By the time Stephen Kubis of Houston finally made it to the lanes at the American Bank Center Exhibit Hall on Saturday, he was almost seven hours into a unlucky day and never imagined he'd find his way into the top 10 at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

Kubis and his doubles partner Stacey Smith left Houston at 6:15 a.m. and figured they had plenty of time to complete the three and a half hour trip before their 11:40 a.m. doubles and singles squad. Instead, they got caught in traffic that resulted from construction and a wreck on the highway, and Kubis got a speeding ticket while trying to make up some time.

Once they hit the lanes though, their luck changed and they combined to shoot 1,212 to move into a tie for sixth place in Classified Doubles. Kubis led the way with 618, while Smith contributed 594. Robert Tukker of Mount Prospect, Ill., and David Clauss of Chicago lead with 1,248.

"After the drive here, we really didn't think luck was on our side," said Kubis, who made his ninth Open Championships appearance and added 649 in singles and 512 in team to move into 10th place in Classified All-Events with 1,779. "But I figured that our luck had to change eventually and we'd finally get some breaks. I also wanted to make sure I shot something decent so they wouldn't be laughing at me at work on Monday like they did after I bowled team."

Kubis had almost two weeks to stew over his team score because he and Smith bowled on June 18 in place of a canceled team and headed back to Houston to wait for their next chance on the tournament lanes.

"After what I shot in team, I didn't think I really had a chance at anything," Kubis said. "I hit the pocket in team, but I didn't carry. On the ride home, I told Stacey I would have to figure something out, and I did. Today I moved further inside, and the pins fell my way."

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/Jacque s 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, Flirtin' With Disaster, Tallahassee, Fla., 2,777. 6, Git-Er-Done, Gainesville, Ga., 2,764. 7, D&R Golf, New Iberia, La., 2,750. 8, Sparta Pro Shop, Sparta, Mich., 2,745. 9, Hole in the Wall 2, Newton, Iowa, 2,744. 10, Lucky-Lucky, Lubbock, Texas, 2,743.

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, Larry Sifton, Lafayette, La./Carlton McCoy, Opelousas, La., 1,223. 5, Kevin Mitchell, Millbrae, Calif./Robert Stephens, San Francisco, 1,214. 6 (tie), Stephen Kubis/Stacey Smith, Houston, and Jared Gould, Jamestown, N.Y./Harvey Osterstuck, Perrysburg, N.Y., 1,212. 8, Kirby Lomax, Gainesville, Ga./Samuel Murray, Toccoa, Ga., 1,211. 9, Ron Hester/Ken Varner, Lexington, N.C., 1,209. 10, Leroy Bellemin, Grand Coteau, La./Rodney Leblanc, Lafayette, La., 1,201.

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, Robyn Haires, Panama City, Fla., 1,785. 9, James McLendon, Charlotte, N.C., 1,781. 10, Stephen Kubis, Houston, 1,779.