Averaging 234.6 in Wednesday's qualifying round, two-time Professional Bowlers Association Senior U.S. Open winner Tom Baker (pictured left) of King, N.C., emerged as the third round leader in the 2010 PBA Senior U.S. Open at the Suncoast Bowling Center.

Baker, who won the 2005 and '06 Senior U.S. Opens had games of 257, 226, 227, 248, 236 and 214 to boost his 18-game overall pinfall to 4,043 (224.6 average). He holds a 40-pin lead over former Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour player Don Moser of Murrieta, Calif., in second with 4,003, who is bowling in his first Senior Tour tournament.

Trying to become the first three-time Senior U.S. Open winner, Baker is also trying to break a Senior Tour win drought that has lasted since the end of the 2007 season. In 2009, he came close with four top-five finishes including a second in the Senior Dick Weber Open and third in the Senior World Championship.

"For the past two seasons I've been bowling pretty well but just not good enough to win," said the 55-year-old Baker. "I had been bowling both Tours (Senior and PBA Tour) and mentally I had to think too much from one Tour to the other. It definitely affected my timing and I probably lost that extra edge you need to win."

Baker, an eight-time Senior Tour titlist also owns two United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters crowns ( 2006 and '07) and is a four-time PBA Senior Player of the Year. The Hall of Famer also owns 10 career Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour titles.

Baker feels that this year's Senior U.S. Open provides him with a good opportunity to get back into the winner's circle.

"I like the U.S. Open format because there's a lot of games and you have to think about the adjustments and moves you have to make," he said. "In today's block I had to play inside and I had a good ball reaction that I really haven't had in a long time."

Two-time defending champion and Hall of Famer Wayne Webb (left), also trying to become a three-time Senior U.S. Open winner, is in eighth after the third round.

Other notables in the top 10 include second round leader and 2009 PBA Senior World Championship winner Harry Sullins (right) in third; reigning PBA Senior Player of the Year Ron Mohr in fourth; Steve Ferraro, who won his second Senior Tour title earlier this season, in fifth, and Hall of Famer Mark Williams in ninth who finished third in last year's Senior U.S. Open.

The international field from Canada, Germany, Japan and Sweden will be represented in the fourth round by Koichiro Tamaki, Japan (24th, 3,757), Bob Puttick, Canada (25th, 3,753), John Chapman, Canada (30th, 3,706), Junichi Yajima, Japan (T 35th, 3,697), Masato Hanamoto, Japan (42nd, 3,679), Peter Knopp, Germany (47th, 3,665) and Hirotsugu Kawanishi, Japan (T 53rd, 3,637).

The field has been cut to 57 players who will bowl another nine-game qualifying round Thursday morning. The field will then be cut to the top 24 players for three eight-game round-robin match play rounds to be conducted Thursday afternoon and Friday to determine the top four for the stepladder finals scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. Pacific.

Bowling fans can check out coverage of the match play portions of the Senior U.S. Open on pba.com's Xtra Frame video service.

 

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2010 PBA Senior U.S. Open - Third Round

Players with position, hometown and 18-game total. The 57 players advance to the fourth round. S - indicates Super Senior (age 60 and over) cashing for $700.

