Jimmy Johnson of Pataskala, Ohio, stepped onto the approach at the National Bowling Stadium knowing he needed one more strike for the second 800 series of the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

At that moment, he felt an indescribable sensation and delivered a perfect shot to secure another spot in tournament history. He finished with games of 267, 290 and 247 for an 804 series and moved into second place in Regular Singles on Wednesday. Terrence Syring of Bay City, Mich., leads with 833.

"Obviously, you have to get up and throw good shots, but I felt something unreal at that moment," said Johnson, a 1991 Regular Doubles champion who made his 12th trip to the USBC Open Championships.

"I felt like my dad (USBC and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Don Johnson - archive photo on the right) had come into me. It felt like electricity running through me. I got emotional before I even threw the first shot in the 10th frame. I loved the first shot, though. It was pure, and it felt great."

The 41-year-old right-hander added 661 in team and 643 in doubles for a 2,108 all-events total, which is good for third place overall.

His all-events effort also helped Don Johnson Memorial of Shepherdsville, Ky., into second place in Team All-Events with 9,813 and sixth place in Regular Team with 3,136.

Syring leads Regular All-Events with 2,155, Red Carpet Lanes of Greenfield, Wis., leads Team All-Events with 10,131 and Turbo 2-N-1 Grips of Madison, Wis., leads team with 3,298.

Johnson was joined on the lanes by Matt Ogle (2,045), four-time PBA national champion Brian Himmler (1,952), Aaron Craig (1,917) and Eric Adams (1,791).

"This tournament is not an easy thing to win, and I have a great respect for the eagle I have and what it means," Johnson said. "For me, it's just about coming out and making a good showing, and we did that."

After losing his father due to complications from diabetes in 2003, Johnson started the Don Johnson Memorial Foundation, which raises money for juvenile diabetes. In the last three years, Johnson said the organization has raised more than $110,000.

With the support of his teammates, Johnson officially changed the name of their team in 2009. Success immediately followed, including a fourth-place Team All-Events finish and seventh-place team effort last year in Las Vegas.

"I really look forward to competing with all of these guys, and I love them because they got on board with this idea and understand that this is more to me than just another bowling tournament," said Johnson, who owns one PBA national title and seven regional victories.

"And when we took the lead in Team All-Events last year, I got pretty emotional. Just seeing our team name up in lights brings attention to what we are trying to do, both on the lanes, and through our website."

Last year, Don Johnson was named the eighth greatest player in PBA history. He won 26 professional titles during his career, including two majors, and added three wins at the Open Championships (Classic Doubles in 1968 and '76 and Classic Team in 1977).

Originally from Kokomo, Ind., the hall of famer was known as the "Kokomo Kid," and spent his last few years as a resident of Las Vegas.

Presenting sponsors for the 2010 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado and Silver Legacy Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.

 

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107th USBC Open Championships

National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., United States (Feb. 20 - July 5, 2010)

REGULAR DIVISION

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

 

Team
1, Turbo 2-N-1 Grips 1 (Marc McDowell, Steve Richter, Jeff Richgels, Gail Myers Jr., Mike Shady), Madison, Wis., 3,298. 2, Red Carpet Lanes, Greenfield, Wis., 3,250. 3, Up An Adam, Coral Springs, Fla., 3,247. 4, Rob Bailey's Pro Shop 1, Sun Prairie, Wis., 3,202. 5, Design Wizards, Mandan, N.D., 3,159. 6, Don Johnson Memorial, Shepherdsville, Ky., 3,136. 7, Rip the Rack, Lake St. Louis, Mo., 3,131. 8, Bluebird Lanes, Orland Park, Ill., 3,122. 9, Rob Bailey's Pro Shop 2, Sun Prairie, Wis., 3,102. 10, St. Charles Lanes, St. Charles, Mo., 3,085.

Doubles
1, Tom Milton, St. Petersburg, Fla./David Taylor, Seminole, Fla., 1,498. 2, Jeff Nimke, Oshkosh, Wis./Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 1,480. 3, Kenneth Stephens, Frankfort, Ky./Randall Montoya, Albuquerque, N.M., 1,434. 4 (tie), Terry Hall, Rocklin, Calif./Andrew Udahl, Elk Grove, Calif., and Scott Helm, Hartford, Wis./Dave Beres, Greenfield, Wis., 1,421. 6, Mandy Wilson, Dayton, Ohio/Douglas Stone, Troy, Ohio, 1,419. 7 (tie), Jason Hale, Des Moines, Iowa/Matt Smith, Altoona, Iowa, and Lana Schwab, Lake Villa, Ill./Davey Rosen, Northbrook, Ill., 1,411. 9, Ryan Lever, New Berlin, Wis./Dale Traber, Cedarburg, Wis., 1,388. 10, Brian Salapatek, Cortland, Ill./Anthony Jovanovich, DeKalb, Ill., 1,379.

