2019 PBA50 National Championship by Spanish Springs Lanes and Radical

Petraglia Surges Into Lead At PBA50 National Championship

Petraglia Surges Into Lead At PBA50 National Championship

Johnny Petraglia made a huge run to end the second round of qualifying as he took the lead at the 2019 PBA50 National Championship.

Apr 25, 2019 by Lucas Wiseman
Petraglia Surges Into Lead At PBA50 National Championship

Bowling legend Johnny Petraglia made a huge run to end the second round of qualifying Wednesday night as he took the lead at the 2019 PBA50 National Championship.

A 14-time PBA Tour champion and eight-time PBA50 Tour champion, Petraglia, 72, surged into the lead with a 12-game pinfall of 2,853, an average of 237.75, at Spanish Springs Lanes in The Villages, Florida.

After shooting 1,362 for six games in the opening round on the fresh, Petraglia crushed the double burn for 1,491 on Wednesday night. He started with games of 216 and 227 before cruising to 259, 268, 247 and 274 to close out the block.

Results: PBA50 National Championship Quailfying Round 2

Petraglia’s last national title on either tour came in 2012 when he won the PBA Senior Dayton Classic. That victory made Petraglia the only player in PBA Tour to win titles in six different decades.

Mark Sullivan sits in second place with 2,847, while Norm Duke, who was tied for the first-round lead, dropped to third with 2,790. Michael Haugen Jr., the 2018 PBA50 Player of the Year, sits in fourth place with 2,782.

PBA Hall of Famer Danny Wiseman is making his PBA50 debut this week and made a big jump from 25th place after Round 1 to fifth place after the second round with 2,772.

The field will bowl six more games of qualifying before the cut to the top 32 is made for match play on Friday. All players bowl one round on fresh, one on burn and one on double burn.

Jeff Atkins currently sits on the cut line in 32nd place with 2,654, a 221.17 average with PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber just two pins behind him in 33rd place.