1, Tom Baker, King, N.C., 4,043
2, Don Moser, Murrieta, Calif., 4,003
3, Harry Sullins, Chesterfield Township, Mich., 3,991
4, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 3,955
5, Steve Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3,947
6, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 3,905
7, Dennis Psaropoulos, Lake Worth, Fla., 3,894
8, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 3,890
9, Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, 3,880
10, Don Blatchford, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,875
11, Nick Morgan, Sacramento, Calif., 3,865
12, Bill Spigner, Vernon Hills, Ill., 3,862
13, Russ Freeman, Antioch, Ill., 3,861
14, Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., 3,841
15, Brian Brazeau, Ocala, Fla., 3,838
16, Rick Pollard, Versailles, Ind., 3,822
17, Kent Wagner, Palmetto, Fla., 3,817
18, Emilio Mora Sr., Defiance, Ohio, 3,804
19, Bob Brady, Santa Monica, Calif., 3,798
20, J.P. Muller, Gervais, Ore., 3,779
21, Bob Handley, Winter Park, Fla., 3,777
22, Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 3,760
23, Edward Silva, Manteca, Calif., 3,758
24, Koichiro Tamaki, Japan, 3,757
25, Bob Puttick, Canada, 3,753
26, Jeff Jamison, Boulder City, Nev., 3,746
27, Bobby Johnson, Chillicothe, Ohio, 3,740
28, Y.H. Byun, Korea, 3,736
29, Les Shirwindt, Las Vegas, Nev, 3,734
30, John Chapman, Canada, 3,706
31, Jorge Gutierrez, Las Cruces, N.M., 3,705
32, Hugh Miller, Seattle, 3,704
33, Greg Shields, Independence, Mo., 3,703
34, Jeff Suma, Auburn Hills, Mich., 3,698
35, (TIE) Junichi Yajima, Japan
and Gary Bessette, Summerdale, Ala., 3,697
37, Daniel Winter, Rockford, Ill., 3,695
38, Kerry Fulford, Brownwood, Texas, 3,694
39, Frank Tardio, Palatine, Ill., 3,693
40, Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 3,684
41, Don Sylvia, Reno, Nev., 3,681
42, Masato Hanamoto, Japan, 3,679
43, (TIE) Michael Henry, Brunswick, Ohio
and Dave Ferraro, Kingston, N.Y., 3,675
45, Jim Murtishaw, Menifee, Calif., 3,673
46, Gary Morgan, Marietta, Ga., 3,668
47, Peter Knopp, Germany, 3,665
48, Tom Howison, Chillicothe, Ohio, 3,652
49, Scott Lindsey, Omaha, Neb., 3,648
50, Gary Skidmore, Albuquerque, N.M., 3,642
51, Bob Kelly, Dayton, Ohio, 3,640
52, David Axon, Bellevue, Neb., 3,639
53, (TIE) Edward Roberts, Braintree, Mass
and Hirotsugu Kawanishi, Japan, 3,637
55, David Eatmon, Ferndale, Mich., 3,634
56, Phil Prieto Jr., El Paso, Texas, 3,632
57, Kenny Parks, Hammond, Ind., 3,625

