RENO, Nev. - Richard Graham Jr. of Lancaster, Pa., looked around at the National Bowling Stadium on Saturday morning and realized he was in pretty familiar territory.

In 2007, Graham closed out his team event at the USBC Open Championships with a 298 game and 796 series, and this weekend, he was back at the Stadium on the same pair of lanes looking to finish what he started four years ago.

This time, the 43-year-old right-hander calmly closed out his second game of doubles with the 27th perfect game of the 2011 Open Championships and added eight more strikes for good measure before a 10 pin ended his run at 20 in a row. He finished doubles with games of 224, 300 and 267 for a 791 series and teamed with Jeffrey Wintersteen for a 1,340 total.

"Even though I'd been there before, I was nervous in the 10th frame," said Graham, who made his 23rd Open Championships appearance. "I was trying to joke with my teammates to stay loose. One of them even mentioned that a 300 would sound much better on the announcements than a 298, which I couldn't argue with. To do this here at the Stadium, at the national tournament and with everyone watching was really special."

The former Team USA member is riding the wave of an exciting year that also included his first two Professional Bowlers Association regional titles. With things continuing to go his way and the strikes adding up, Graham briefly thought about what it would be like to shoot back-to-back 300s at the Open Championships. Ron Bahr of Topeka, Kan., is the only bowler in history to accomplish the feat and did so on the way to an 837 series and the 2003 Regular Singles title.

"I was trying to make good shots and not really worry about the score, but I did let myself think about what it would be like to shoot two 300s in a row at the tournament," said Graham, whose home bowling center is 222 Dutch Lanes in Ephrata, Pa. "I didn't execute well in team and came in today just wanting to do better. I ended up throwing the ball pretty well for six games, so I'm very happy."

With one milestone finally achieved, Graham now has his sights set on two more.
First, he's looking forward to reaching 25 years of participation at the Open Championships. He'd also like to take home a coveted eagle, the trophy given to all Regular Division champions. He got close at the 1993 event Tulsa, Okla., when he shot 789 in singles, eventually finishing fourth.

"This turned out to be a great year, and I'm looking forward to coming back next year and trying again," Graham said. "I'm excited about hearing the announcements, but it would be really nice to eventually win an eagle and be called a USBC champion."

Graham finished his 2011 tournament campaign with 664 in singles and 586 in team for a career-best 2,041 all-events total.

Click here to watch video highlights from the 2011 Open Championships.