Mark Scroggins of Amarillo, Texas, has traveled thousands of miles during the past three weeks, and he finally arrived at the 2006 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships as one of the hottest bowlers in the country.

After topping a 140-player field to win the Denny's Professional Bowlers Association Tour Trials, which were held from May 30 until June 4 in Hammond, Ind., the 42-year-old left-hander barely had time to celebrate before heading to Wichita, Kan., to compete in the PBA Southwest Region Ebonite Wichita Open where he finished second on June 11.

Just a few days later at the Open Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas, Scroggins was reunited with some players from his coaching days at West Texas A&M University and contributed 574 to help the group to a 2,896 team effort.

"I was just trying to keep my momentum going here," said Scroggins, who made his 18th appearance at the Open Championships. "I think I put a little too much pressure on myself to do well during team, so I wasn't relaxed and wasn't bowling well. But I let everything go the next day and it showed in my scores."

Without any team competition at the professional level, Scroggins showed that his game is better suited for the quick tempo of the doubles and singles events. He posted 735 in doubles and 695 in singles for a 2,004 all-events total at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall.

Scroggins teamed up with Jeff Campbell II of New Castle, Pa., one of 10 people who own a certified 900 series, for a 1,342 doubles total. Bobby Stives of El Paso, Texas, and Paul Yoder of Albuquerque, N.M., lead with 1,497.

"The slower pace requires more focus and concentration," said Scroggins, who was PBA Rookie of the Year in 1993 and the PBA Southwest Player of the Year in 2001. "I like the faster pace with fewer bowlers on a lane. Plus, it can get a little tricky to be out there as a player and coach at the same time."

His identical twin brother Mike has been a staple on the PBA tour since 1990, and won his third title and first major at the 2005 USBC Masters in Milwaukee. Now that both brothers are exempt for the 2006-07 season, there will be many potential opportunities to finally decide who is really the best bowler in the family.

"It seems like a lot of people want to see that happen," said Mark, who is older by four and a half minutes. "I guarantee that it would be entertaining if we ended up bowling each other for a title. There is definitely some sibling rivalry there."

Chris Marshall of Mason, Mich., may be bowling less often these days, but it didn't show Wednesday at the Open Championships as he posted a 299 game to close out singles.

The 37-year-old right-hander opened the set with 236 and 227 before a 10-pin ended his bid for perfection. He finished with a 762 series, and his 299 was the 14th of this year's event.

"I started to feel a little pressure towards the end when everyone was watching me," said Marshall, who owns three Professional Bowlers Association regional titles. "The first ball in the 10th was good, and the next shot was even better, but I got a little soft on the last shot and it went high."

Taking some time off before coming to the Open Championships this year proved to be a successful strategy, but his performance on the tournament lanes may not be enough to bring him back to the game on a full-time basis.

"I haven't been bowling much this year, so I was hoping to come out here just to get back in the swing of things," said Marshall, who added 674 in team and 614 in doubles for a 2,050 all-events total. "Basically, I decided it was time to take a break from bowling. I showed myself that I can still throw the ball well today, but I'm not sure if I still have the desire to be competitive."

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., and Michael Nape, Aurora, Ill., 2,156.

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, Fox Bowl 1, Wheaton, Ill., 9,814. 10, On Track/Custom Thumb A, Brooklyn Center, Minn., 9,799.

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.