Shawn Fisher of Albuquerque, N.M., grew up in a small town of 1,200 people where the local six-lane bowling center wasn't suitable for competitive bowling and the next nearest center was 60 miles away.

Although his father and brother regularly made the trip to bowl in leagues, Fisher didn't pick up the sport until he headed off to college. In just four years, he has gone from novice to potential champion, as he moved into the lead in Classified Singles at the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships on Saturday at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall.

The 22-year-old right-hander struggled with ball reaction during team and doubles, but made one final ball change and posted games of 231, 237 and 216 for 684 in singles to pass Ted Skrzynecki Jr. of Ida, Mich., and Steve Jacoby of Gowen, Mich., who were previously tied for the lead with 679.

"Honestly, I really wanted to shoot well in doubles because I wasn't just bowling for me, I also was helping someone else," said Fisher, a property adjuster for Farmers Insurance who made his third Open Championships appearance and added 545 in team and 481 in doubles for 1,710 all-events. "After doubles, I was pretty disgusted and really didn't want to move lanes and start the next set. But once I threw the first strike, I was able to relax."

Fisher had a lot of support behind him Saturday, and after the first two games of singles, people already were crunching numbers to see what it would take to catapult him into the top spot. By the time he got on the approach for the final frame, Fisher knew that anything less than two strikes and a five count would leave him short.

"I've shot 290 before, and I was a lot more nervous today than I would have been during another honor score game at home," Fisher said. "It was an overwhelming experience and probably would've been easier if I didn't know what I needed, but I knew where I needed to put the ball. When I went up there for the second shot in the 10th frame, I was shaking, but as soon as I released it I knew it was going to hit the pocket."

In order to prepare for his trip to the Open Championships, Fisher frequented the USBCopen.com message boards for comments and ideas and also got some advice from Paul Yoder, half of the pair that is leading Regular Doubles, but knew not to come in with any preconceived notions.

"They talk about the shot and the scores a lot on the Web site, but you can't come in with any set plans or strategies," Fisher said. "You have to have an open mind and be prepared to make adjustments if you want to succeed. Of course you always think about winning, but when I saw the score that was leading, I thought it would be a long shot for me since I've never even shot a 600 series here. With the size of the tournament and the venue, it will be amazing if I can hold on to win. I still can't believe I'm sitting here talking about being in the lead."

Presenting sponsors for the 2006 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado, Silver Legacy and Circus Circus Hotel/Casinos in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Texas State Aquarium, Majestic Ventures Yacht Charters, Inc., USS Lexington Museum and Texas Treasure Casino Cruises.



Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls:

Team
1, Browning Pontiac (Steve Fehr, George Gohagan III, Ken Jessee, Jon Murph, Ken Abner), Cincinnati, 3,496. 2, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,472. 3, Brunswick Shox, Wichita, Kan., 3,436. 4, The Benik Corporation, Silverdale, Wash., 3,402. 5, Bowling Dynamics Inc., Phoenix, 3,400. 6, Trophy King Pro Shop, Davenport, Iowa, 3,394. 7, Red Carpet Waukesha, Waukesha, Wis., 3,387. 8, Fran's Pro Shop 3, Waterloo, Iowa, 3,382. 9, True Amateur Tournament 1, Upland, Calif., 3,372. 10, Chilton Billiard Supply, Wichita, Kan., 3,365.

Doubles
1, Paul Yoder, Albuquerque, N.M./Bobby Stives, El Paso, Texas, 1,497. 2, Pat McGainey Jr., Baltimore/Brian Bennett, Lewes, Del., 1,496. 3, Paul Zuehlke, Oshkosh, Wis./Jon Schure, Ripon, Wis., 1,461. 4, Kevin Adam/Jacques Jacobson, Reading, Pa., 1,447. 5, Shane Keefauver, Canton, Ill./Doug Manhart, Bloomington, Ill., 1,432. 6, Gary Skidmore, Albuquerque, N.M./John Weltzien, Wellington, Fla., 1,425. 7, Scott Terzo/Mark McClain, Rochester, N.Y., 1,421. 8, Aaron Pawloski, Volcano, Calif./Bobby Huckaby, Santa Cruz, Calif., 1,420. 9, Mike Friedman, Adams, Tenn./Tony Szeluga, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,413. 10, Ryan Lever, New Berlin, Wis./Chad Maas, Brookfield, Wis., 1.412.

Singles
1, Norm Titus, Columbia, Tenn., 811. 2, Dave Barker, Springfield Ill., 793. 3, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 792. 4, Michael Chontos, Finleyville, Pa., 791. 5, Janette Piesczynski, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 789. 6 (tie), Dave Hewitt, Fremont, Calif., and Jeff Carter, Springfield Ill., 788. 8, David Williams Jr., Omaha, Neb., 783. 9, Ernest Goedicke, Brigham City, Utah, 774. 10, Mike Danielson, Vancouver, Wash., 773.

