For much more about Rhino Page’s unforgettable — and disastrous — moment in the title match of the 2009 Tournament of Champions, check out the PBA Xtra section of the February 2015 issue of Bowlers Journal Interactive, which provides video and insight into ten top moments from the history of this storied event. You can check it out here: http://bit.ly/BJI022015

Propelled by memories of his painful loss in the 2009 Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions title match, Rhino Page of Dade City, Fla., set a blistering pace as the 50th anniversary Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions got underway at Woodland Bowl Wednesday afternoon, averaging 252 for his first eight games to take a 19-pin lead over Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Page, the 2008 PBA Rookie of the Year, is now 31 and still recovering from wrist surgery in July of 2013. But on his way to an opening-round 2,016 pinfall total, he said, “I didn’t look at the scoreboard all day. I just tried to stay in my own world.

“I should thank the PBA,” added with a smile. “Last night at the hall of fame dinner, I watched the video of that shot (in 2009) a dozen times and it kinda put a little steam in me for today.

“That shot” was Page’s 10th-frame four-count in the 2009 Tournament of Champions title match, which cost him a victory. “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t still hurt. It’s tough to revisit, but I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me.”

More painful, actually, has been his comeback from chronic wrist pain since his surgery two years ago.

“I couldn’t throw full-weight ball until the 2014 Masters,” Page continued. “It hasn’t been until last few months that I’ve felt really healthy enough to do the kind of things I used to do. For the past couple of years, I was throwing the ball with the idea of ‘that didn’t hurt, this didn’t hurt,’ but now I’m feeling pretty good.”

Right on Page’s heels was Johnson, the only woman in PBA history to qualify for two television finals, and who is trying to join 2010 Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., as the second woman ever to win a PBA Tour title. Johnson finished at 1,997 pins, followed by Mike Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, with a 1,976 total, Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., at 1,955 and 2012 TOC winner Sean Rash of Montgomery, Ill.

Defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia was in a tie for 21st place after the opening round, 154 pins behind Page. Belmonte, who won his third consecutive United States Bowling Congress Masters title Sunday in Green Bay, Wis., is the two-time reigning PBA Player of the Year.

Qualifying continues Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Thursday at 10 a.m. ET before the field of 113 is reduced to the top 24 players for three eight-match rounds of match play Thursday at 5 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The top five players after 48 games will compete for the $50,000 first prize and the second major title of the 2015 season Sunday at 1 p.m., live on ESPN.

All qualifying and match play rounds are covered live on PBA’s Xtra Frame online video streaming channel. For subscription information, visit pba.com and click on the Xtra Frame link. Free live scoring throughout the event also is available on pba.com.

50TH BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Feb. 11

First Round Standings (after 8 games)

1, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 2,016.
2, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, New York, 1,997.
3, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,976.
4, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,955.
5, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,950.
6, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,947.
7, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,943.
8, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1,937.
9, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 1,930.
10, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,923.
11, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 1,909.
12, Dom Barrett, England, 1,907.
13, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,898.
14, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 1,890.
15, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 1,878.
16, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,875.
17, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,874.
18, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 1,871.
19, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,865.
19, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,865.
21, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,862.
21, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 1,862.
23, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 1,855.
24, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,854.
25, Tim Mack, Indianapolis, 1,850.
26, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,849.
27, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,845.
27, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 1,845.
29, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,842.
29, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,842.
31, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 1,840.
32, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,839.
33, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,837.
34, Stuart Williams, England, 1,835.
35, Blake Demore, Springfield, Mo., 1,830.
36, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,820.
36, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, Ariz., 1,820.
36, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1,820.
39, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,816.
40, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 1,815.
41, J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 1,814.
41, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 1,814.
43, Paul Moor, England, 1,813.
44, Dennis Horan Jr., Oakley, Calif., 1,811.
45, Toby Contreras, Lee's Summit, Mo., 1,806.
45, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,806.
47, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 1,802.
48, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 1,801.
49, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 1,795.
50, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,794.
51, Travis Celmer, Wernersville, Pa., 1,791.
52, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 1,789.
52, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 1,789.
54, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 1,787.
55, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 1,786.
56, Mike DeVaney, Winchester, Calif. , 1,785.
57, Bob Learn Jr, Erie, Pa., 1,784.
58, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 1,779.
59, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,771.
60, Robert Smith, Moorpark, Calif., 1,769.
61, Chris Hartung, Goshen, Ind., 1,767.
62, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,763.
62, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 1,763.
64, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,762.
65, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, TX, 1,759.
66, Dave Wodka, Columbus, Ohio, 1,757.
67, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,749.
68, Todd Book, Russells Point, Ohio, 1,746.
69, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,744.
70, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,743.
71, George Branham III, Indianapolis, 1,735.
72, Bill McCorkle, Westerville, Ohio, 1,732.
73, Sean Swanson, Springfield, Mo., 1,731.
74, Lennie Boresch Jr, Kenosha, Wis., 1,729.
75, B.J. Moore II, Apex, N.C., 1,728.
75, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,728.
77, Brian Voss, Centennial, Colo., 1,727.
78, Mike Edwards, Tulsa, Okla., 1,720.
79, Jason Sterner, Covington, Ga., 1,719.
80, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 1,717.
81, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 1,716.
82, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,714.
83, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 1,710.
84, Mike Fagan, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,708.
85, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 1,704.
86, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 1,696.
87, T.J. Schmidt, Mishawaka, Ind., 1,694.
88, Lee Vanderhoef, Rising Sun, Md., 1,690.
89, Matthew O'Grady, Matawan, N.J., 1,688.
90, Steven Arehart, Chesapeake, Va., 1,687.
91, Dean Billings, Rootstown, Ohio, 1,685.
92, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,678.
93, J.T. "Action" Jackson, Sherman Oaks, Calif., 1,672.
94, Brian Nicodemus, Akron, Ind., 1,666.
95, Tom Sorce, Richmond, Va., 1,655.
96, Chad Lusche, Arvada, Colo., 1,654.
97, Brett Cunningham, Clay, N.Y., 1,640.
98, Chris Spoo, Boyton Beach, Fla., 1,628.
99, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,624.
100, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,623.
101, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 1,621.
102, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 1,615.
103, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,611.
104, Stephen Nowicki, Rochester, N.Y., 1,602.
105, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,600.
106, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,596.
107, Frank Gallo Jr., Jacksonville, Fla., 1,573.
108, Gary Faulkner, Norfolk, Va., 1,572.
109, Larry Verble, Mason, Mich., 1,557.
110, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,533.
111, Larry Montgomery, Safety Harbor, Fla., 1,522.
112, Kevin Vostry, Bolingbrook, Ill., 1,506.
113, Carmen Salvino, Schaumburg, Ill., 1,481.