GREENVILLE, S.C. – In front of an electric Friday night crowd in Greenville, South Carolina inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Leonardo Lima rode a cut above the rest, winning Round 1 of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Greenville Invitational.

Lima delivered a sensational ride atop Pneu Dart’s Black Label (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls). Remaining in time with the animal athlete, the tough Brazilian reached the requisite 8 for a round-winning 87 points.

In addition to propelling Lima to the event lead, the score also earned him a crucial 28 Velocity Global points.

Grayson Cole (New Ringold, Pennsylvania) and Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) tied for second in the opening round of competition, within a mere 0.5 points of the event lead.

Delivering matching 86.5-point rides to net 17.5 Velocity Global points, Cole covered Little N Loud (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls), while Moreira topped Grinch (C Check Bucking Bulls).

During an evening which included 10 qualified rides, Carlos Garcia (Abingdon, Virginia) notched the fourth-best score to garner 16 Velocity Global points.

Garcia reached the whistle atop Rock Solid (C Check Bucking Bulls), marked 86 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Tyler Manor (Portland, Indiana).

Manor rode Belted Magic (C Check Bucking Bulls) for 84.5 points to net 15 Velocity Global points.

Action for the PBR Greenville Invitational will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, Jan. 21. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. EST.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour PBR Greenville Invitational Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, South Carolina  Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3- Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Leonardo Lima, 87-0-0-87.00-28 Points. 2. Grayson Cole, 86.5-0-0-86.50-17.5 Points. (tie). Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 86.5-0-0-86.50-17.5 Points. 4. Carlos Garcia, 86-0-0-86.00-16 Points. 5. Tyler Manor, 84.5-0-0-84.50-15 Points. 6. Casey Coulter, 84-0-0-84.00-13.5 Points. (tie). Joao Paulo Fernandes, 84-0-0-84.00-13.5 Points. 8. Alex Cardozo, 83-0-0-83.00-12 Points. 9. Afonso Quintino, 81-0-0-81.00-11 Points. 10. Carlos Gomes Junior, 41-0-0-41.00-2 Points. Josh Stepp, 0-0-0-0.00 Elijah Mora, 0-0-0-0.00 Justin Ethridge, 0-0-0-0.00 Brandon Ballard, 0-0-0-0.00 Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0-0.00 Weston Davidson, 0-0-0-0.00 Stefan Tonita, 0-0-0-0.00 Matt Allgood, 0-0-0-0.00 Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00 Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0.00 Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00 Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00 Kade Alberty, 0-0-0-0.00 Quentin Vaught, 0-0-0-0.00 Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0.00 Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0.00 Austin Beaty, 0-0-0-0.00 Dylan Smith, 0-0-0-0.00 Eder Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00 Anthony Hopen, 0-0-0-0.00 Dustin Herman, 0-0-0-0.00 Devin Hager, 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Miller, 0-0-0-0.00 Keith Hall, 0-0-0-0.00 Brylee Smith, 0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Gwinn Davis