RENO, Nev. - When Bob Petersen of Crystal Lake, Ill., packed his bags to head to the USBC Open Championships this weekend, he was looking forward to the camaraderie and having fun with his teammates and friends.

The 62-year-old right-hander was able to share something else with his friends as they watched him roll games of 268, 216 and 196 and grab a share of the Classified Singles lead with a 680 series at the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday. He shares the top spot with Scott Blaisdell of Malad, Idaho.

After striking on his first shot of his final frame, Petersen left the 6-10 and needed to convert it to become the co-leader. He was unaware that he'd tied the lead even after everyone began to congratulate him.

"I had no idea," said Petersen, who made his eighth Open Championships appearance. "It's pretty unbelievable. I'm just a one-night-a-week bowler. I have never averaged higher than 176. We just come to have fun. We never expect to win any money."

After switching pairs for his singles event, it took Petersen only one shot to notice a distinct difference from the pair he bowled doubles on.

"The first ball I rolled in singles had a lot more snap to it," said Petersen, who bowls league at Metro-Bowl. "In my house league, the lanes dry out very quickly, so I normally move left and throw right. I was unable to do that during my other six games. My singles pair fit the left to right and small hook I'm used to, and the pins were just jumping."

Petersen started his first singles games with eight consecutive strikes before leaving a 9 pin to end his bid for the 10th perfect game of the tournament. At the Stadium, the scoreboard changes color when a bowler opens a game with seven consecutive strikes. Petersen had no idea what the color change meant.

"I just took it one frame at a time," said Petersen, who is a sales rep for BPSR Inc. "The funniest part was that I had no idea what it meant when my strikes went red. I was afraid to ask what that meant other than the fact that I knew I had a lot of them. I've never bowled a 300 and threw more strikes out of the gate than I ever have. The 268 is my career-high. When they went red, apparently other people knew what it meant, but I didn't. And I didn't want to ask anybody because I didn't want to think about it."

Petersen has known several of his teammates for as long as 20 years and was happy they were here to witness his achievement.

"We're like a family," Petersen said. "In our group, we have one father and one son, and one father, wife and daughter. This year, we had to get a sub to replace one of the sons in our group. Most of us have played softball together for years, and now that we've grown older, we bowl. Having done something special with friends is always good. I never come here with the intention of doing something special. We just come for the fun and camaraderie."

Although Petersen is not the outright leader, he is content with being a co-leader.

"I will gladly take what I have," Petersen said. "I had no intention of being the leader or co-leader. I bowled exactly my average in team, and I was six pins under in doubles. I wanted to bowl those extra six pins in singles tonight to know that I could get into the 1,600s."

Petersen added 525 in team and 519 in doubles for a career-best 1,724 all-events total.

The Classified Division is open to bowlers who average 180 and below.

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.