Missed Cut:
58, S-Rudy Moreno, Reno, Nev., 3,624, $700
59, S-Ernie Schlegel, Vancouver, Wash., 3,621, $700
60, Brad Snell, Mount Prospect, Ill., 3,620
61, Robin Romeo, Newhall, Calif., 3,615
62, S-Dick Baker, Henderson, Nev., 3,612, $700
63, Shannon Starnes, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,608
64, Carey Hofmann, Phoenix, 3,607
65, Mike Mineman, Belleville, Ill., 3,605
66, S-Howard Loosbroock, Henderson, Nev., 3,604, $700
67, S-(TIE) Barry Gurney, West Hills, Calif., $700
and Dave Washburn, Las Vegas, Nev., 3,599, $700
69, (TIE) Howard Partell, Las Vegas
and Tim Ruelle, Racine, Wis., 3,597
71, Mitchell Jabczenski, Novi, Mich., 3,596
72, S-(TIE) Dave Soutar, Bradenton, Fla., $700
and Henry Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo., 3,592
74, S-Bob Knipple, Long Beach, Calif., 3,590, $700
75, Roger Kossert, Lithia, Fla., 3,587
76, Jim Knoblauch, Waukesha, Wis., 3,585
77, (TIE) Vince Honeycutt, Buford, Ga
S-Ross Packard, San Jose, Calif., 3,580, $700
79, Terry Leong, Las Vegas, 3,576
80, Keith Kolozsi, Las Vegas, 3,574
81, Keith Sharp, Orlando, Fla., 3,571
82, Edward Regehr, Hesperia, Calif., 3,568
83, S-Dave Bernhardt, Shelby Township., Mich., 3,565, $700
84, Paul Kwiecien, Lansing, Mich., 3,563
85, Avery LeBlanc, Plano, Texas, 3,561
86, Chuck Best, Buda, Texas, 3,558
87, Kiyoshi Nakarai, Japan, 3,557
88, Darwin Wimer, Mesquite, Nev., 3,552
89, Jerry Smith, Englewood, Colo., 3,550
90, Robert Callari, Bloomfield, N.Y., 3,546
91, Marc Lineberry, Camanche, Iowa, 3,540
92, Bill Nichols, Roseville, Calif., 3,536
93, Rohn Morton, Vancouver, Wash., 3,532
94, Robert Harvey, Boise, Idaho, 3,529
95, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 3,527
96, Charlie Tapp, Kalamazoo, Mich., 3,526
97, (TIE) Craig Kisro, Granada Hills, Calif
and Kevin Foley, Reno, Nev., 3,522
99, Mark Peavey, Van Nuys, Calif., 3,516
100, Ron Winger, Las Vegas, Nev., 3,515
101, Michael Lucente, Warren, Mich., 3,514
102, Dan Ahlquist, Sweden, 3,511
103, Steve Fulton, Lansing, Mich., 3,510
104, Gerry Keslar, Tonganoxie, Kan., 3,505
105, (TIE) John Bennett, Clarkston, Mich.,
and Gary Hiday, Indianapolis, 3,504
107, Max Martinez, Tijeras, N.M., 3,503
108, Christopher Keane, New City, N.Y., 3,499
109, Frank DeFilippo, Las Vegas, 3,498
110, Mike Pullin, Rochelle, Ill., 3,496
111, Larry Galloway, Fresno, Calif., 3,492
112, Jim Gordin, Modesto, Calif., 3,489
113, Warren Blankenship, Ardmore, Okla., 3,487
114, Randy Rau, Belleville, Ill., 3,483
115, Mike Raleigh, Clyde, Mich., 3,482
116, Gregory Waldon, Manhattan, Mont., 3,481
117, John Dudak, Orland Park, Ill., 3,480
118, Randy Corey, Henderson, Nev., 3,479
119, Bob Chamberlain, The Villages, Fla., 3,478
120, Ted Staikoff, Black Hawk, S.D., 3,477
121, Michael Warren, Dallas, 3,461
122, Paula Vidad, Sun City, Calif., 3,458
123, Lamonte Lovering, San Mateo, Calif., 3,456
124, (TIE) John DiSantis, Wilmington, Del
and Paul Danforth, Laguna Hills, Calif., 3,453
126, (TIE) Gary Coultas, Huntinton Beach, Calif
and Tim Pierce, Portland, Ore., 3,450
128, Dale Eagle, Tavares, Fla., 3,449
129, (TIE) Bob Faragon, Schenectady, N.Y
and Char Hammel, Las Vegas, 3,445
131, Gerald Calvin, Thousand Oaks, Calif., 3,442
132, (TIE) Dean Jones, San Marcos, Texas
and Ron Hosler, Denver, Colo., 3,441
134, Jim Moran, Las Vegas, 3,440
135, Bob Priess, Las Vegas, 3,428
136, Richard Nardozza, Clearfield, Pa., 3,427
137, Ross McDonald, Clarksville, Md., 3,426
138, Mike Hastings, Millsboro, Del., 3,424
139, (TIE) Andy Anderson, Falls Church, Va
and Ron Profitt, Brookville, Ohio, 3,422
141, Donald Kilgore, Las Vegas, 3,420
