Defending champion Bill O'Neill of Southampton, Pa., charged into the third round lead in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at
Brunswick Zone-Carolier Thursday. O'Neill finished qualifying with 4,094 pins and a 103-pin lead over 2006 U.S. Open champion Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C. 2008 winner Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., was in third place with 3,983 pins followed by Canadian citizen Dan MacLelland of Saginaw, Mich., at 3,944, and 2005 winner Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, with 3,901 pins.
With all the options that today's high-tech bowling balls offer professional bowlers, choosing the right equipment to complement the player's ability is often the key to success. But when the PBA Tour returns to Cheektowaga, N.Y., for the third annual Mark Roth Plastic Ball Championship March 2-6, any advantage that can be gained by choosing the right equipment will be thrown out the window because all of the competitors will be required to use the same type of bowling ball.
Norm Duke (l.) of Clermont, Fla., won his 34th PBA title and seventh career major in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier Sunday with a stunning 225-216 victory over Mika Koivuniemi of Hartland, Mich., when Koivuniemi missed a 10 pin spare in the 10th frame. Duke earned $80,000 and moved into a tie for fourth place on the PBA Tour's list of all-time title-winners. 
PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke (l.) of Clermont, Fla., will bowl for his 34th career title and seventh major championship Sunday as the top qualifier in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier. Tommy Jones earned the No. 2 seed and No. 3 Mika Koivuniemi made PBA history by
advancing to the nationally-televised finals in all four major
championships during the 2010-11 season. No. 4 Ryan Shafer eliminated defending champion Bill O'Neill in Saturday's night stepladder round. 
Heading into Saturday afternoon’s final eight games of match play in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier, 2006 champion Tommy Jones (pictured left) of Simpsonville, S.C., limped into a 46-pin lead over 33-time PBA Tour titlist Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla. After Saturday afternoon’s final eight-game match play round, the top
six will advance to the stepladder finals which will get underway with
the first two matches airing live on ESPN2 Saturday at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Norm Duke (pictured) of Clermont, Fla., won his first six matches and lost his next two, but his strong start was enough for him to overtake defending champion Bill O’Neill and Southampton, Pa., and take the lead in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open with 34-game total of 7,662 pins including 30 üins match play bonus pins for each. Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., was second 83 pins behind Duke, at 7,579 with O’Neill third at 7,527 pins.
Defending champion Bill O'Neill (l.) of Southampton, Pa., led the 24 remaining survivors into the opening round of match play in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier Friday. O'Neill held a 114-pin lead over 2006 U.S. Open winner Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., and a 129-pin edge over 2008 U.S. Open champ Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla. Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte (right) was in fourth place.
Amateur Fero Williams (l.) of Fairfield, Ohio, stumbled briefly, but maintained the composure of a veteran Wednesday to retain the second round lead in the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open at Brunswick Zone-Carolier by 83 pins over Canadian citizen Dan MacLelland (r.) of Saginaw, Mich. The entire 383-player field will bowl its final six-game qualifying
round Thursday to determine the top 95 players who will advance to the
eight-game cashers’ round. 
After earning Professional Bowlers Association Rookie of the Year honors in the 2005-06 season, defending Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open champion Bill O'Neill (pictured) became one of the most heralded young players on Tour. But for quite awhile one thing was missing from his resume: a PBA Tour title. While it would take four more seasons for the Southampton, Pa., resident to visit the winners circle, O'Neill never had any doubts he would eventually be a winner on the PBA Tour.
After a one-year absence, the 68th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open will return to Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J., Feb. 21-27, with the addition of a unique three-day schedule of live television coverage, an $80,000 guaranteed first prize and maybe a decisive role in the 2010-11 PBA Player of the Year race. The fourth and final major championship on the 2010-11 PBA Tour schedule, the U.S. Open is considered by many to be the most challenging title in all of bowling to win.
Tom Hess of Urbandale, Iowa, thrust his hands to the sky, jumped into the air and relished his place in bowling history as he claimed the title at the 2011 Bayer USBC Masters on Sunday at the National Bowling Stadium. Hess defeated top seed Jack Jurek of Lackawanna, N.Y., 225-214, to win his first career PBA Tour title. Hess defeated Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, 254-219, for the right to bowl Jurek. In the opening match, Koivuniemi eliminated Mike DeVaney of Murrieta, Calif., 230-206.
For the second time in his career, Jack Jurek (l.) of Lackawanna, N.Y., has earned the top seed for the TV finals at the USBC Masters. Jurek went 6-0 in the double-elimination match-play bracket at the 2011 Bayer USBC Masters, locking up the top seed with a 668-583 victory over Tom Hess (r.) of Urbandale, Iowa. Hess earned the No. 2 seed. Mika Koivuniemi of Finland secured the No. 3 seed and will face No. 4 seed Mike DeVaney of Murrieta, Calif., in the opening match. 
Finland's Mika Koivuniemi's (pictured) proficiency in major tournaments continued Thursday night as he went 2-0 in matches at the 2011 Bayer USBC Masters to lead a group of 16 undefeated players. Koivuniemi, who lwon $250,000 for his victory at the PBA Tournament of Champions, dominated his first two matches and is the highest seed remaining in the winners bracket at No. 7.
Bill O'Neill (l.) of Southampton, Pa., emerged as the high qualifier Thursday after 15 games at the 2011 Bayer USBC Masters. The three-time PBA champion finished qualifying with a 3,434 total, an average of 228.9, and will face defending champion and No. 64 seed Walter Ray Williams Jr. (r.) of Ocala, Fla., in the opening round of the double-elimination match-play bracket at the National Bowling Stadium.
Xtra Frame, PBA.com's exclusive video streaming service, will begin its coverage of the Bayer USBC Masters with "bonus coverage" of A and B squad qualifying rounds Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m. Eastern at the National Bowling Stadium. The four finalists will determine the champion in Sunday's live ESPN stepladder finals at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Even this past Sunday at the PBA Earl Anthony Memorial Classic, where the 48-year-old Hall of Famer made his first TV appearance of the 2010-2011 PBA season, Pete Weber had it—that look in his eyes once described as "chilling enough to make small children cringe in fear." After watching twin messengers topple the 7-10 split that stood after a pocket shot, handing him another strike in his match against Patrick Allen, the man now known as "PDW" slowly walked backwards to his seat with a stare fixed on the rack of pins he just blew into the pit.
When Walter Ray Williams Jr. (pictured) of Ocala, Fla., attempted to defend his title at the USBC Masters in October 2004, he didn't have the luxury of bowling qualifying with the other players. In the past, the defending champion was not allowed to compete during qualifying. This year, thanks to a rule adjustment, that will change. When this year's Bayer USBC Masters begins on Feb. 8 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., Williams will be allowed to bowl qualifying.