California bowler takes lead in Standard All-Events at 2024 Open Championships

LAS VEGAS – As the days at the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships are quickly coming to an end at the South Point Bowling Plaza, there still are plenty of bowlers making their way to Las Vegas in hopes of seeing their name on the tournament’s leaderboard.

In the Standard Division, Matt Garcia of Long Beach, California, took over the lead for all-events with his score of 2,003 on Friday. It’s not the only spot Garcia saw his name by the end of the trip.

He also moved into second in Standard Doubles with his brother, Darren Garcia, with a combined total of 1,292 and took over second in Standard Singles with 743.

Jeffrey Robinson of Westerville, Ohio, previously led Standard All-Events with 1,957. The father-and-son team of Gary and Shane Goldermann hold the top spot in Standard Doubles with 1,319, and Michael Humphrys of Milwaukie, Oregon, leads Standard Singles with 745.

In his team event Thursday, Garcia’s scores consisted of 152, 203 and 187, making for a 542 set.

In doubles, he had scores of 232, 210 and 276 for a set of 718. Darren added steady games of 191, 191 and 192 for a 574 series to help them into second place.

Darren and Matt Garcia at the 2024 USBC Open Championships

“My body was more relaxed, so I was just throwing the ball and making sure I hit the head pin,” said Garcia, who made his second appearance at the USBC Open Championships.

For singles, Garcia put up scores of 287, which included the first 10 strikes, 200 and 256.

He could have tied Humphrys’ score for a share of the singles lead with three strikes in the 10th frame of Game 3, but the 39-year-old right-hander left a 2-8 on his fill ball after recording a pair of strikes.

“I came in here with a goal of just bowling 190s and having fun with my brother,” Garcia said. “We signed up at the last second – maybe three weeks ago. We were not expecting to come this year.”

When asked what he thought about the end of the tournament being so close and possibly taking home an Eagle for his performance, Garcia said, “That would be such a great feeling.”

Standard Singles and All-Events features bowlers with entering averages of 156-175. Standard Doubles includes pairs with combined entering averages of 311-350.

The 2024 Open Championships got underway Feb. 23 and will run through July 29 at the South Point Bowling Plaza. The tournament is scheduled to feature more than 11,000 teams and 55,000 bowlers making their way to compete in Las Vegas.

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