RENO, Nev. - After losing his wife in late 2010, Ron Mohr of Eagle River, Alaska, used bowling as his personal therapy, and although he bowled less than 20 games while he was caring for her, he later practiced and practiced and mapped out a return to the competitive ranks.

The only question Mohr had heading into the 2011 Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour season was whether or not he was ready to be back out on the lanes, both physically and mentally.

The 2009 PBA Senior Tour Player of the Year decided to bowl the first three events of the 2011 Senior Tour season to judge his level of readiness. He felt those events would give him a good indication of what his next move should be.

"Going into the 2011 PBA season, I had no expectations," said Mohr, whose wife of 12 years, Linda, died from complications that arose after a routine knee surgery. "I had no expectations at all. I was going to go bowl the first three stops, and those would be my indication of whether I was ready to compete or should just go home and think about doing something else."

The 55-year-old right-hander finished fourth and third in the first two events, respectively, before finding his way back into the winner's circle. He never thought he'd be ready to compete at the highest level again, and after such a good start, he decided to bowl the next stop, where he finished second.

Mohr's journey and unbelievable season continued with back-to-back wins at the Senior U.S. Open and Senior Northern California Classic, before he traveled to the National Bowling Stadium to test his skills at the 2011 USBC Open Championships.

He is no stranger to success on the championship lanes or at the Stadium, where he helped Team USA Support No. 2 of Sioux Falls, S.D., to the 2001 Team All-Events title.

This year, Mohr closed out his eighth tournament appearance with a 767 singles series, his highest set on the tournament lanes, and added 623 in team and 602 in doubles for a 1,992 all-events total, the third-highest of his career.

"To win here, you need a strong, supportive team," Mohr said. "With a strong team of guys who can read the lanes and stay ahead of the transition, you can have success. That just builds on itself. Success breeds success."

During the last three years, Mohr has experienced a plethora of emotions, and he's learned two valuable skills along the way - winning and coping.

He quickly made his mark on the PBA Senior Tour with three wins and player-of-the-year honors in 2009, and then competing quickly wasn't important anymore. Through it all, though, the local and professional bowling communities felt the same loss and provided an outpouring of support in his time of need.

"The bowling community has helped ease the pain," said Mohr, who is the 1993 British Open champion. "My wife was the association manager for the local bowling association, so everyone knew her up there. The outpouring of compassion and support from both the local and professional bowling communities has been absolutely therapeutic. Just to know that many people care and are supportive is amazing. My guardian angel has provided me all this support. It's amazing."

Mohr really can't describe or put into words the season he's had so far, but he knows his guardian angel has been right there with him. A self-described intense competitor on the lanes, Mohr has been at ease since he made his return to competition. Before, he felt he had to validate his existence on Tour, but now, he is appreciating his efforts.

No longer is every shot a life or death situation. No longer is bowling a means to live. No longer is bowling a life-changing entity. It's an opportunity for an incredibly talented competitor to enjoy what he loves to do with his favorite person always by his side.

"At the Brentwood stop, I left a 2-8-10 in the eighth frame of the championship match," Mohr said. "Normally, I would be really upset. But, it was OK. I got up on the approach and started talking to Linda. I said, 'you know, this has been a great run, thank you so much for getting me this far, and I really appreciate everything you've done the last five weeks.' If I won great, if not, that would've been fine, too. I ended up striking out. This whole thing has been an epiphany and a complete change. I am completely humbled."

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.