California bowler bounces back to lead Standard Singles at Open Championships
March 19, 2019
By Regina Daniel and David McCord
USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - Rick Yuhnke of Chico, California, had a rough start to his doubles and singles set Tuesday at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, but he ended it the right way as he moved into the top spot in Standard Singles.
The 42-year-old right-hander made a key ball change on his way to games of 216, 236 and 215 for a 667 total at the South Point Bowling Plaza to surpass Jeffrey Isenburg of Saybrook, Illinois, who previously led with 665.
Yuhnke needed to fill 19 pins in his final frame to move ahead of Isenburg after an open in the ninth frame, and he was able to roll a strike and spare to set the new bar.
Yuhnke's doubles set did not go as planned as he finished with a 479 series, which also included a moment where his wedding ring fell off and was stepped on by one of his teammates.
He bounced back after switching to a new bowling ball he purchased while on-site at the Bowling Plaza.
"In singles, the lanes had broken down some, and I ended up switching to a ball I had drilled here at the tournament," said Yuhnke, who was making his fourth USBC Open Championships appearance. "Hands down, the ball made all the difference in the world."
Yuhnke's performance Tuesday also served as his first series of 600 or better at the Open Championships and bested his best singles score by more than 100 pins.
He added a 549 series in team to finish his 2019 appearance with a 1,695 all-events total. Noah Nissen of Lidgerwood, North Dakota, leads Standard All-Events with 1,782.
Standard Singles and Standard All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 156-175.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.
USBC Communications
LAS VEGAS - Rick Yuhnke of Chico, California, had a rough start to his doubles and singles set Tuesday at the 2019 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, but he ended it the right way as he moved into the top spot in Standard Singles.
The 42-year-old right-hander made a key ball change on his way to games of 216, 236 and 215 for a 667 total at the South Point Bowling Plaza to surpass Jeffrey Isenburg of Saybrook, Illinois, who previously led with 665.
Yuhnke needed to fill 19 pins in his final frame to move ahead of Isenburg after an open in the ninth frame, and he was able to roll a strike and spare to set the new bar.
Yuhnke's doubles set did not go as planned as he finished with a 479 series, which also included a moment where his wedding ring fell off and was stepped on by one of his teammates.
He bounced back after switching to a new bowling ball he purchased while on-site at the Bowling Plaza.
"In singles, the lanes had broken down some, and I ended up switching to a ball I had drilled here at the tournament," said Yuhnke, who was making his fourth USBC Open Championships appearance. "Hands down, the ball made all the difference in the world."
Yuhnke's performance Tuesday also served as his first series of 600 or better at the Open Championships and bested his best singles score by more than 100 pins.
He added a 549 series in team to finish his 2019 appearance with a 1,695 all-events total. Noah Nissen of Lidgerwood, North Dakota, leads Standard All-Events with 1,782.
Standard Singles and Standard All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 156-175.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships Facebook page.