Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., set a blistering scoring pace, averaging 243.9 Wednesday to lead the field of 195 qualifiers in the PBA Chameleon Championship presented by Reno Tahoe at the National Bowling Stadium.

The Chameleon Championship was the first of four animal pattern qualifying stages that are part of the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling IX, presented by Eldorado Resorts Reno Properties, and the Go Bowling! PBA Tour.

Competition leading into the PBA World Championship continues Thursday with two five-game PBA Shark Championship presented by Xtra Frame qualifying squads.

Smallwood (pictured above), at age 40 and in search of his third career PBA Tour title, threw games of 246, 245, 278, 244 and 248 in the five-game morning round and was almost as consistent in the evening round with games of 227, 227, 244, 258 and 222 for a 10-game total of 2,439 pins and a 45-pin margin over second-place qualifier Jesper Svensson of Sweden.

Canada’s Francois Lavoie (left) and Josh Blanchard (right) of Mesa, Ariz., were tied for third place with 2,380 pins and Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y., was fifth with 2,363 pins.

“I don’t know who to thank for not starting the World Series with the Cheetah pattern,” Smallwood said of the traditional opening event, a shorter oiling pattern that he typically doesn’t care for. “I get by on the shorter patterns, but given a choice…

“The new (Chameleon 39-foot pattern) was a little more playable for me,” he added, “and only bowling five games each block helped because the pattern didn’t break down as much for me. I think I had two open frames all day, and I was able to throw a four- or five-bagger each game, which obviously helped.

“I’m usually 200 pins behind the pace after the first animal pattern, so it’s nice to get out front early this year.”

With his strong start, Smallwood, who won the 2009 PBA World Championship for his first title, also became the early leader in 2017 PBA World Championship qualifying which is based on combined 40-pin qualifying totals for the Chameleon, Shark, Cheetah and Scorpion animal pattern events.

Also in the field is Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts, who is bowling in the PBA’s World Series for the second time. He got his baptism in 2015, missed last year while recovering from an injury, but anxiously awaited another shot this year.

Betts again demonstrated he lacks experience bowling against the best in the world, but he has bowling skills that have impressed most of the bowling experts watching the event. Betts put on a respectable performance Wednesday, averaging 202.6 for his 10 games, including a 278 to lead off the tournament.

He finished opening day in 153rd place in the field of 195 players after the Chameleon round.

The top 16 players who advanced to the Chameleon single-elimination match play competition on Wednesday, Nov. 15, included players from the United States, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia.

Besides Svensson and Lavoie, Glenn Morten Pedersen (left) of Norway (click to go to an interview), Yannathon Larpapharat of Thailand, Adrian Ang (right) of Malaysia, and Zacharay Wilkins of Canada made the cut. Ang rolled one of three perfect games in qualifying, Matthew Sanders of Evansville, Ind., and Wilkins were the others.

Sanders won the 16th berth in match play with a 246-186 win over Thailand’s Annop Arromsaranon in a roll-off to break the tie for 16th after they tied with 2,322 pins.

The ninth annual WSOB, which officially kicked off the 2017-18 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule, continues Thursday with 10 qualifying games on the Shark 45 oiling pattern, 10 games Saturday on the Cheetah 33 pattern and 10 games Sunday on the Scorpion 42 pattern.

All qualifying rounds will be covered live on Xtra Frame at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. PST. All competition throughout the WSOB also will be covered in depth on pba.com’s “live scoring” feature.

Forty combined qualifying games on the four animal patterns will determine the top 49 players who will advance to the PBA World Championship cashers’ round which will involve five more games on each of the four animal patterns next Monday and Tuesday at 1 and 5 p.m.

The 40-game totals also will determine the top five United States and top five international players who will compete in the USA vs. The World team match that will be contested at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, for telecast on Sunday, Dec. 10, on ESPN.

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PBA Chameleon Championship – Final Qualifying Standings

Players with position, hometown and 10-game total; top 16 advance to Chameleon Championship Round of 16 single-elimination match play on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

1, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,439
2, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 2,394
3, (tie) Francois Lavoie, Canada, and Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,380
5, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 2,363
6, (tie) Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., and Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 2,362
8, (tie) Yannathon Larpapharat, Thailand, and Adrian Ang, Malaysia, 2,359
10, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2,357
11, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 2,355
12, (tie) Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., and DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 2,329
14, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., and Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,328
16, Matthew Sanders, Evansville, Ind., 2,322
Sanders def. Annop, 246-186, in one-game roll-off to break the tie for 16th place.

