The 90-player GEICO PBA Summer Swing field moved to AMF West Lanes in Greenfield, Wis. for this morning’s first five-game qualifying round of the Lucas Oil Wolf Open and are returning to a synthetic lane surface on the new PBA 32-foot Wo...
The 90-player GEICO PBA Summer Swing field moved to AMF West Lanes in Greenfield, Wis. for this morning’s first five-game qualifying round of the Lucas Oil Wolf Open and are returning to a synthetic lane surface on the new PBA 32-foot Wolf lane conditioning pattern. Looking for his first PBA Tour win, veteran Chris Loschetter of Avon, Ohio, leads after the first round with a 1,281 pinfall total. He had games of 268, 259, 279, 247 and 228. In a nine-season career on Tour, Loschetter has finished second four times and his best finish so far this season was a fourth in the Alka Seltzer Cheetah Championship at the World Series of Bowling. After struggling on the long oil pattern in the recent Lucas Oil Badger Open, Loschetter was looking forward to the shorter Wolf oil pattern. “I really felt positive coming into this tournament,” Loschetter said. “I generally get a much better ball reaction on the shorter patterns and struggle a little bit on the longer ones. “Coming into this tournament I admit I was a little rusty but this is a good confidence builder and I’m getting sharper with every game so hopefully I’m going in the right direction for the rest of the tournament.” Rounding out the top five after the first round are: E.J. Hacket, Huntington, Ind., 1,261; Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1235; Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,234, and Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,216. The 90-player field will bowl another five game qualifying round this afternoon at 5:30 p.m. after which the top 24 will be determined for Friday’s match play rounds. The Lucas Oil Bear Open follows Sunday through Tuesday at AMF Bowlero, followed by the Lucas Oil Milwaukee Open May 29-30, also at AMF Bowlero. The Milwaukee Open will feature the top 28 qualifiers based on total pinfall after 30 qualifying games from the three animal pattern events. Stepladder finals for all four tournaments, plus the GEICO Summer King of the Swing special event, will be taped over two days by the CBS Sports Network June 1-2 at Bowlero for airing on five consecutive Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET beginning June 11. The Badger Open stepladder finals will be conducted on June 1 at 11 a.m., the Wolf Open at 2:30 p.m. and the Bear Open at 6 p.m. on June 1. The GEICO Summer King of the Swing will include the four Summer Swing event champions plus the next highest points leader who hasn’t won a title. Those five will compete in a $25,000 stepladder final for a $10,000 first prize, concluding the summer series on June 2. QUALIFYING ROUND ONE (after 5 games; top 24 after 10 games advance to round robin match play Friday at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.) LUCAS OIL PBA WOLF OPEN AMF West, Milwaukee, Wis., May 23 1, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,281. 2, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,261. 3, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,235. 4, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,234. 5, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,216. 6, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,206. 7, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,203. 8, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1,194. 9, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,193. 10, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,191. 11, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,182. 12, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,177. 13, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,176. 14, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 1,170. 15, Kenneth Kempf, Appleton, Wis., 1,168. 16, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 1,157. 17, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,153. 18, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,149. 19, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,148. 20, William Guszczo, Orland Park, Ill., 1,147. 21, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,141. 22, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1,137. 23, Patrick Girard, Canada, 1,135. 23, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,135. 25, Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,133. 26, David Labinski, Milwaukee, 1,128. 27, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,114. 28, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 1,113. 29, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,111. 30, Mika Koivuni