 3,675
49 (tie), Howard Partell, Las Vegas, and Doug Kempt, Monrovia, Calif., 3,673
51, Kerry Fulford, Brownwood, Texas, 3,668
52, Howard Loosbroock, Henderson, Nev., 3,666
53, Pete Thomas, Oklahoma City, Okla., 3,665
54, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3,657
55, John Kirker, Taftville, Conn., 3,656
56, Peter Knopp, Germany, 3,646

Missed Cut:
57, Jace Peterson, Elkhorn, Wis., 3,635
58, s-Terry Leong, Las Vegas, 3,632, $700
59, Randy Robertson, Evansville, Ind., 3,630
60, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,622
61, s-Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., 3,621, $700
62, Paul Nilsen Sr., Murrieta, Calif., 3,610
63, s-Matt Surina, Puyallup, Wash., 3,607, $700
64,s- Frank DeFilippo, Las Vegas, 3,605, $700
65, Gary Skidmore, Albuquerque, N.M., 3,600
66, Jeff Suma, Auburn Hills, Mich., 3,594
67, Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 3,591
68, s-Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 3,590, $700
69 (tie), Mark Glover, Woodbridge, Va., and Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,586
71 (tie), Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., and Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis., 3,584
73, Warren Nelson, Fresno, Calif., 3,582
74, Marc Lineberry, Camanche, Iowa, 3,581
75, Jim Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 3,576
76, Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky., 3,569
77, Rich Cook, Olympia, Wash., 3,568
78, John DiSantis, Wilmington, Del., 3,564
79, Koichiro Tamaki, Japan, 3,561
80, Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,558
81 (tie), William Keenan, Jr. , Orlando, Fla., and John Forst, Salt Lake City, 3,553
83, s-Paul Appling, Camarillo, Calif., 3,552, $700
84 (tie), Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., and s-Harry Mickelson, Yakima, Wash., 3,547, $700
86, Phil Gessner, Spring, Texas, 3,546
87, s-Fred Kouri, Castle Rock, Colo., 3,545, $700
88, Ken Gibson, Greenville, S.C., 3,543
89 (tie) Roger Painter, Woodbridge, Va., and Brendan Bierch, Grafton, Mass., 3,541
91, Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 3,540
92 (tie), Rudy Moreno , Reno, Nev., and Edward Roberts, Braintree, Mass., 3,533
94 (tie), Ralph Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., 3,532
96, Max Shellabarger, Layton, Utah, 3,525
97, Jimmy Johnson, Bellevue, Neb., 3,524
98, David Knight, Folcroft, Pa., 3,511
99 (tie), Jorge Gutierrez, Las Cruces, N.M., and Nick Tjotjos, Westlake, Ohio, 3,510
101 (tie), Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va., and Anthony Chmura, Chaplin, Conn., 3,508
103, Rodney Tramp, Porterville, Calif, 3,507
104, Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 3,498
105, John Younger , Ledyard, Conn., 3,496
106, Dave Washburn, Las Vegas, 3,480
107, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 3,477
108, Bob Knipple, Long Beach, Calif., 3,476
109, Mark Scime, Winter Garden, Fla., 3,474
110, Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., 3,473
111, Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 3,472
112, Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C., 3,469
113, Mike Landrith, Maricopa, Ariz., 3,467
114, Steve Davis, Manteca, Calif., 3,463
115 (tie), James Martin, Vero Beach, Fla., John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., and
Carl Labayan, Long Beach, Calif., 3,460
118, Nicholas Maturo, Las Vegas, 3,458
119, Michael Clemence, Las Vegas, 3,456
120, Warren Blankenship, Ardmore, Okla., 3,454
121, Bill Stewart, Plainwell, Mich., 3,453
122, Edwin Case, Albuquerque, N.M., 3,450
123 (tie), Darwin Wimer, Mesquite, Nev., Radar Presley, Atlanta, and
George Tignor, Winchendon, Mass., 3,441
126, Lee Taylor, Las Vegas, 3,437
127, Mal Helmuth, Elk Grove, Calif., 3,436
128, James Turner, Lubbock, Texas, 3,429
129, Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., 3,424
130, Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 3,422
