Voss leads opening day at Masters

RESULTS: Round 1

RENO, Nev. - Five days ago, before one of the biggest tournaments of the year, Brian Voss of Alpharetta, Ga., decided to make a physical change to his game to help him keep up with the "young guys."

Voss, 51, proved Tuesday night that the change to his timing paid off as he fired 1,242 for five games, an average of 248.4, to take the lead after the opening round of the 2010 United States Bowling Congress Masters at the National Bowling Stadium.

"I had to make a change to my timing if I wanted to keep up with all these young guys," said Voss, a PBA Hall of Famer and 24-time champion. "I worked on getting the ball into the swing a little sooner. All my career, I've had to adapt to the eras of bowling, and this era is different. You can't keep up with these guys unless you have ball speed."

Voss started his opening round with games of 277, 258 and 269 for an 804 series before closing with games of 212 and 226. He leads Jeff Carter of Springfield, Ill., by 27 pins.

"It's a good start," Voss said. "I was able to get left of the oil line and there was some margin for error there. I just bowled good and was clean the entire block."

Eugene McCune of Munster, Ind., took the lead after the opening squad and sits in third with 1,214. McCune said his game plan for the day blew up as soon as he threw his first shot Tuesday.

"During practice yesterday, I had a good look playing outside, but when I came in today, I didn't have the same look," said McCune, who finished sixth at the PBA One A Day Dick Weber Open two weeks ago. "Sometimes you just have to make a guess, hope that it's right and then execute. I moved way inside and threw the ball well."

All 267 players will return Wednesday for five games of qualifying before the field is cut to the top 67 for five final games of qualifying Thursday morning. The top 63 will join defending champion John Nolen in the double-elimination match-play bracket Thursday afternoon.