Austrian bowlers dominated day one qualifying in the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria.
Alexander Rauscher (l.) overtook the lead in the third of 17 qualifying squads Tuesday evening with 1367 six-game total and an average of 227.83. Rauscher, who threw 1314 as a pacer in Squad 2, had games of 234, 278, 202, 247, 180 and 226 to beat out fellow countryman
Michael Loos (right) by 21 pins.Next are Thomas Gross, Walter Rieger and Robert Skach, all from Austria. Qualifying continues on Wednesday with Squads 4-6.
Marcus Zuber (l.) from Germany finished his six-game qualifying block with a 269 game en route to move into fifth place in the Singles qualifying of the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open in Austria. Zuber led Squad 7 on Thursday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna with 1313 pinfall total to became just the fifth player in this year's event, who cracked the 1300-bar. Alexander Rauscher from Austria leads the field since Squad 3 with 1367 pinfall total and an average of 227.83. 
None of the players in Squad 6 on Wednesday evening made it among the top six after two days of qualifying in the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open currently underway at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Austria's No. 1, Thomas Gross, led Squad 6 but missed the top six by three pins. The co-owner of the "The Bowling Store" pro-shop at Plus Bowling had to settle for 7th place in the overall qualifying standings with 1274 pinfall total. Uwe Tscharke, Germany and Michael Mayer, Austria remained in the lead in the Doubles event with 2658 six-game total and an average of 221.50.
Frederik Øhrgaard (pictured) led the fifth qualifying squad Wednesday afternoon at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, en route to move into sixth place in the overall qualifying standings in the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open. The Danish national team member used six games between 201 and 234 for 1277 pinfall total, an average of 212,83, and was the sole player in the squad who managed a 200-plus average. Austrian Alexander Rauscher (right) continued to lead the field of 118 players with 1367 (227.83). 
Uwe Tscharke (l.) from Germany and Austrian Michael Mayer (r.) teamed in the 4th qualifying squad of the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Wednesday at noon en route to overtake the lead in Doubles and to crack the top 5 in Singles. The duo rolled the two highest individual series of Squad 4 to easily move to the top of the Doubles competition with 2658 six-game total and an average of 221.50. Tscharke led the duo with 1332 and Mayer added 1326, which propelled them into third and fourth place in the individual qualifying standings.
Walter Rieger from Austria led the first qualifying squad of the 6th Columbia 300 Vienna Open Tuesday at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria, with 1254 six-game total and an average of 209.00. Rieger (left) came out of the gates quickly with a 256 game, then suffered two-sub-par games before he closed out the series with 239, 201 and 222 to take the early lead. As the squad leader Rieger is automatically qualified for the finals on Sunday. Gery Fuchs (right) had games between 180 and 226 to land in second place with 1222.Qualifying continues totay with two more squads. 
A 9-pin No-Top tournament kicked off the five-day qualifying portion of the sixth annual Columbia 300 Vienna Open Monday evening at Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. Players were divided in four different average groups (all less than 200 average) and a total of 13 players received free entries into the main event. The Vienna Open, the 14th stop of the 2008 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "Major", will be held from Sep. 30 - Oct. 5, 2008 at 32-laner Plus Bowling. 
The 6th annual Columbia 300 Vienna Open is the 14th stop of the 2008 European Bowling Tour and one of the Tour's "Majors". The tournament will be held from Sep. 30 - Oct. 5, 2008 at 32-laner Plus Bowling in Vienna, Austria. The Vienna Open offers a total prize fund of 65.630 Euro - 55.400 € for Singles and 10.230 € for the Doubles event. The singles champion will receive the 6.000 € top prize while the doubles winners will split 1.600 €. After the online registration was closed, 293 players - 242 men and 51 women from 28 countries were registered for the event. Bowlingdigital.com and Bowl.com will report live from Vienna. 