LAS VEGAS - Bowling is a game of observations, adjustments and even perseverance, which can come in different forms.

The 2022 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships got a handful of new leaders Wednesday at the South Point Bowling Plaza, and those three things were consistent in helping the bowlers find success on the lanes.

The day started with an inspirational performance from Ronald Hilliard of Lancaster, California, who saw his recent hard work and determination pay off in the form of one career-best performance after another.

Each three-game set fueled his confidence and propelled him to the top of the standings in Classified Singles and Classified All-Events.

In nine previous appearances at the USBC Open Championships, the 46-year-old right-hander had never broken 540.

Across this year's two oil patterns, Hilliard rolled sets 569 in team, 590 in doubles and 665 in singles to cap a 1,824 all-events total, his best by 300 pins. Carl Schwabe of Waynetown, Indiana, previously held the lead in both categories with 628 and 1,730.

"I usually just go out there and make my shots, and wherever my number ends up, that's all I can do," Hilliard said. "I have struggled on the oil patterns here in the past, but today, I was locked in. I was in the zone and able to repeat shots. I was more focused, I think. I've been working on my game over the last year, and that includes spares and accuracy."

There's something unique about Hilliard, though. He suffers from a condition called retinitis pigmentosa - a rare, inherited degenerative eye disease.

He is legally blind, but he loves bowling. He's always seeking to learn more about the sport, equipment, layouts and techniques, too. But, he'll forever be tinkering with the physical aspects of his game as his eyesight changes with age.

"Being visually impaired, I have tunnel vision and need to keep my eyes focused on the target," Hilliard said. "I line up my feet on the dots and arrows and boards, but once the ball leaves my hand and crosses the arrows, I can't really see it. That's where having supportive teammates helps."

Hilliard can see the ball through the front part of the lane, but his success also is very dependent on muscle memory. In bowling, of course, every lane is the same length and the pins always get spotted in the same place.

Being surrounded by friends who are familiar with some of the challenges definitely helped Hilliard stay focused and calm as he put the finishing touches on his breakout performance Wednesday.

"We all try to have fun, and we all kind of feed off each other," said Hilliard, who bowls in two leagues each week. "It's just fun to come here and spend time with everyone, while also experiencing something beyond a regular house shot. Seeing improvement from past years is really rewarding."

Hilliard has been bowling since the 1980s and has enjoyed the evolution of the equipment over time, but his condition also makes selecting his own arsenal more complicated, since he has trouble differentiating between the colors.

When he was a teenager, he started experiencing issues with his sight. There was sensitivity to light and dark, limited peripheral and just a general narrowing of his vision.

He knows it's possible, or even likely, that his condition will worsen, but giving up bowling is nowhere on the agenda. He's enamored by the sport, motivated by his improvement and success, and wowed by the grandeur of the Open Championships, where he's hoping to be recognized as a champion in 2023.

"My sight could get even worse, or I could lose it completely in the coming years, so bowling will change for me," Hilliard said. "I don't want to give it up, but there will be additional challenges. I'll figure out a way. It's too much fun."

Fun in the short-term for Hilliard will include keeping up with the online leaderboards as the tournament's 129-day run continues at South Point. Competition began March 12 and will run through July 18.

"I'll keep an eye on the numbers, but right now, I just want to enjoy being the leader," Hilliard said. "This is by far my best Nationals, and I can draw from this. It will give me some extra confidence heading into some tournaments I have coming up. Ending up as a winner when it all ends in July would mean all the work and extra focus are paying off."

On the final squad of the day Wednesday, Wisconsin's Michael Steppert (Weston) and Dan Cherek (Wausau) used more than 20 combined years of Open Championships trial and error to finally see things click on the tournament lanes.

As bowlers from the Midwest, the two are well-versed in the tradition of the event and the significance of success there, but they've never been able to find much success of their own.

Not allowing themselves to get discouraged, learning from the things that didn't work and taking the time to build more versatile arsenals proved to be the difference in 2022.

The result was the highest doubles total in the five-tournament history of the Standard Division, which debuted at South Point in 2017.

Steppert, a 38-year-old right-hander and 10-time tournament participant, led the effort Wednesday with games of 192, 235 and 278 for a 705 total. Cherek, a 47-year-old right-hander and 12-time participant, was consistent, adding games of 205, 200 and 202 for a 607 series and 1,312 total.

The lead in 2022 previously belonged to Carl Krause of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and Andrew Kasten of Green Bay, Wisconsin, who shot 1,208 one squad earlier.

The highest overall total in Standard Doubles competition was 1,274, rolled by Illinois bowlers Jeremy Delby and Gregory Mollett on the way to the title in 2019, also at the South Point Bowling Plaza.

Steppert's doubles series Wednesday was his first tournament set over 650 and helped him to a career-best 1,895 all-events total, which is second in Standard All-Events. He had 634 in singles and 556 in team.

"The biggest difference for me has been learning more about my equipment and using some different drillings," said Steppert, who bowls at Weston Lanes. "For years, my equipment was similar, and it just didn't work. I've tried some things, moved the pin around and brought some different stuff I hoped would work out here, and it did."

Cherek, the association manager for the Wausau Area USBC Bowling Association, is close behind in the Standard All-Events standings. He is third with 1,837, his first 1,800 at the Open Championships. The campaign included a 642 series in team and 588 in singles.

"No matter what happens, this was awesome," said Cherek, who bowls at Marathon Lanes in Marathon City, Wisconsin. "It was cool to finally do something out here and bowl well. I think from bowling here so many times, we were able to learn what to do and what not to do. I'm not as used to bowling on these kinds of patterns, but I'm slowly getting there."

Gregory Witt of Phoenix leads Standard All-Events with 1,982. Daryl Stephens of Gilbert, Arizona, tops the Standard Singles list with 705.

The Standard Division includes individual bowlers with entering tournament averages of 156-175 and doubles teams with combined averages of 311-350.

The Classified Division is for bowlers with entering averages of 155 and below.

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