RENO, Nev. - Joel Carlson of Omaha, Neb., wasted no time knocking off the new all-events leader at the USBC Open Championships, and he now sits atop the Regular All-Events standings with a 2,164 total.

The 49-year-old right-hander used a 768 singles set to surge into the lead at the National Bowling Stadium on Sunday morning. He added 709 in doubles and 687 in team to surpass Ken Duffield of Madison, Wis., who shot 2,120 late Saturday night.

Carlson attributes his success to a ball change after his first game of team, a 193 effort, which then helped him average 246.3 for the remaining eight games.

"During the first game of the tournament, I was using a duller ball, and it was not a good match," said Carlson, who made his 26th consecutive Open Championships appearance and had a previous high all-events total of 2,154 at the 2002 event in Billings, Mont. "If I got the ball out, it would hang. If I pulled the ball, it hooked. I made a ball change in game two and used that ball for the rest of the tournament."

Carlson has been intently working on his game lately and took a lesson with USBC Silver coach Mike Jasnau at Lane 81, the training lane inside the pro shop area at the Stadium, the morning before his team event. He couldn't be happier with the results.

"It's kind of a relief because I have been working hard on my game," said Carlson, who bowls regularly at Mockingbird Lanes. "Mike and I were able to tweak my swing a little, and everything fell into place. I was happy I was able to finish strong after facing some adversity, leaving a couple pocket 8-10 splits. To be able to strike in the eighth, ninth and 10th frames to put up a good score felt pretty good."

For much of his Open Championships career, Carlson has bowled with the same group and always looks forward to spending time with his friends and competing with them on the tournament lanes.

"I love the camaraderie and the competition," said Carlson, who is a claim manager with American Family Insurance. "It's really the highlight of our year to come out and bowl and see how we match up against bowlers from all over the country."

While Carlson is pleased he is walking out as the leader, he is aware that his score may not hold up.

"It feels great to lead," Carlson said. "I don't know if that score will hold up or not, but it's nice to bowl a good score. You can't win unless you leave with the lead."

Carlson's effort also helped Rob Bailey's Pro Shop 1 of Omaha, Neb., into second place in Team All-Events with 9,671.

He was joined by Rob Bailey (1,939), Scott Lindsey (1,900), Bruce Herreman (1,835) and Terry Norton (1,833). DAPP Embroidery of Grand Prairie, Texas, leads Team All-Events with 9,911.

Finally, Carlson and Lindsey are 10th in Regular Doubles with 1,342, while Carlson's singles total is second in Regular Singles. William Vincent Jr. of Louisville, Ky., is the singles leader with 792, and Chris Galovits of West Allis, Wis., and Ed Seliga of Kenosha, Wis., lead doubles with 1,408.

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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.