AURORA, Ill. – Kyle Sherman pushed his way into the lead in the final game Wednesday night in the first round of qualifying at the 2019 FloBowling PBA Bear Open.

Sherman fired 247 in the final game to move into the top spot with an eight-game total of 1,918, a 239.75 average, at Parkside Lanes. The entire field will return for six final games of qualifying Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern live on FloBowling.

After finishing qualifying in 45^th place in the PBA Wolf Open on Tuesday, Sherman rebounded with games of 223, 237, 236 and 244 before closing with 222, 279, 230 and 247 on the Bear.

Results: PBA Bear Open Qualifying Round 1

"I just had to forget about the last two days and clear my mind going into this (Bear Open) tournament," said Sherman, who won his first career PBA Tour title in July at the PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles. "The 230 and 240 games could have been 250 or 260, but I didn't have good finishes in those games so I left some pins on the table. But overall, I've regained my confidence mentally and with the adjustments I need to make so hopefully this will be a very different tournament for me."

Sherman was able to get around Anthony Simonsen in the final game by a single pin. Simonsen closed with 194 and left a ringing 10 pin on his final shot of the night.

Simonsen, who took second in the PBA Wolf Open on Tuesday night, finished with 1,917, while Kyle Troup was third with 1,886. EJ Tackett, the defending Bear Open champion, is fourth with 1,835, and Jason Belmonte is fifth with 1,831.

After the second round of qualifying Thursday, the field will be cut to the top 18 players who will bowl a six-game cashers round to determine the five finalists for the stepladder, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday live on FloBowling.

Tomorrow’s second round of qualifying will also determine the 24 advancers who will compete in match play in the PBA Illinois Open starting Friday.

The Illinois Open combines the qualifying totals for the Wolf and the Bear events and both patterns will be used during match play.

Simonsen leads with a 22-game total of 5,155, while Wolf Open champion Sean Rash is second with 4,967. Troup is third at 4,961, Francois Lavoie is fourth with 4,921 and Belmonte rounds out the top five with 4,914. The full standings can be found here.