Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, outlasted Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill., to earn the top qualifying berth for the Professional Bowlers Association Badger Open stepladder finals Wednesday night at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Mich.

From left, Wes Malott, Sean Rash, Graham Fach, Francois Lavoie and Jason Belmonte.

Malott (left), a 39-year-old 10-time PBA Tour champion, went head-to-head with Rash for the lead over the final six games, winning the duel with a 226 final game to Rash’s 162. Malott finished the Badger qualifying round with a 2,854 pinfall total and a 36-pin lead over Rash (right).

“The last six games, Sean was bowling well, and I was just kinda staying on the show,” Malott said. “But when (Rash) got into trouble, I kinda kicked it into gear and was able to take over.”

In leading the Badger field, Malott qualified for his first PBA Summer/Fall Swing television appearance. “As far as these (Wolf, Bear and Badger) patterns are concerned, this is only the second time I’ve bowled on them,” Malott said.

“I didn’t have any success at all in Oklahoma (last year’s tournament host), but I’ve had some success at Thunderbowl in the past, so it kinda shows some centers favor certain styles, and everything came together for me here. I hope it continues during the TV show.”

Also qualifying for the CBS Sports Network telecast were Canadians Graham Fach (left) of Guelph, Ontario, and Quebec City native Francois Lavoie (right), who now lives in Wichita, Kan. Australia’s Jason Belmonte (below left) claimed the fifth spot in the finals when Denmark’s Thomas Larsen (below right) missed a spare in the 10th frame.

Fach, who won the Barbasol PBA Players Championship for his first title earlier in the year, and Lavoie, the top qualifier in the Wolf Open on Monday, are the leading candidates for PBA Rookie of the Year honors. Belmonte is trying for a record fourth consecutive PBA Player of the Year award, but the Australian two-handed star has yet to win a title in 2016.

The Badger Open is the third and final animal pattern event, all three of which played roles in determining the finalists for the PBA Detroit Open, which is the fourth PBA Tour title event included in the PBA Fall Swing.

The Badger Open finals will be contested Saturday at 5:15 p.m. in Thunderbowl Lanes’ historic arena bay, and will air on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 9 p.m. ET.

The PBA Fall Swing (formerly called the Summer Swing) is one of the PBA Tour’s most challenging events, requiring players to perform at a high level on three distinctly different lane conditioning patterns (the short 32-foot Wolf pattern, flat 40-foot Bear pattern and the long 52-foot Badger pattern). Overall performances on all three lane conditions determined the Detroit Open finalists.

Earlier Wednesday, Lavoie led the field of 18 players who advanced to Thursday’s final rounds of the Detroit Open. Based on combined pinfall totals in the Wolf, Bear and Badger preliminary rounds, the top 18 advance another 18 games – six each on the three different patterns – to determine the five Detroit Open stepladder finalists. Thursday’s Wolf, Bear and Badger rounds begin at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Also at stake during the Fall Swing will be 10 invitations to compete in the 2017 DHC PBA Japan Invitational. The invitations, based on total prize money earned during the Fall Swing, will be announced on Oct. 20.

Thursday’s final three rounds of Detroit Open qualifying will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online video streaming channel, Xtra Frame. For more information, click here.

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PBA Badger Open – Final Qualifying Standings

Players with position, hometown and 12-game total; top five advance to stepladder finals Saturday, Sept. 10, at 5:15 p.m. ET; finals air on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 9 p.m. ET

1, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2,854
2, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,818
3, Graham Fach, Canada, 2,812
4, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 2,790
5, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,772

Missed Cut:
6, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,763, $1,500
7, Rhino Page, Orlando, 2,742, $1,300
8, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 2,675, $1,100
9, Anthony Colosimo, Davie, Fla., 2,660, $900
10, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,646, $800
11, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 2,609, $700
12, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,545, $600

