McCune takes lead in two events at 2024 USBC Open Championships
March 23, 2024
LAS VEGAS – Kevin McCune of Munster, Indiana, posted the first 800 series in singles competition at the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships to race to the top of the standings in Regular Singles and Regular All-Events on Saturday at the South Point Bowling Plaza.
The 24-year-old right-hander finished his fourth tournament appearance with games of 278, 265 and 258 for an 801 set in singles, and he added 731 in doubles and 647 in team to get to 2,179 for his nine-game total.
Darin Craine of Burton, Michigan, previously led Regular Singles with 767, and Canada’s Zach Wilkins had taken over the top spot in Regular All-Events on Friday evening with 2,116.
McCune’s 801 marked the second 800 series of the 2024 event (Jonathan Heimann of Troy, Illinois, with 810 in doubles), and he now is one of 43 bowlers in tournament history to achieve both a 300 game and 800 series on the tournament lanes.
The 2023 Professional Bowlers Association Players Championship winner rolled a 300 game in doubles competition at the 2022 USBC Open Championships, which also took place at South Point.
After a spare in the eighth frame of his final game of singles, McCune had both leads well in his sight but was in a must-strike situation to get to 800.
He recorded a strike in the ninth frame and needed to fill 28 pins in the 10th to add another honor score to his collection at the Open Championships. He rolled two strikes and secured the 800 set with a nine count on his fill ball.
McCune’s run Saturday featured five games of 258 or higher. He started his doubles set with 270 and 268 before rolling 193 to conclude the series.
“Yesterday was a little bit tricky,” McCune said. “I lost one lane, and today, I was able to find both. They were playing three or four different the whole time, so it was definitely challenging. I was the only one able to get a ball to hook on my pair for the first four games, so it was definitely a different feeling seeing that I was the only one to be able to get a ball to even hook.”
Learn more about McCune’s run to the top of the leaderboard by watching the video below.
When McCune won the PBA Players Championship last May, he continued a family legacy that allowed him to join his father, Eugene, and grandfather, Don, in the winner’s circle on the PBA Tour. The family is the first to have three generations of champions in national tour competition.
Now, Kevin will look to join his grandfather as an Eagle winner at the Open Championships.
Don, a PBA and USBC Hall of Famer, is a member of the 1968 Classic Team champion and won Classic Doubles with Jim Stefanich in 1969. Stefanich also is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.
McCune now will shift his focus to the USBC Masters, which gets underway with the first round of qualifying Monday at the nearby Suncoast Bowling Center. Competition will run through March 31, with the stepladder finals airing live on FOX at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
The 24-year-old right-hander finished his fourth tournament appearance with games of 278, 265 and 258 for an 801 set in singles, and he added 731 in doubles and 647 in team to get to 2,179 for his nine-game total.
Darin Craine of Burton, Michigan, previously led Regular Singles with 767, and Canada’s Zach Wilkins had taken over the top spot in Regular All-Events on Friday evening with 2,116.
McCune’s 801 marked the second 800 series of the 2024 event (Jonathan Heimann of Troy, Illinois, with 810 in doubles), and he now is one of 43 bowlers in tournament history to achieve both a 300 game and 800 series on the tournament lanes.
The 2023 Professional Bowlers Association Players Championship winner rolled a 300 game in doubles competition at the 2022 USBC Open Championships, which also took place at South Point.
After a spare in the eighth frame of his final game of singles, McCune had both leads well in his sight but was in a must-strike situation to get to 800.
He recorded a strike in the ninth frame and needed to fill 28 pins in the 10th to add another honor score to his collection at the Open Championships. He rolled two strikes and secured the 800 set with a nine count on his fill ball.
McCune’s run Saturday featured five games of 258 or higher. He started his doubles set with 270 and 268 before rolling 193 to conclude the series.
“Yesterday was a little bit tricky,” McCune said. “I lost one lane, and today, I was able to find both. They were playing three or four different the whole time, so it was definitely challenging. I was the only one able to get a ball to hook on my pair for the first four games, so it was definitely a different feeling seeing that I was the only one to be able to get a ball to even hook.”
Learn more about McCune’s run to the top of the leaderboard by watching the video below.
When McCune won the PBA Players Championship last May, he continued a family legacy that allowed him to join his father, Eugene, and grandfather, Don, in the winner’s circle on the PBA Tour. The family is the first to have three generations of champions in national tour competition.
Now, Kevin will look to join his grandfather as an Eagle winner at the Open Championships.
Don, a PBA and USBC Hall of Famer, is a member of the 1968 Classic Team champion and won Classic Doubles with Jim Stefanich in 1969. Stefanich also is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.
McCune now will shift his focus to the USBC Masters, which gets underway with the first round of qualifying Monday at the nearby Suncoast Bowling Center. Competition will run through March 31, with the stepladder finals airing live on FOX at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.
The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.