RENO, Nev. - Michael Barber of Gresham, Ore., has enjoyed bowling success at the local and state level, and he finally experienced a breakout performance at the USBC Open Championships that earned him a special place in the tournament record books Sunday.

The 49-year-old left-hander got off to a slow start this year at the National Bowling Stadium but found his rhythm in singles. He opened with a 227 game before stringing together 12 consecutive strikes for the 51st perfect game of the 2011 tournament and the 750th in 108 years of Open Championships competition.

Barber's milestone achievement also puts this year's event in a tie for the second-most 300s in a single year. The 1993 tournament in Tulsa, Okla., featured 51 perfect games, while the record of 64 came in Billings, Mont., in 2002.

"This feels fantastic," said Barber, who made his eighth Open Championships appearance and finished singles with a 171 game for a career-best 698 series. "This is something I strive for every time I come here. I got one in league, city and state tournaments. This is the next level."

When Barber found out the true significance of his achievement, he was surprised there haven't been more 300s in the tournament's long history. Although the event was contested for the first time in 1901, the first perfect game didn't come until 1913 when William Knox of Philadelphia got the job done in singles.

"This means I belong to 750 of the best bowlers that have ever participated at this tournament," said Barber, who bowls league at Mount Hood Lanes in Gresham, Ore. "It's remarkable. I would have thought the number would be higher than that."

Having an opportunity to roll a 300 game at the Open Championships doesn't come very often. Barber tried to focus on the task at hand as much as possible but couldn't help but feel the nerves on his final shot, going Brooklyn for perfection.

"Shooting six other 300s, I kind of knew what to expect," Barber said. "I was talking to my teammate about a 300 after the fifth frame, just so I could keep myself loose. I just tried to stay in the same rhythm. I tried to keep everything the same, but you can't take away all those nerves. You know you're nervous. You're on the national stage. We were on a smaller squad, too. If we had a bigger squad with more people in the grandstands, it might have been even worse."

Six of Barber's eight tournament appearances have been at the Stadium, where the event again will be held in 2013 and 2014. He entered the year with 181.3 career average and added 540 in doubles and 536 in team for a 1,777 all-events total. Matt Weggen of Muscatine, Iowa, leads Regular Singles with 826 and Regular All-Events with 2,268.

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.