RENO, Nev. - Not long after competing at the 2009 USBC Open Championships, Donnie Maloney of Georgetown, Ohio, was involved in a serious accident and thought his bowling career was over.

After a lawnmower fell on his head and caused severe bleeding, Maloney had a stroke, but he battled back and returned to the tournament lanes in 2010, though not at full strength. This year, however, he was healthy and ready to make up for lost time at the National Bowling Stadium.

The 46-year-old right-hander began doubles with games of 179 and 219 before firing the 25th perfect game of the 2011 Open Championships for a 698 total. He added 649 in team and 614 in singles for a career-best 1,961 all-events total.

"This was unbelievable," said Maloney, who made his 15th Open Championships appearance. "Right after Las Vegas, I had an accident and a stroke. It's amazing that I even bowled. I still can't believe what just happened. I'm just happy to be upright and happy to be here."

Maloney rolled a 299 game earlier in the season, but now can add his name to the short of list of bowlers with a 300 game at the Open Championships.

"I still can't believe it," said Maloney, who owns Community Bowling Lanes in Georgetown. "I just tried to make sure I got if off my hand and threw it good. I really wasn't thinking about a whole lot. I was kind of in the zone. I shot 299 earlier in the year, and this is my first 300 since my accident."

Maloney, who has not missed a tournament since 1999, brought his son, Trent, to bowl in this year's event.

"This has been great," Maloney said. "This was my son's first time here, and he got to see the Stadium. With my son being here, it made everything that much better. He really enjoyed it and will be back. We own a bowling center, so we're always trying to keep the sport alive. I've brought several teams to this tournament and state tournament, and my mom does the same. We want to keep it alive."

On the same doubles and singles squad Friday night, Classic Lanes Menomonee Falls of Waukesha, Wis., moved into third place in Team All-Events with a 10,030 total, becoming the fifth team this year and 29th in tournament history to eclipse the 10,000 mark. Last year, the group shot 10,131 on the way to a third-place finish.

This time, the team was led by Chad Kloss, who made his return to the event after a stint as an exempt player on Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour, and posted a 2,075 all-events total. He was followed by Chad Maas (2,010), two-time titlist Jeff Nimke (2,003), two-time winner Steve Brinkman (1,973) and Scott Helm (1,969).

"We led for a short time last year," said Maas, who made his 11th Open Championships appearance. "One of these years, we hope to hold on to win."

The group has bowled together for several years now, and every year they feel like they get better.

"The more times we bowl together, the better we seem to get," said Nimke, who made his 30th Open Championships appearance. "We just needed a couple of breaks, and we might have been able to get the lead this year. We'll be looking forward to trying again next year."

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.