RENO, Nev. - A few years ago, Gary Weldon of Temple City, Calif., decided he was going to bowl in three leagues in three different bowling centers in order to challenge himself with a variety of lane conditions.

The 62-year-old right-hander has become a student of the game and enjoys learning about the latest bowling technology.

His diligence paid off this season with his first 300 game and a 200 league average for the first time, and his success continued at the USBC Open Championships on Friday morning.

Weldon made a run at the 44th perfect game at this year's tournament in his final game of doubles, and although he fell short and finished with 289, the effort was enough to lift him and Velvet Sanderson of Norco, Calif., into the Classified Doubles lead with a 1,223 total. Susan and Dennis Combs of Howard, Ohio, previously held the top spot with 1,213.

"I was just trying to hold my concentration, but I let the 11th shot go about a board too far right," said Weldon, who made his third Open Championships appearance. "I had some lucky hits earlier in the series, and I'm grateful for those. All I really wanted was to bowl well for doubles.

As he stepped up for his shot at perfection at the National Bowling Stadium, Weldon had no idea he also needed the first strike for the doubles lead. He finished with games of 233, 178 and 289 for a 700 series, his best on the tournament lanes by 70 pins. Sanderson, whose husband, Dean, has helped coach Weldon, added games of 188, 156 and 179 for a 523 set, her best in five tournament appearances.

"This just blows my mind," said Sanderson, a 48-year-old right-hander who bowls league at AMF Bowling Square Lanes in Arcadia, Calif. "I'm glad we had no idea what the leading score was or that we were close. We just wanted to bowl well for each other, and it feels incredible that we were able to take the lead. I'm certainly not a big bowler, and that's the best I've ever done here. You need a good energy for doubles, and we like that we were able to be there to lift each other up."

Weldon met Dean Sanderson on the bowling lanes, but didn't meet Velvet until he helped them do some work on their house. They've since become friends and enjoy their time on the lanes for the camaraderie as much as anything. To win a title together at the Open Championships would be almost indescribable.

"We'll be online checking the scores for sure," said Weldon, who added 458 in team and 443 in singles for a 1,601 all-events total. "We don't bowl league together, but we've bowled doubles here before. This is exciting, and we even got our picture taken for the first time. It would be wonderful to hold on. It would be a high point in my bowling career for sure. It's something I would treasure for the rest of my life."

Sanderson finished with 455 in singles and 426 in team for a 1,404 all-events total.

Click here to watch video highlights from the 2011 Open Championships.
Presenting sponsors for the 2011 USBC Open Championships are Circus Circus, Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno. Other sponsors include Sands Regency Casino Hotel, official brackets sponsor, Kegel, official lane maintenance provider, Humana, official registration sponsor, US Steltronic, official scoring system, and supporting sponsors Storm Bowling Products, UPS, Nationwide Insurance, Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa, Harrah's Reno Casino and Hotel and Peppermill Hotel Casino.