Kris Prather tops qualifiers in PBA XF Billy Hardwick Memorial Open

25 June, 2017

PBA National Tour

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Florida native Kris Prather, newly-relocated to Plainfield, Ill., averaged 239 for eight games Saturday to lead the top 24 qualifiers advancing to Sunday’s final rounds in the Professional Bowlers Association’s Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open presented by Chris Hardwick at Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes in Memphis, Tennessee.

Prather (above), a former Wichita State University collegiate star, fired games of 199, 289, 206, 244, 193 and 223 before closing his round with games of 168 and 290 for a 1,912 total and a 70-pin lead over 40-year-old PBA Tour veteran Mike Wolfe (right) of New Albany, Ind. Wolfe is a five-time PBA Tour titlist; Prather, 25, is trying for his first title in his third year as a touring pro.

Australia’s Sam Cooley (left) was third with 1,794 pins followed by Dick Allen of Columbia, S.C., at 1,792 and Cody Shoemaker of Hanover, Pa., with a 1,786 total.

The Hardwick Open is a “throwback” tournament named in honor of the late PBA Hall of Famer (pictured above). It presents players with a one-of-a-kind challenge, requiring all bowlers to compete with only two polyester plastic bowling balls which lack the aggressive hooking power of contemporary high-tech balls.

The parity created by the plastic ball restriction was evident at the “cut” number where Johnathan Bower of Middletown, Pa., and amateur Mykel Holliman of Collierville, Tenn., tied for the last advancing spot for Sunday’s cashers round with 1,663 pins, a modest 207.8 average. Another 11 players were within 30 pins of the cut number.

The tournament is one of nine PBA Xtra Frame events in 2017 season that are being covered live in their entirety, exclusively by PBA’s Xtra Frame live streaming service, which is seen by bowling fans around the world. For subscription and schedule information click here.

Sunday’s finals will begin with a four-game cashers round at 8 a.m. CDT, followed by the top 16 players advancing to three-game single-elimination match play rounds at 11 a.m. (qualifiers 9-16), 1:30 p.m. (winners plus qualifiers 5-8), and 4 p.m. (winners plus qualifiers 1-4).

The four survivors will bowl a one-game match at 6:30 p.m., with the top two scores advancing to the one-game championship match at 7 p.m. All times are Central.

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2017 PBA Tour Schedule & Champions

PBA Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open -Final Qualifying Standings

Players with position, hometown and 8-game total. Top 24 advance to the cashers round. n-denotes non-member.

1, Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 1,912
2, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,842
3, Sam Cooley, Australia, 1,794
4, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,792
5, Cody Shoemaker, Hanover, Pa., 1,786
6, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,753
7, Isaac Kim, Lebanon, Pa., 1,739
8, n-Wesley Low Jr., Palmdale, Calif., 1,730
9, Trevor Roberts, Crystal River, Fla., 1,729
10, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 1,727
11, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 1,724
12, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,723
13, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 1,720
14, Francois Louw, South Africa, 1,719
15, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 1,706
16, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,705
17 (tie), Matt Sanders, Evansville, Ind., and
n-Tommy Berish III, Cordova, Tenn., 1,683
19, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,674
20, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 1,672
21, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 1,670
22, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 1,668
23 (tie), Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., and
n-Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn., 1,663

Missed Cut:
25, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,659
26, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 1,656
27, Stoney Baker, Canton, Ga., 1,655
28, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 1,653
29, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 1,650
30, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,648
31, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,638
32, n-Michael Brewer, Memphis, Tenn., 1,636
33, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,633
34, Graham Fach, Canada, 1,625
35, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 1,623
36, Matt Taylor, Youngsville, N.C., 1,615
37, n-Vic Culbreth, Cordova, Tenn., 1,614
38, Kristian Sieradzki, Seminole, Fla., 1,607
39, Adam Monks, Conway, S.C., 1,606
40, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,601
41, CJ Kirchner, Herrin, Ill., 1,600
42 (tie), David Krol, Nixa, Mo., and
n-Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 1,579
44, n-Jeff Atkins, Hot Springs Village, Ark., 1,563
45 (tie), Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, and
Mark Smith, Memphis, Tenn., 1,562
47, n-Christopher Forrester, Memphis, Tenn., 1,554
48, Michael Houtz, Myerstown, Pa., 1,548
49, Ramon Hilferink, Netherlands, 1,544
50 (tie), Zachary Wright, Roseburg, Ore., and
Thomas Berish Jr., Cordova, Tenn., 1,542
52, n-Ross Jenner, Collierville, Tenn., 1,523
53 (tie), n-Michael Brownlee, Memphis, Tenn., and
Tommy Martin, Olive Branch, Miss., 1,522
55, Christian Smith, Cordova, Tenn., 1,503
56, n-David White, Collierville, Tenn., 1,500
57, Wendell Barger, Dry Ridge, Ky., 1,499
58, n-Rudy Kasimakis, Baldwyn, Miss., 1,491
59, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 1,482
60, n-Richard Howell, Collierville, Tenn., 1,478
61, Seth Hillis, Lebanon, Tenn., 1,476
62, n-John Rutigliano, Cordova, Tenn, 1,467
63, n-Tim Hartigan, Tupelo, Miss., 1,456
64, n-Chucky Minter, Jackson, Tenn., 1,450
65, n-Kenneth Corley, Memphis, Tenn., 1,428
66, n-Josh Turberville, Tupelo, Miss., 1,402
67, n-Chris Goodwin, Southaven, Miss., 1,396
68, n-Danny Schubert, Byhalia, Miss., 1,392
69, n-Matt Hartigan, Tupelo, Miss., 1,378
70, n-Jimbo Martin, Covington, Tenn., 1,356
71, n-Tim Parlow, Memphis, Tenn., 1,341
72, Mark Payne Sr., Amarillo, Texas, 1,339
73, n-Russ Wheeler, Memphis, Tenn., 1,336