All-Events
1, Dave Mitchell, Farmington, Minn., 2,189. 2, Andrew Neuer, Milton, Pa., 2,183. 3, Aaron Walsh, Amarillo, Texas, 2,180. 4, Kelly Ray, Arlington, Texas, 2,179. 5, Norm Titus, Columbia, Tenn., 2,177. 6, Shane Keefauver, Canton, Ill., 2,171. 7, Rob Schuh, Neenah, Wis., 2,161. 8, Robert Dillman, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,158. 9, Mitch Sacks, Mundelein, Ill., 2,156. 10, David Cirigliano, Phoenix, 2,154.

Team All-Events
1, Linds Lakers 1 (Sam Lantto, Gary Green, Charles Vashaw, Todd Savoy, John Eiss), Minneapolis, 9,940. 2, MoRich Ball Company, Milwaukee, 9,893. 3, Bowling Dynamics Inc., Phoenix, 9,866. 4, Montgomery Industries Inc., Braintree, Mass., 9,851. 5, Smith Barney 1, Madison, Wis., 9,849. 6, Warrior Lanes, Des Moines, Iowa, 9,837. 7, Browning Pontiac, Cincinnati, 9,829. 8, Ebonite HQ 1, Hopkinsville, Ky., 9,816. 9, On Track/Custom Thumb A, Brooklyn Center, Minn., 9,799. 10, Chilton Billiard Supply, Wichita, Kan., 9,793.

Team
1, Torkelson Construction (Greg Schipull, Roger Haupt, Troy Schultz, Dustin Elston, Eric Douglass), Clarion, Iowa, 2,878. 2, Suburban Lanes, Meade, Kan., 2,851. 3, Sportsman Bowling Club 3, Cerritos, Calif., 2,807. 4, Grogan's Dairy Queen, Dyersburg, Tenn., 2,789. 5, D&R Golf, New Iberia, La., 2,750. 6, Sparta Pro Shop, Sparta, Mich., 2,745. 7, Hole in the Wall 2, Newton, Iowa, 2,744. 8, Lucky-Lucky, Lubbock, Texas, 2,743. 9, Dos Amigos, Page, Ariz., 2,742. 10, Cardinal Lanes, Hoisington, Kan., 2,740.

Doubles
1, Robert Tukker, Mount Prospect, Ill./David Clauss, Chicago, 1,248. 2, Richard Cockerhan, Davison, Mich./Ron Caldwell, North Branch, Mich., 1,234. 3, Chris Lott, Murfreesboro, Tenn./Ronald Morris, Nashville, Tenn., 1,229. 4, Kevin Mitchell, Millbrae, Calif./Robert Stephens, San Francisco, 1,214. 5, Jared Gould, Jamestown, N.Y./Harvey Osterstuck, Perrysburg, N.Y., 1,212. 6, Kirby Lomax, Gainesville, Ga./Samuel Murray, Toccoa, Ga., 1,211. 7, Ron Hester/Ken Varner, Lexington, N.C., 1,209. 8, Leroy Bellemin, Grand Coteau, La./Rodney Leblanc, Lafayette, La., 1,201. 9 (tie), Larry Sorenson/Virgil Taylor, Streator, Ill., Tim Anderson, Dawson, Minn./Rob Bennett, Montevideo, Minn., and Glynn Arceneaux, Lafayette, La./Rob Clark, Duson, La., 1,198.

Singles
1, Shawn Fisher, Albuquerque, N.M., 684. 2 (tie), Steve Jacoby, Gowen, Mich., and Ted Skrzynecki Jr., Ida, Mich., 679. 4 (tie), Darlene Baker, Mahomet, Ill., and Todd Guidry, Lafayette, La., 675. 6, Rand Syverson, Onamia, Minn., 665. 7, Aaron Biagioni, Ottawa, Ill., 661. 8, Frederick Green, Waterford Township, Mich., 660. 9, Chris Case, Knoxville, Tenn., 657. 10, Greg Hidalgo, Austin, Texas, 655.

All-Events
1, Kirby Lomax, Gainesville, Ga., 1,861. 2, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,851. 3, Todd Guidry, Lafayette, La., 1,824. 4, John Murray, Pompano Beach, Fla., 1,802. 5, Jeffery Schrupp, Lester Prairie, Minn., 1,800. 6, Keith Braun, Celina, Ohio, 1,797. 7, Billy Haferkamp, Clifton, Texas, 1,788. 8, Michael Licko, Carol Stream, Ill., 1,787. 9, Robyn Haires, Panama City, Fla., 1,785. 10, James McLendon, Charlotte, N.C., 1,781.