ELKHART, Ind. – Trying to close out the season with a second consecutive win, Eddie Graham of Centerville, Ohio, fired a 1,925 eight-game pinfall total Monday to take the first round lead in the PBA50 National Championship to Benefit Riley Hospital for Children.

Graham, the winner of the PBA50 DeHayes Insurance Group Championship in Fort Wayne, Ind., last week for his first PBA50 Tour title, bowled games of 238, 235, 244, 188, 247, 279, 238 and 256 at Signature Lanes for a 240 average.

“I’m getting into a good routine out here but other than that I don’t know what’s going on,” Graham said. “I think I’m just having a lot of fun and you always bowl better when you have a lot of fun.”

After a good start to the round, Graham ran into trouble in the fourth game but decided not to make any drastic changes.

“That pair of lanes caught me off guard and I couldn’t make a good adjustment until late in the game,” Graham said. “I didn’t want to give up on it, so I stayed with the same ball. I thought why not stay with it for the first few frames of the next game and see what happens and I was able to get back on track.”

In addition to his PBA50 Tour win, Graham owns five PBA regional titles including the 2007 PBA Regional Invitational.

Finishing the first round in second was five-time PBA Tour and three-time PBA50 Tour winner Bob Learn Jr. of Erie, Pa., with a 1,870 pinfall. PBA50 Tour veteran Tom Carter of Columbus, Ohio overcame a 173 first game and averaged 240 for the next seven to finish third with 1,850.

Mark Sullivan of Indianapolis finished fourth with 1,845 followed by PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke in fifth with 1,834. Duke is trying to win his second consecutive PBA50 major after winning the PBA50 Treasure Island Resort & Casino World Championship in July.

Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr., hoping to reach 100 combined titles in PBA competition, finished the round in 11th with a 1,783 pinfall. In addition to his all-time record 47 wins on the PBA Tour, he has won 10 PBA50 Tour titles, 32 regional titles and 10 PBA50 regional titles for 99 wins in his more than three-decade career.

Coverage continues for the final tournament of the PBA50 Tour season on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. The 80-player field returns Tuesday for the second eight-game qualifying round with match play getting underway Wednesday to determine the top five players for the stepladder finals at 7 p.m. ET.

Monthly subscriptions are $7.99; 3-day passes are $3.99 and a yearly subscription is available for the equivalent of $1.25 per week. Visit www.xtraframe.tv for additional subscription and schedule information.

PBA50 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

To Benefit Riley Hospital for Children

Signature Lanes, Elkhart, Ind., Monday

FIRST ROUND RESULTS (after eight games)

1, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 1,925.
2, Bob Learn Jr., Erie, Pa., 1,870.
3, Tom Carter, Columbus, Ohio, 1,850.
4, Mark Sullivan, Indianapolis, 1,845.
5, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,834.
6, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,820.
7, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,816.
8, ss-Sam Maccarone, Blackwood, N.J., 1,807.
9, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1,806.
10, Ernie Segura Jr., Taylor, Mich., 1,792.
11, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,783.
12, Tony Johnson, Canton, Ohio, 1,777.
13, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,774.
14, Rick Zakrajsek, Lorain, Ohio, 1,770.
15, Brian LeClair, Delmar, N.Y., 1,765.
16, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,764.
17, Tommy Martin, Olive Branch, Miss., 1,759.
18, Robert Brown, Cody, Wyo., 1,753.
19, n,ss-John Weltzien, Wellington, Fla., 1,751.
20, Christopher Keane, Cape Coral, Fla., 1,747.
21, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 1,744.
22, Terry Rohrer, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1,743.
23, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,742.
24, Dave Sill, Titusville, Fla., 1,721.
25, ss-John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 1,706.
26, Todd Kjell, Roscoe, Ill., 1,698.
27, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,697.
28, ss-Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,680.
29, Rick Francis, Linden, Calif., 1,679.
30, John Brockland, St. Charles, Mo., 1,671.
31, ss-Ron Mohr, Las Vegas, 1,667.
32, Bo Goergen, Sanford, Mich., 1,661.
33, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 1,659.
34, (tie) ss-Kerry Fulford, Ft. Worth, Texas, and ss-John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,657.
36, Brian Cooper, Henderson, Nev., 1,649.
37, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,647.
38, (tie) n-George Phillips, Centreville, Mich., and ss-Paul Mielens, Menomonie, Wis., 1,645.
40, ss-Tommy Kress, Rochester, N.Y., 1,636.
41, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Twp., Mich., 1,633.
42, ss-Don Sylvia, Daytona Beach, Fla., 1,631.
43, Brad Snell, Mount Prospect, Ill., 1,625.
44, ss-Steven Jansson, Barnes, Wis., 1,617.
45, Billy Froberg, St Joseph, Mich., 1,616.
46, ss-Bill Henson, Westerville, Ohio, 1,614.
47, (tie) ss-Dennis Lane, Kingsport, Tenn., and ss-James Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 1,613.
49, ss-Paul McCordic, Sugar Land, Texas, 1,611.
50, ss-Chuck Richardson, The Villages, Fla., 1,594.
51, ss-Dave Bernhardt, Romeo, Mich., 1,593.
52, ss-Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 1,592.
53, ss-Richard Hunt, Valparaiso, Ind., 1,583.
54, Gregg Zicha, Glen Ellyn, Ill., 1,579.
55, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,578.
56, Anthony Moses, Southfield, Mich., 1,577.
57, ss-Steve Stein, Staten Island, N.Y., 1,570.
58, Curt Guinn, Greenwood, S.C., 1,565.
59, Steve Easterday, Strasburg, Ohio, 1,558.
60, ss-Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 1,556.
61, (tie) Scott Baker, Titusville, Pa., and ss-Fred Cole, Visalia, Calif., 1,555.
63, ss-Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,552.
64, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 1,548.
65, ss-Warren Nelson, Middleburg, Fla., 1,546.
66, ss-Lee Brosius, Ashburn, Va., 1,531.
67, ss-Gary Kammes, Winfield, Ill., 1,519.
68, Tracy Teeters, Eugene, Ore., 1,518.
69, ss-Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 1,514.
70, Al Danz Jr., Escanaba, Mich., 1,513.
71, ss-William Keenan Jr., Orlando, Fla., 1,507.
72, John Kidwell, Indianapolis, Ind., 1,501.
73, ss-William Banks, Laurel Hill, N.C., 1,489.
74, Randy Leszczynski, Kronenwetter, Wis., 1,483.
75, Danny Clark, New Palestine, Ind., 1,465.
76, ss-Galen Keas, Alda, Neb., 1,449.
77, ss-Dale Eagle, Twin Falls, Idaho, 1,432.
78, n-Robert Davis, Annapolis, Md., 1,396.
79, ss-Ken Waters, Kingsport, Tenn., 1,392.
80, Jim Dilyard, Burbank, Ohio, 1,336.

300 games – Brian Voss, Johnny Petraglia

n-denotes non-member, ss-denotes PBA60 player ages 60 and over