Rafael Medina Leads Round 1 of Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship

The third major and eighth title event of the PBA50 Tour began Monday at Bowl America Bull Run in Manassas, Va.

After the first round of qualifying, Virginia’s own Rafael Medina leads the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship. Medina shot a 1,381 six-game series to lead the 115-player field.

Steve Gagnon, Danny Wiseman, Mario Quintero and Michael Haggitt round out the top five.

Medina, who is on C-squad, bowled the double-burn session on the 38-foot Wayne Webb oil pattern. Though Sunday’s practice was on fresh lane conditions, Medina said the session set himself up well for today.

“They gave me something that was manageable, playable, and I was able to take advantage of it,” Medina said. “Tomorrow we are bowling on the single burn, and if it's anything in between what I bowled on today and what I had my good look on in practice yesterday, I should do pretty well.”

Wiseman, a 12-time PBA Tour champion, led B-squad on the single-burn with a 1,377 series. His impressive Day 1 finished surprised himself, as he said he did not look at scores and felt he left pins on the table.

“I think I had two clean games. I shot a 240 and 230; everything else was in the 220s, I guess I grinded away, but then again, I look and I'm leading (B-squad),” Wiseman said. “Each pair was somewhat different. That’s what I like to call the ‘fun, aggravation’ part of bowling. That is the challenge that I’ve always loved.”

Wiseman said he doesn’t bowl full-time on the tour and flew to the tournament, so he doesn’t have a deep arsenal like many of the players who have been driving across the country all season. The Hall of Famer still relishes the chance to compete against the game’s best talents, like John Janawicz, Chris Barnes, Tom Hess and Brad Angelo.

“I'm kind of limited, so I’ve got to play around with surfaces and do a little bit more with my hand, speed, hit and rotation,” Wiseman said. “I like to manipulate (the ball), and that becomes harder when you're not as sharp as you were or could be.”

Mario Quintero, the older brother of Arturo Quintero, led A-squad with a block of 1,376. The “more serious” Quintero brother, as he joked in reference to Arturo’s energetic personality, averaged just under 230 on fresh lane conditions.

This is Quintero’s first tournament on the PBA50 Tour. He said he’s been having a good year in Mexico and international events in the senior division, so he wanted to prove himself and see how it would go. So far, it’s going very well.

“Definitely better than I expected,” Quintero said with a laugh.

New England’s Bruce Hall shot the lone 300 game of the day, coming on B-squad in Game 5. He sits in 11th place at +152.

Jeff Johnson and Bob Schoneman Jr. (+119) are tied for 24th place after the first round.

Qualifying continues on Tuesday with B-squad competing at 9 a.m. Eastern, C-squad at 12:30 p.m. and A-squad at 4 p.m. After Wednesday’s third round of qualifying, the top 24 players will advance to round-robin match play beginning on Thursday.

The stepladder finals will be held Friday evening at the private lanes inside Bill Moore’s home.

All rounds will be livestreamed on BowlTV.

Round 1 Leaders

1. Rafael Medina, 1,381 (+181)
2. Steve Gagnon, 1,379 (+179)
3. Danny Wiseman, 1,377 (+177)
4. Mario Quintero, 1,376 (+176)
5. Michael Haggitt, 1,375 (+175)
6. Michael Hartter, 1,368 (+168)
7. Bryan Pogor, 1,362 (+162)
8. Jon Rakoski, 1,361 (+161)
9. Dennis Rakauskas, 1,355 (+155)
10. Mika Koivuniemi, 1,355 (+155)

More information on the 2024 Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship, including complete standings, are available here.