Jordan Richard paces field in opening round at 2019 PWBA Lincoln Open

STANDINGS

LINCOLN, Neb.
- Jordan Richard of Tecumseh, Michigan, leads after eight games of qualifying at the Professional Women's Bowling Association Lincoln Open.

Richard, the 2018 PWBA Rookie of the Year, rolled scores of 204, 181, 277, 214, 259, 205, 227 and 220 on Friday at Sun Valley Lanes to pace the 77-player field with a 1,787 total, a 223.28 average.

Richard, who won the 2018 PWBA Greater Harrisburg Open, is looking for her first stepladder finals appearance of the 2019 season after just missing the championship round at the Nationwide PWBA Greater Cleveland Open, finishing in fifth place.

She finished in 13th place at last week's PWBA Twin Cities Open.

Singapore's Daphne Tan sits in second place with a 1,740 total, while former University of Nebraska standout and rookie Julia Bond of Aurora, Illinois, is third with 1,728.

Mexico's Sandra Gongora is fourth with 1,723, and Ukraine's Dasha Kovalova rounds out the top five with 1,717.

All competitors at the PWBA Lincoln Open will return to Sun Valley Lanes on Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern for the final eight-game round of qualifying. After 16 games, the top 32 players will advance to the next round, which will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. Eastern.

With eight games remaining, Ashly Galante of Palm Harbor, Florida, sits in 32nd place with a 1,626 total, a 203.25 average.

Bowlers advancing to Saturday's Round of 32 will bowl an additional eight games to determine which 12 players make the next round. The Round of 12 will consist of six additional games, with total pinfall for 30 games determining the four players advancing to the stepladder finals.

The stepladder finals will take place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern and be broadcast live on BowlTV.com. BowlTV is providing wire-to-wire coverage of the PWBA Lincoln Open.