Missed Cut:
17, Annop Arromsaranon, Thailand, 2,322
18, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 2,316
19, Ahmed Alawadhi, Bahrain, 2,311
20, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 2,301
21, Francois Louw, South Africa, 2,294
22, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 2,293
23, Michael Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 2,292
24, Connor Pickford, Plano, Texas, 2,287
25, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,286
26, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 2,284
27, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 2,280
28, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 2,268
29, (tie) Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., and Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2,265
31, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 2,263
32, (tie) Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, and Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 2,259
34, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,256
35, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2,252
36, PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 2,251
37, (tie) Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., and Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 2,250
39, Yousif Falah, Bahrain, 2,246
40, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,242
41, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,241
42, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,238
43, (tie) Martin Larsen, Sweden, and Dom Barrett, England, 2,237
45, (tie) John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., and Gaetan Mouveroux, France, 2,235
47, Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 2,233
48, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,229
49, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2,227
50, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,223
51, Richie Teece, England, 2,218
52, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 2,212
53, Graham Fach, Canada, 2,203
54, Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 2,201
55, (tie) BJ Moore III, Greensburg, Pa., and Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 2,200
57, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 2,196
58, Ryan Graywacz, Canastota, N.Y., 2,193
59, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 2,191
60, (tie) Syafiq Ridhwan, Malaysia, and Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 2,188
62, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 2,187
63, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 2,186
64, Timo Schroeder, Germany, 2,185
65, (tie) Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., and Matthew O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 2,184
67, Anthony DeStasio, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 2,183
68, (tie) Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, and Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,181
70, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 2,180
71, Carsten Hansen, Denmark, 2,177
72, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 2,176
73, (tie) Alex Liew Liang, Malaysia, and AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 2,175
75, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,173
76, Tan Chern, Malaysia, 2,172
77, Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 2,169
78, (tie) Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, and Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 2,164
81, Julio Cesar Blancas, Mexico, 2,162
82, Blayne Fletcher, Australia, 2,161
83, Pascal Winternheimer, Germany, 2,159
84, (tie) Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., and Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., 2,158
86, Nick Christy, Newport, N.C., 2,157
87, Mattias Wetterberg, Sweden, 2,156
88, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,155
89, Billy Asbury, Odenton, Md., 2,154
90, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 2,151
91, Tobias Boerding, Germany, 2,150
92, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 2,147
93, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 2,145
94, Tommy Barna, Westminster, Md., 2,143
95, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 2,142
96, Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y., 2,141
97, Humberto Vazquez, Mexico, 2,138
98, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 2,137
99, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 2,136
100, (tie) Keven Williams, Springfield, Mo., and Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 2,135
102, (tie) Michael Murray, Australia, and Jason Zook, Tampa, Fla., 2,132
104, (tie) Pyry Puharinen, Finland, and Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 2,131
106, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 2,128
107, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 2,126
108, Stuart Williams, England, 2,125
109, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 2,121
110, Saulnier Valentin, France, 2,119
111, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 2,116
112, Muhammad Rafiq Ismail, Malaysia, 2,115
113, (tie) Raymond Lussier, San Jose, Calif., and Sam Cooley, Australia, 2,114
115, (tie) Patrick Girard, Canada, and Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 2,112
117, Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 2,111
118, (tie) Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, and Jeremy Mooney, West Palm Beach, Fla., 2,109
120, David Krol, Nixa, Mo., 2,104
121, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,103
122, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 2,099
123, Kole Payne, Charlotte, N.C., 2,098
124, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 2,097
125, (tie) Amanda Fry, Antelope, Calif., and Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,091
127, (tie) Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., and Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 2,087
129, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 2,085
130, JR Raymond, Clinton Twp., Mich., 2,084
131, Greg Thomas, Irmo, S.C., 2,082
132, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 2,081
133, Jens Mathiesen, Norway, 2,079
134, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 2,077
135, Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 2,073
136, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 2,072
137, (tie) Ryan Zagar, Racine, Wis., Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, and Derek Handy, Redmond, Wash., 2,070
140, Mik Stampe, Denmark, 2,069
141, w-Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2,068
142, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 2,067
143, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2,062
144, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 2,058
145, Zachary Dwyer, Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., 2,057
146, (tie) Shawn Maldonado, Houston, and Matt Bollhalter, Niceville, Fla., 2,050
148, Casey Knutson, Sparks, Nev., 2,048
149, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 2,047
150, Hyun Bum Kim, South Korea, 2,044
151, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 2,043
152, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 2,037
153, Mookie Betts, Boston, 2,026
154, Miguel Lopez, Peoria, Ariz., 2,021
155, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 2,019
156, Austin Hunt, Kennewick, Wash., 2,017
157, Daria Pajak, Poland, 2,016
158, Stephen Hahn, Ashburn, Va., 2,014
159, Svein Ake Ek, Norway, 2,013
160, Ramon Hilferink, Netherlands, 2,005
161, (tie) Mikhail West-Marin, Paradise, Calif., and Christopher O’Neil, Decatur, Ill., 2,004
163, Frank Drevenstedt, Germany, 2,001
164, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz., 2,000
165, Michael Vitalone, Jr., Lake Worth, Fla., 1,996
166, Oeyvin Kulseng, Norway, 1,994
167, Adam Pogge, Austin, Texas, 1,990
168, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,983
169, Jim Pratt, Avondale, Ariz., 1,968
170, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 1,967
171, Michael Smith, Centenniel, Colo., 1,964
172, Shaun Cornett, Carmichael, Calif., 1,931
173, William Tarpein, McDonough, Ga., 1,928
174, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,925
175, (tie) Michael Duran, Banning, Calif., Mateo Hernandez, Argentina, and JT Jackson, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 1,919
178, Jun Hyung Seo, Korea, 1,911
179, Andrew Mienkiewicz, Massapequa, N.Y., 1,907
180, Joseph Purdom, Lemoyne, Pa., 1,891
181, (tie) Jonathan Hocsman, Argentina, and Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,858
183, Josh Montgomery, Flower Mound, Texas, 1,848
184, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y., 1,843
185, Ben Zakrocki, Philadelphia, 1,829
186, Jiafei Fang, China, 1,820
187, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1,791
188, Andrew McLinden, Gardnerville, Nev., 1,779
189, Adam Hayes, Australia, 1,767
190, Miguel Rosales, Anaheim, Calif., 1,762
191, Matthew Wozney, Clayton, Del., 1,752
192, Jeff Bragg, Linesville, Pa., 1,751
193, Yebgueni Velez, Ecuador, 1,744
194, Cody Copeland, Abilene, Texas, 1,691
195, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 1,673

300 games (3) – Adrian Ang, Matt Sanders, Zacharay Wilkins.