142, (TIE) Glen Morgan, Seminole, Ala
and Dave Sill, Cary, Ill., 3,419
144, Will Friedrich, Green Bay, Wis., 3,415
145, Dave Patchen, Oregon, Ohio, 3,414
146, (TIE) Dave Flemming, Fairborn, Ohio
and George Lord, Lakeland, Fla., 3,412
148, D.A. Carbone, Broomfield, Colo., 3,410
149, Murray Hickman Sr., Las Vegas, 3,409
150, Fred Kouri, Castle Rock, Colo., 3,406
151, Michael Chrzanowski, Shepherd, Mich., 3,401
152, Sammy Ventura, Syracuse, N.Y., 3,399
153, Ron Garr, Ridgedale, Mo., 3,377
154, Jay Boyle, Garnet Valley, Pa., 3,374
155, Bill Sell, Menasha, Wis, 3,370
156, Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 3,369
157, Nicholas Maturo, Las Vegas, 3,368
158, Mike Dias, Lafayette, Colo., 3,367
159, Terry Norton, Omaha, Neb., 3,363
160, Terry Metzner, Kentwood, Mich., 3,361
161, (TIE) Donald Breihan, Columbia, S.C
and Glen Smith, Seattle, Wash., 3,358
163, Phil Gessner, Spring, Texas, 3,355
164, Ronald Roberts, Lake Havasu, Ariz., 3,353
165, (TIE) John Shreve Sr., Elyria, Ohio
and Leo Plaia, New Orleans, 3,351
167, (TIE) Steve Kiss, Clackamas, Ore
and Craig Vogel, Rome, N.Y., 3,349
169, Randy Shewmake, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,346
170, Dale Ballou, Seaside, Ore., 3,345
171, Randy Niehaus, Rockford, Ill., 3,340
172, Randy Turner, Lubbock, Texas, 3,336
173, Sal Bongiorno, Hollywood, Fla., 3,327
174, (TIE) Darrel Curtis, Las Vegas
and Ernie Bourque, Acushnet, Mass., 3,326
176, Bill Stempke, Moorpark, Calif., 3,325
177, Joseph Stalnaker, Alderson, W.V., 3,319
178, John Nicholson, North Las Vegas, Nev., 3,315
179, John Reed, Pueblo, Colo., 3,310
180, Ray Shuel, Canada, 3,309
181, Douglas Kirkman, Clovis, N.M., 3,297
182, Don Lane, San Francisco, 3,292
183, Robert Lively, Moreno Valley, Calif., 3,289
184, Max Shellabarger, Roy, Utah, 3,287
185, (TIE) Mike Locorriere, Las Vegas
and Lee Rucker, Fort Myers, Fla., 3,284
187, (TIE) Ed Bordenka, Las Vegas
and Wayne Richards, Fernley, Nev., 3,278
189, Bob Permann, Hemet, Calif., 3,273
190, (TIE) Garry Blanton, Owensboro, Ky
and Robert Walters, N. Las Vegas, Nev., 3,272
192, David Graber, Las Vegas, 3,271
193, Hubert Harrison, Middletown, Ind., 3,265
194, Mike Schmid, St. Paul, Minn., 3,264
195, Stan Winters, Simi Valley, Calif., 3,260
196, Donnie Todd Sr., Somerset, Ky., 3,256
197, Thomas Smith, San Bernardino, Calif., 3,255
198, (TIE) Harley Trumbull, New Boston, Mich
and Brien Show-Yin, Australia, 3,251
200, Glenn Masukawa, Henderson, Nev., 3,244
201, Duke Sanders Jr., Las Vegas, 3,242
202, Cecil Knighton, Lakewood, Calif., 3,232
203, Robert Teeters, Lapel, Ind., 3,228
204, Rickey Smith, Milton, Fla., 3,218
205, Gerry Chinn, Castaic, Calif., 3,199
206, (TIE) Ross Zeigler, Las Vegas
and Radar Presley, Atlanta, 3,197
208, Robert Reeder Jr., Bellefonte, Pa., 3,188
209, Daniel Miner, East Moline, Ill., 3,186
210, Ross Larsen, Riverside, Calif., 3,177
211, (TIE) Van Fenner, Reno, Nev
and Ray Randall, Dearborn, Mich., 3,150
213, Herbye Mitchell, Grandbury, Texas, 3,131
214, David Wilson, Reno, Nev, 3,130
215, Robert Maki, Ishpeming, Mich., 3,109
216, Randolph Kerr, Troutdale, Ore., 3,098
217, Sam Perrotta, Lincoln Park, N.J., 3,096
218, Dave Zebrowski Sr., New York Mills, N.Y., 3,074
219, Rod Michael, Florissant, Mo., 3,064
220, Rob Mautner, Las Vegas, 3,040
221, Gary Reh, Nesbit, Miss., 3,033
222, Scott Rosenthal, Las Vegas, 3,012
223, Paul Plummer, Boise, Idaho, 2,997
224, Toshiyuki Satoh, Japan, 2,911
225, Ray Yunker, Cape Coral, Fla., 2,478 (WD)
226, Brett Roberts Sr., Calimesa, Calif., 2,043 (WD)
227. Robert McDonald, Addison, Ill., (WD)
228. Frank Gallo, Newport News, Va., (WD)