FAIRLAWN, Ohio (Feb. 7, 2018) – Andrew Anderson, a two-time PBA regional winner from Holly, Mich., averaged 241 to take the first round lead in the PBA Tournament of Champions at AMF Riviera Lanes Wednesday.

Bowling in his second year on tour, the 2018 Team USA member fired a 1,448 six-game pinfall total with games of 232, 278, 212, 235, 256 and 235 to lead the 80-player field made up of PBA champions.

Anderson qualified for the TOC field by finishing third in the pre-tournament qualifier for non-tour winners on Monday. The TOC is the first major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season.

“Bowling in the PTQ was really kind of an added benefit because I bowled well and was able to gain some confidence,” the 22-year-old Anderson said. “Getting off to a good start is always good, now it’s up to me to keep it going – no excuses.”

“To come out on top after the first round is a surreal feeling,” he added. “I was focused so hard on my bowling that I didn’t really look at the standings until the very end of the round.”

Anderson’s best Tour finishes were third in last year’s PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic and sixth in the Barbasol PBA Players Championship.

Anderson holds a 69-pin lead over one-time PBA Tour winner Connor Pickford of Charlotte, N.C., in second with 1,379. Rounding out the top five are 2018 DHC Japan Invitational winner Dom Barrett of England, 1,378; defending TOC champion EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,377, and DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,374.

The entire field will return this evening for second round qualifying at 6 p.m. ET.  After Thursday’s third and final qualifying round, the field will be cut to the top 24 players who will advance to the first match play round at 6 p.m. ET.  After Friday’s match play rounds at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., the top five players will be determined for Sunday’s live stepladder finals on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET.

Fans can catch TOC qualifying and match play rounds on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. For subscription and schedule information visitwww.xtraframe.tv.

PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

AMF Riviera Lanes, Fairlawn, Ohio, Wednesday

First Round Standings (after 6 games)

1, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 1,448.
2, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,379.
3, Dom Barrett, England, 1,378.
4, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,377.
5, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,374.
6, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,371.
7, Matthew O'Grady, Rahway, N.J., 1,370.
8, (tie) Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., and Richie Teece, England, 1,367.
10, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 1,365.
11, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,362.
12, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,358.
13, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,356.
14, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 1,352.
15, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,349.
16, (tie) AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., and BJ Moore III, Greensburg, Pa., 1,345.
18, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 1,344.
19, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 1,339.
20, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, Texas, 1,335.
21, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 1,331.
22, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,330.
23, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 1,329.
24, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,326.
25, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 1,325.
26, (tie) Osku Palermaa, Finland, and Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,320.
28, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,315.
29, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 1,314.
30, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 1,310.
31, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,308.
32, (tie) Andres Gomez, Colombia, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, and Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 1,306.
35, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,304.
36, (tie) Aaron Lorincz, Center Line, Mich., and Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,303.
38, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,302.
39, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,299.
40, (tie) Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,298.
42, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 1,296.
43, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,294.
44, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,291.
45, (tie) Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., and Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,282.
47, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,280.
48, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,279.
49, (tie) Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, and Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 1,278.
51, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 1,273.
52, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 1,271.
53, Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, 1,266.
54, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 1,258.
55, (tie) Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, and Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 1,247.
57, Stuart Williams, England, 1,246.
58, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,243.
59, (tie) Rhino Page, Orlando, and Matthew Sanders, Evansville, Ind., 1,242.
61, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,235.
62, (tie) Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,232.
64, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,224.
65, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 1,214.
66, (tie) Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,213.
68, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 1,208.
69, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 1,202.
70, Graham Fach, Canada, 1,195.
71, Kyle Mayberry, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, 1,178.
72, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 1,176.
72, Joe Bailey, Wooster, Ohio, 1,176.
74, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,170.
75, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,151.
76, Michael Clark Jr., Cleveland, Ohio, 1,134.
77, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,092.
78, Ed Carter, Austintown, Ohio, 1,088.
79, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,081.
80, JT Jackson, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 977.