131 (tie), Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., Pedro Flores, Salida, Calif., and
Gary Bessette, Summerdale, Ala., 3,416
134, Shannon Starnes, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,415
135, D.A. Carbone, Broomfield, Colo., 3,409
136, Hal Wilber, Las Vegas, 3,407
137 (tie), Don Lane, San Francisco, and Rich Wilkinson, Bennington, Neb., 3,404
139, Fred McClain, Lincoln Park, Mich., 3,398
140 (tie), Thomas Andres Sr., Highland, Calif., and Ed Jablonski , Las Vegas, 3,396
142 (tie), Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., and Peter Marien, Lisbon, Conn., 3,394
144, Gerry Chinn, Castaic, Calif., 3,393
145, Larry Galloway, Fresno, Calif., 3,392
146, Dan Winter, Rockford, Ill., 3,391
147, Butch Hrouda, Dickinson, N.D., 3,390
148, Don Jackson, Bonita, Calif., 3,388
149, Dean Jones, Las Vegas, 3,378
150, Glen Morgan, Seminole, Ala., 3,374
151, Chuck Best, Buda, Texas, 3,373
152, Melvin Shirey, Sun City West, Ariz., 3,371
153, Ron Sandusky, Visalia, Calif., 3,369
154, Ray Cobb, Highland, Calif., 3,368
155, Murray Hickman Sr., Las Vegas, 3,367
156, Lee Rucker, Fort Myers, Fla., 3,366
157 (tie), Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich., and David Blades, East Wenatchee, Wash., 3,365
159, Gary Coultas, Huntington Beach, Calif., 3,364
160, Mike Webb, Red Oak, Iowa, 3,360
161, David Graber, Las Vegas, 3,358
162, Dean Hebner, Vancouver, Wash., 3,356
163, Ron Boroff, Mansfield, Texas, 3,334
164, Dewaine West, Temecula, Calif., 3,330
165, Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 3,329
166, Brian Miller, Springfield, Ohio, 3,324
167, Marvin Nezvensky Jr., Pueblo, Colo., 3,320
168 (tie), Ray Shuel, Canada, and Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 3,317
170, Mike Locorriere, Las Vegas, 3,311
171, Lamonte Lovering, San Mateo, Calif., 3,308
172, Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 3,300
173, Bill Stempke, Moorpark, Calif., 3,299
174, Donna Tuttle, King, N.C., 3,297
175, Jim Stevens, Eagan, Minn., 3,295
176, Glen Smith, Seattle, Wash., 3,294
177, Fred Cole, Visalia, Calif., 3,290
178, John Shreve Sr., Elyria, Ohio, 3,289
179, Sam Perrotta, Lincoln Park, N.J., 3,284
180, Phil Prieto Jr., El Paso, Texas, 3,280
181, Kazz Tsujinaga, Japan, 3,272
182, Alan Anderson Jr., Albany, N.Y., 3,265
183, George Abrahamsen, Laguna Beach, Calif., 3,262
184, Bob Puttick, Canada, 3,260
185, John Dassi, Las Vegas, 3,255
186, George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 3,242
187, Darrel Curtis, Las Vegas, 3,240
188, Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., 3,236
189, Bill Argenbright, Fisherville, Va., 3,235
190 (tie), Frank Weiler, San Bernardino, Calif., and Marvin Dickey , Mineral Wells, Texas, 3,232
192, Van Fenner, Reno, Nev., 3,225
193, John Thullen, Whiteland, Ind., 3,217
194, Dave Cook , Temecula, Calif., 3,212
195, Jay Boyle, Garnet Valley, Pa., 3,195
196, Herbye Mitchell, Granbury, Texas, 3,188
197, Lee Tucker, Camarillo, Calif., 3,181
198, Ed Bordenka, Las Vegas, 3,180
199, Bill Kaiser Jr., Las Vegas, 3,175
200, Mike Foreman, Las Vegas, 3,174
201 (tie), Larry Grandt, Gurnee, Ill., and Rickey Smith, Milton, Fla., 3,162
203, Matty Robinson, Columbia, S.C., 3,156
204, Jim Lee, Rogersville, Tenn., 3,151
205, Dan Clausse, Reno, Nev., 3,148
206, Rick Salyer, Kingsport, Tenn., 3,134
207, Ross Larsen, Riverside, Calif., 3,124
208, John Tavano, Sebring, Fla., 3,123
209, Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., 3,118
210, Ross McDonald, Clarksville, Md., 3,114
211, Robert Maki, Ishpeming, Mich., 3,101
212, Glenn Masukawa, Henderson, Nev., 3,097
213, Robert Walters, North Las Vegas, Nev., 3,091
214, Howard Frostman, Washburn, Wis., 3,071
215, Rich Cutler, Valley Springs, Calif., 3,059
216, Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., 3,031
217, Rob Mautner, Las Vegas, 3,023
218, Steve Lennard, Palmdale, Calif., 3,013
219, Randolph Kerr, Troutdale, Ore., 3,004
220, Fred Baldwin, Sturgis, Mich., 2,901
221, James Gregware Jr, Rensselaer, N.Y., 2,710