It took Don Burdick of DeKalb, Ill., six frames to throw his first strike of the 2010 USBC Open Championships, but once he settled down and got comfortable, he found himself in familiar territory.

The 50-year-old right-hander started his 2010 tournament campaign with a 171 game, but a few small adjustments helped him regain his confidence. He went on to strike 20 times in the next two games and came within one shot of rolling his second perfect game at the Open Championships.

After closing out his second game with four strikes for 249, Burdick added 11 more and stepped onto the approach knowing that with one more good shot, he could add his name to the short list of 20 bowlers with multiple 300s on the tournament lanes. His first came during singles at the 1991 event in Toledo, Ohio.

"There aren't too many people who have had two 300s here, so I think I wanted it so bad that I rushed," said Burdick, who got his final shot wide and left a 2 pin for the eighth 299 of this year's event. "On the last shot, I didn't want to take a chance on going high, and ended up pushing it right. As soon as I let it go, I thought it was going to be seven. I was happy to get nine out of it."

Burdick, who finished with a 719 series Saturday night, is coming off of a fourth-place finish in Regular All-Events at last year's tournament in Las Vegas (2,168) and was excited to be back on the championships lanes. He was able to draw on nearly three decades of tournament experience to help get him back on track after his rough start.

"I was OK in practice tonight, but once we started, I think I was a little too hyped up and started rushing and pulling the ball," said Burdick, who made his 28th Open Championships appearance. "At the end of the first game, I threw a couple of good shots and was able to settle down a little bit. I figured that if we still shot 962 with my 170 game, we'd been in good shape if I could turn it around."

While his goal for this year was to lead Mardi Gras Lanes 1 to a score of 3,100 or better, Burdick is not upset about the team's 3,051 effort. He was joined by David Burdick (625), Paul Tanaka (579), Brad Rusin (569) and Jeffrey Sietsema (559).

On a personal level, Burdick sees a 1,950 all-events total as the number to shoot for each year, and a top-50 finish as the ultimate measure of success.

"Of course I'd love to shoot 2,100 again, but realistically, anything over 1,950 is a decent effort, and if you're lucky enough to finish in the top 50, that's a good year," said Burdick, who finished 36th in Regular Singles last year with a 759 series. "After my 170 start tonight, I am really happy about being able to come back and finish with 700. That's really a pretty good number to start things off."

To prepare for his trip to this year's Open Championships at the National Bowling Stadium, Burdick honed his skills on challenging lane conditions. He bowls one night a week at Mardi Gras Lanes and practices when he can, so his preparation is more about quality than quantity.

Burdick's league features four different lane conditions, each of which is used for eight weeks. There's a long pattern, a short pattern and collegiate tournament shot. The final eight weeks are spent on a variation of the current Open Championships pattern, which also is put out for extra practice on Sundays.

"I'm 50 years old, and I only bowl one night a week and practice when I can, so I like to make the most of it," Burdick said. "It's nice to bowl on something a little more challenging, and getting some game on something that is close to what we see here is really helpful."

Burdick added 633 in singles and 571 in doubles for a 1,923 all-events total Sunday.

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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