Couch Takes Lead After First Round

The top 24 bowlers who survived qualifying took center stage Thursday night at Lakewood’s Cal Bowl for the Pro Bowlers Assn.’s $300,000 AC Delco Classic with Jason Couch leading after eight games.

Couch trailed Parker Bohn III, the leader after the qualifying round, by seven pins after three games before taking the lead at the halfway point of the first round. He has a pinfall of 6,547.

Bohn is second, 172 pins behind the leader, followed by Pete Weber (6,285) and Mike Aulby (6,206).

Defending champion Tom Baker, who made the match-play round by claiming the final spot in qualifying, continued his climb, finishing 16th. Baker was 82nd after six games and 30th after 12.

PBA player of the year Walter Ray Williams Jr. fell from 11th place to 14th, and 1995 and ’96 runner-up Bob Learn Jr. made the biggest jump of the night, moving up 12 places to fifth.

The final two rounds of match play continues today at 11 a.m. and 6:15 p.m. to determine the five bowlers who will move on to Saturday’s $48,000 championship.