PBA Badger Open – Qualifying Round One

Players with position, hometown and 6-game total; top 12 advance to the second round; n-denotes non-member

1, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,464
2, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 1,452
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,449
4, Graham Fach, Canada, 1,411
5, Anthony Colosimo, Davie, Fla., 1,409
6, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,395
7, Rhino Page, Orlando, 1,392
8, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,364
9, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,339
10, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,338
11, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,329
12, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,327

Missed Cut:
13 (tie), Shawn Maldonado, Houston; Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, and J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 1,326
16 (tie), Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C.; Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., and Ronnie Sparks Jr., Ecorse, Mich., 1,316
19, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 1,313
20, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 1,311
21, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,306
22, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,302
23 (tie), Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., and Kristopher Prather, Milton, Fla., 1,300
25, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,297
26, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,296
27, Joe Bailey, Wooster, Ohio, 1,295
28 (tie), Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., and Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 1,292
30, n-Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 1,291
31, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,287
32, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,286
33, Brian Gunn, Chicago, 1,285
34, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,282
35, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 1,280
36, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,278
37, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 1,275
38, Dom Barrett, England, 1,274
39, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 1,270
40 (tie), Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., and Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1,268
42, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,265
43, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,264
44, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 1,261
45, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 1,260
46 (tie), Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., and A.J. Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 1,259
48, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,258
49 (tie), D.J. Rose, Ypsilanti, Mich., and Sam Cooley, Australia, 1,256
51, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,254
52, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,252
53, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 1,250
54, Brad Miller, Maryland Hts, Mo., 1,247
55, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 1,244
56, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,243
57, n-Carl Boldt, Pontiac, Mich., 1,242
58 (tie), w-Rocio Restrepo, Colombia; Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., and Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,241
61, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 1,240
62, Patrick Allen, South Salem, N.Y., 1,237
63, n-Matthew Sanders, Evansville, Ind., 1,232
64, Monty Wonnacott, Livonia, Mich., 1,231
65, n-Mason Brantley, Detroit, 1,229
66, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,225
67, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,223
68, Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 1,220
69, Jason Miller, Houston, 1,217
70, Lonnie Jones, Ypsilanti, Mich., 1,214
71, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 1,213
72, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,208
73, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 1,206
74, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 1,205
75, Perry Crowell IV, Hoquiam, WA, 1,203
76, Chris Arcaro, Wilmington, N.C., 1,201
77 (tie), Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., and Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,200
79, Jeremiah Bryant, Taylor, Mich., 1,199
80, Dylan Macon, Lubbock, Texas, 1,195
81, Daniel Hochstein, Farmington Hills, Mich., 1,192
82, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,189
83, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 1,188
84, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,184
85, n-Christopher Lemmon, Canada, 1,183
86, w-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 1,176
87 (tie), Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, and n-Steve Jacobs, Belleville, Mich., 1,174
89, Austin Hunt, Kennewick, Wash., 1,172
90, Ward Rauch, Cheboygan, Mich, 1,169
91, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 1,168
92, w-Maria Rodriguez, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,167
93 (tie), Osku Palermaa, Finland, and Matt Bollhalter, Niceville, Fla., 1,165
95, Zachary Dwyer, Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., 1,154
96, Ben Zakrocki, Philadelphia, 1,150
97, n-Charles Zelechowski, Warren, Mich., 1,141
98, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,139
99, Jordan Klassen, Ontario, Canada, 1,138
100, Zachary Seals, Kingsland, Ga., 1,131
101, Mike Williams II, Montgomery, Ala., 1,130
102, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 1,083
103, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 1,072
104, Ervin Raines, New Cummberland, Pa., 1,061
105, n-Kurry Crayton, Birmingham, Ala., 1,055
106, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,037
107, w-Liz Kuhlkin, Rotterdam, N.Y., 1,023
108, Carey Bock, Canada, 985
109, Matthew Wozney, Clayton, Del., 945

300 games – none.