Shawn Lee of Centennial, Colo., recently decided to turn a lifelong passion for bowling into a career and soon will open his own pro shop, but for right now, his focus is on his own bowling, and this week has been an exciting whirlwind that included a memorable trip to the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

After competing in two of the megabuck tournaments being held in Las Vegas this week, Lee made a quick visit to the Albuquerque Convention Center where his run of bad luck on the lanes turned into a streak of strikes on the way to the 31st perfect game of this year's USBC Open Championships.

"I didn't bowl as well as I wanted to this week, and I was hoping that bowling with my friends at nationals would help free up my arm swing so I could go back to Vegas and whack them," said Lee, who made his sixth Open Championships appearance. "I can't even describe how I'm feeling right now. This is the Mecca of bowling, and this is the new highlight of my bowling career."

Lee drove to Las Vegas on Friday with his wife and daughter, and they remained there when he flew to Albuquerque late Monday night. Because of his travel situation, Lee was forced to bowl all nine Open Championships games in one day before rejoining his family in the Entertainment Capital of the World on Tuesday night.

The 32-year-old right-hander started with 597 in doubles and 564 in singles before posting games of 213, 211 and 300 for a 724 series to help Outdoor Pets of Phoenix to a 3,223 team total, which is just shy of the top 10 in Regular Team. Team Tilt of Lawrence, Kan., leads with 3,374. Lee finished with a 1,885 all-events total.

"We've all gotten to that point before where you just want to pack it all in, but then you have a moment like this where you are rewarded for all of the hard work and practice," Lee said. "My arm swing has never been as free as it is right now. I'm going to keep this in the back of my mind from now on and remember I just need to let go and trust the ball."

In the past few weeks, Lee has rolled two additional 300 games and a career-high 846 series and attributes his success to a recent visit to Camp Bakes, a bowling camp that offers instruction in equipment, release, footwork, timing, spares, lane adjustment and the mental game. The camp's coaching staff is a who's who of bowling that includes Chris Barnes, Kim Terrell, John Gaines, Joe Hutchinson, Barry Asher, Dave Husted and Mark Baker.

Lee and his teammates also took advantage of the team practice sessions being offered at Albuquerque's Holiday Bowl under the guidance of USBC Silver coach Mike Jasnau, who helped the group develop a successful strategy.

"This is my best set at nationals, and the first time I've been able to come in with a game plan," Lee said. "It's unbelievable how helpful the practice session was, and since everyone stuck to the plan, we reaped the rewards."

Tuesday's performance wasn't the first success for Lee in New Mexico, however. Last year, he topped former Professional Bowlers Association Rookie of the Year Chris Johnson to claim the crown at the New Mexico Open in nearby Rio Rancho and returned to New Mexico on a second occasion to win a doubles event. Now, he's just hoping to bring some of that luck back to Las Vegas.

"If I can carry this over to Vegas, it would be great," Lee said. "But if I can't, that's OK, too, because I just shot a 300 at nationals and it feels amazing. I just wanted to come out and have some fun with my friends, and I was fortunate that it turned out so well. Before this, the New Mexico Open was the highlight of my career, but now, nothing can compare to this."

Presenting sponsors for the 2008 USBC Open Championships are Eldorado Hotel Casino, Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno in Reno, Nev. Other participating sponsors are Kegel, official lane maintenance provider; Brunswick, capital equipment supplier; Storm Products, Inc.; Roto Grip, official sponsor of the Roto Grip Sport Bowling Challenge; Isleta Casino & Resort; Santa Ana Star Casino, the official brackets sponsor; Rainbow Ryders, the exclusive hot air balloon company of the 2008 Open Championships; and Sandia Resort & Casino.

Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Team Tilt (Thomas Ault Jr., Russ Wilson, Chris Greene, Joe Keltner, Jay Futrell), Lawrence, Kan., 3,374. 2, Turbo Grips 1, Chesterfield, Mich., 3,308. 3, Fox Bowl 2, Wheaton, Ill., 3,303. 4, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,298. 5, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 3,284. 6, Bluemound Bowl, Milwaukee, Wis., 3,268. 7, Ballard's Bowling Solution 1, North Richland Hills, Texas, 3,258. 8, Play 2 Win, Lakewood, Ohio, 3,254. 9, Bowlers Universe 1, Rockford, Ill., 3,249. 10, Bluegrass Bowling & Golf, Lexington, Ky., 3,244.

Doubles
1, John Socha, Oak Creek, Wis./Dennis Rakauskas, Apopka, Fla., 1,467. 2, Skip Wolfe, Dixon, Ill./Tom Carter, Rockford, Ill., 1,462. 3, Robert Slayton, Apple Valley, Minn./Jason Lutgen, Brooklyn Park, Minn., 1,445. 4, Todd Koehler, Appleton, Minn./Doug Blood, Montevideo, Minn., 1,444. 5, Erik Mattingly, Puyallup, Wash./Robert Hanson, Tacoma, Wash., 1,441. 6, Ted Baer/Josh Edenburn, Omaha, Neb., 1,439. 7, Rick Oelkers III, Valdosta, Ga./David Tolson, Summerville, S.C., 1,434. 8, Steven Levering, Landisville, Pa./Jim Rutherford, Coatesville, Pa., 1,428. 9, Ron Case, Oakley, Calif./Sam Carter, Ben Lomond, Calif., 1,422. 10, Mike Granberg, Batavia, Ill./Dave Rodak, Naperville, Ill., 1,419.