Singles
1, Terrence Syring, Bay City, Mich., 833. 2, Jimmy Johnson, Pataskala, Ohio, 804. 3, Dan Gould, East Hampton, Mass., 783. 4, Barry Zimmerman, Grand Forks, N.D., 766. 5, George Kontos, Joliet, Ill., 760. 6, Christopher Webb, Racine, Wis., 755. 7. Jimmy Hilligas, Kettering, Ohio, 749. 8, Brian Himmler, Cincinnati, 748. 9, Larry Thompson Jr., Spring, Texas, 742. 10 (tie), Anthony Woollis, Lubbock, Texas, and Michael Bourcier, Rhinelander, Wis., 740.

All-Events
1, Terrence Syring, Bay City, Mich., 2,155. 2, Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 2,141. 3, Jimmy Johnson, Pataskala, Ohio, 2,108. 4, Shannon Pluhowsky, Phoenix, 2,083. 5 (tie), Matt Smith, Altoona, Iowa, and George Kontos Joliet, Ill., 2,073. 7, Christopher Webb, Racine, Wis., 2,067. 8, Jeff Nimke, Oshkosh, Wis., 2,064. 9, Mandy Wilson, Dayton, Ohio, 2,059. 10, Marty Lavigne, Temperance, Mich., 2,049.

Team All-Events
1, Red Carpet Lanes (Jeff Nimke, Scott Helm, Steve Brinkman, Chad Maas, Dave Beres), Greenfield, Wis, 10,131. 2, Don Johnson Memorial, Shepherdsville, Ky., 9,813. 3, Turbo 2-N-1 Grips 1, Madison, Wis., 9,609. 4, Bluebird Lanes, Orland Park, Ill., 9,602. 5, Professional Image Center 1, Coffeyville, Kan., 9,599. 6, Linds Limited, Milwaukee, 9,598. 7, Design Wizards, Mandan, N.D., 9,578. 8, Rob Bailey's Pro Shop 2, Sun Prairie, Wis., 9,450. 9, Sign Producers 1, Winter Garden, Fla., 9,341. 10, Roto Grip, Brigham City, Utah, 9,279.

 

CLASSIFIED DIVISION

Team
1, Huikko's Bowling Center 3 (Pam Strong, Ronda Bauman, Jeanne Schmid, Jeffrey Schmid, Dale Bauman), Buffalo, Minn., 2,730. 2, EWI/NPS/Denny's, Mentor, Ohio, 2,699. 3, Wothe Bait 1, Perham, Minn., 2,684. 4, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,683. 5, Garden Center Lanes 3, Alexandria, Minn., 2,663. 6, Sportsman Bowling Club 5, Moreno Valley, Calif., 2,662. 7, Paradise Lanes, Walden, Colo., 2,648. 8, Red Carpet, West Union, Minn., 2,627. 9, Roadrunners, Las Cruces, N.M., 2,604. 10, Whitlow Furnace, Scobey, Mont., 2,602.

Doubles
1, Tyson Sims/Scott Wilcox, Georgetown, Idaho, 1,182. 2, John Bishop/Dan Mosteller, Tooele, Utah, 1,175. 3, Wayne Doney, Lamar, Colo./Jim Matusek, Hartland, Wis., 1,174. 4, Pat Fitzgibbons, Colorado Springs, Colo./Pete Fitzgibbons, Goodland, Kan., 1,173. 5, Greg Allen/Stacey Bauer, Ogallala, Neb., 1,166. 6, Joe McKee/Mark Nalan, Sheffield, Iowa, 1,155. 7, Walter Cook, Inverness, Fla./Stephen Liik, Homosassa, Fla., 1,153. 8, Holly Ventura, Harwood Heights, Ill./Bob Zurek, River Grove, Ill., 1,149. 9, Delmar Brownell/Dale Brownell, Spearfish, S.D., 1,148. 10, Scott Werner, Overland Park, Kan./Mark Klyn, Pella, Iowa, 1,145.

Singles
1, David Garcez, Merced, Calif., 669. 2, Mark Plute, Montrose, Colo., 644. 3, Curt VanLaningham, Ogallala, Neb., 624. 4, Ryan Goettsch, Galva, Iowa, 618. 5, Ryan Burmester, Chandler, Ariz., 615. 6, Flor Crowley, Oxnard, Calif., 611. 7, Preston Cheeks, Brooklyn, N.Y., 609. 8, Robb Waynick, Dunbridge, Ohio, 605. 9, Ryan Fritchen, Dakota Dunes, S.D., 604. 10, Ethan Buser, York, Pa., 601.

All-Events
1, Richard Eisenhut, Downers Grove, Ill., 1,766. 2, Paul Daniels, Bonner, Mont., 1,739. 3, Jake Acuna, Pocatello, Idaho, 1,736. 4, John Stolarski, Waterford, Mich., 1,733. 5, Tom Sellers, Barstow, Calif., 1,732. 6, Preston Cheeks, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1,721. 7, Doug Boleyn, Waterloo, Iowa, 1,719. 8, Ken Hoffman, Durand, Ill., 1,718. 9, Pat Fitzgibbons, Colorado Springs, Colo., 1,712. 10, Flor Crowley, Oxnard, Calif., 1,705.