Singles
1, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 832. 2, Jason Price, Grand Island, Neb., 817. 3, Wilbert Moorer, Dover, Del., 784. 4, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 779. 5, Eric Lukins, Fort Myers, Fla., 778. 6, William Uthoff, O'Fallon, Mo., 775. 7 (tie), Larry Aldridge, Aurora, Colo., and Alexander Shand, Myrtle Beach, S.C., 774. 9, Alan Pecora, Drums, Pa., 773. 10, Ryan Shepherd, Collinsville, Va., 769.

All-Events
1, Jay Futrell, Derby, Kan., 2,183. 2, Bryan Young, Everett, Wash., 2,165. 3, Mike Rose Jr., Rochester, N.Y., 2,161. 4, Randy Weiss, Columbia, S.C., 2,160. 5, Warren Crawford, McKinleyville, Calif., 2,159. 6, Brian Kjergaard, Fulton, Ill., 2,147. 7, Edward Gallagher, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,141. 8, Todd Fenske, Weston, Wis., 2,132. 9, Gregg Zicha, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,124. 10, Chris Gibbons, Madison, Wis., 2,122.

Team All-Events
1, Fox Bowl 2 (Anthony Jordan, Pete Spreadbury, Walter Schaub, Gregg Zicha, Mike Nape), Wheaton, Ill., 10,025. 2, Team Tilt, Lawrence, Kan., 9,986. 3, Team Pabst, Madison, Wis., 9,977. 4, MoRich Enterprises, West Bend, Wis., 9,901. 5, Rhino for President, Pleasant View, Utah, 9,801. 6, Bowlingfordumdums.com, Pritchett, Colo., 9,794. 7 (tie), S & B Pro Shop 2, Sterling Heights, Mich., and Pam's Boys 1, Salem, Ore., 9,736. 9, Sack Toe, Sacramento, Calif., 9,717. 10, Pollard's Bowl, Versailles, Ind., 9,708.

Top 10 division leaders with hometown and pinfalls

Team
1, Cardinal Lanes (Edward Hitschmann, Mike Steinert, Reuben Flagor, Tim Higgins, Gary Boxberger), 2,804. 2, Lake Country Rollers 1, Clarissa, Minn., 2,799. 3, T-Rays, Jamestown, N.D., 2,795. 4, Garden Center Lanes 2, Alexandria, Minn., 2,789. 5, D&H Glass, Harrison, Ark., 2,787. 6, Plattsburgh Bowl, Plattsburgh, Mo., 2,773. 7, Sego Electric, Clarion, Iowa, 2,759. 8, Pla-Mor Lanes 5, New Weston, Ohio, 2,750. 9, Lady Pros, Albuquerque, N.M., 2,748. 10, Firenab 2, Lincoln, Neb., 2,745.

Doubles
1, Jacqueline Snyder/Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,282. 2, Janet Vaccari/Joe Vaccari, Gillette, Wyo., 1,255. 3, Frank Smyle Jr., Reeder, N.D./Jesse Smyle, Bowman, N.D., 1,240. 4, James Whisenhant, Robertsdale, Ala./Dean Swindle, Foley, Ala., 1,237. 5, William Palmer, Sussex, Wis./Henry Dotson, McCool, Miss., 1,220. 6, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C./Bob Butts, Charlotte, N.C., 1,207. 7, Ron Schara, Big Timber, Mont./Tom Schara, Rio Rancho, N.M., 1,205. 8, Arthur King, Grass Valley, Calif./Sandy Wagner, Loomis, Calif., 1,203. 9, Jim Kohlman, St. Paul, Minn./Michael Roscoe, White Bear Lake, Minn., 1,196. 10, Judy Waliczek, Pflugerville, Texas/Christopher Brown, Jonesboro, Ark, 1,192.

Singles
1, Jeremy Noland, Chelsea, Okla., 696. 2, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 688. 3 (tie), Brian Washington, Hopewell, Va., and Tim Hoffpauir, New Iberia, La., 676. 5, Donald D. Mueller Jr., Fremont, Neb., 672. 6, Tim Wagner, Hardin, Mont., 669. 7, Brion Estis, St. Davids, Bermuda, 666. 8, John Zapalac, Bishop, Texas, 662. 9, Randy Gaines, Austin, Minn., 658. 10, Ed Wethington, Poplar Grove, Ill., 657.

All-Events
1, Daniel Dabkowski, Columbia, S.C., 1,857. 2, Bill Calhoon, Cooksville, Ill., 1,852. 3, Daryl Peake, Mount Holly, N.C., 1,849. 4, John Millet Jr., Greenland, N.H., 1,821. 5, Troy Schultz, Clarion, Iowa, 1,820. 6, Dave Lisson, Browerville, Minn., 1,815. 7, Kenny DeYoung, Valley Springs, Ark., 1,805. 8, Kenny Halsted, Harrison, Ark., 1,805. 9, John Victor, Rockford, Ill., 1,794. 10, Glenn Shields, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1,791.