BOWL.COM
LAS VEGAS – More than a decade ago, Robby Callan of Vacaville, California, was part of one of the wildest nights in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
Unfortunately, the result did not favor him and his teammates, and it ended as a story of the one that got away.
Almost 13 years and 12 miles away from that April night, Callan found himself with another chance to make history on the biggest stage in bowling, and he thought the opportunity got away once again.
Instead, the 48-year-old right-hander now is the owner of the only 800 series at the 2022 USBC Open Championships, and he didn’t even realize he’d done it.
Callan knew he was bowling well in his team event Sunday at the South Point Bowling Plaza, and he stepped up for his final frame of the night with the chance to realize another lifelong goal of rolling a perfect game on the championship lanes.
When his first shot went high and left the 6-10 combination, he thought he’d lost the 800, along with the first 300 of the 2022 tournament. Simply enough, he miscounted by 10 pins.
He needed to convert the spare to complete the task, and a flush fill ball gave him an 808 set on games of 252, 278 and 278.
“I really thought I was 10 less and finished with 798,” said Callan, who made his 22nd Open Championships appearance. “It feels great. I don’t get to compete all that much anymore, so when I have success, it really feels worth it.”
In 21 previous events, Callan had a high series of 767, which came during a memorable team event in 2009.
That year, the Open Championships was held on a traditional custom installation inside Las Vegas’ Cashman Center, just a short drive from South Point. It was the longest tournament in history at 154 days and featured a near-record 17,200 teams.
The Regular Team title that year ended up being decided by a heated 10th-frame battle between two teams seven lanes apart. No one could’ve guessed that the number set that night would hold up for more than three months or that the team that fell short would end up second in the final standings.
Callan’s big series in 2009 helped his Sack Toe team to a 3,427 total, but it still left them 22 pins shy of the 3,449 winning number posted by Milwaukee’s Linds Limited. Linds Limited went on to win Team All-Events that year, too.
As much as the moment and eventual results could’ve been disappointing for Callan and his teammates, they also were rewarding and motivating.
“I think we definitely have used that as motivation,” Callan said. “For guys who don’t bowl every weekend or even bowl a lot of tournaments because, you know, life happens, that showed us years ago that we belong. Everyone wants to take advantage of opportunities, which we kind of had again tonight, but not all of us were clicking at the same time. That’s what makes this tournament so hard. Everything has to click.”
Callan’s flurry of 29 strikes Sunday sparked another noteworthy night that included games of 1,054, 1,067 and 1,170 for a 3,291 total, which again is second in the Regular Team standings. This year, Supreme Deck of Grand Haven, Michigan, leads with 3,372, bowled just over 24 hours prior.
Callan was joined in the effort by two other members of the 2009 team, Robby Porter (658) and Tim Hill (586). The other contributors this time around were Andrew Udahl (684) and Jeffrey Wurm (555). Their team’s name now is BowlTec.
As the three games unfolded Sunday, Callan was able to anticipate the moves he needed to make by watching Udahl’s ball reaction. Based on what he saw in Udahl’s 10th frame, he opted not to move for his own first shot, and it cost him his bid for perfection.
“I’ve never had 300 at the Open Championships, and I wanted it,” Callan said. “I just missed a move. I was ahead of the moves the whole set, and that one got me. I didn’t think I needed to move, and it turns out I did. I moved two boards left on the approach, and the fill ball was flush.”
Due to work and family obligations over the years, Callan hasn’t bowled as much as maybe he might’ve liked, but spending time at the Open Championships with friends he bowled with in junior leagues 35 years ago, continues to be an annual highlight.
The group’s time on the lanes began with some excitement earlier Sunday at the nearby Bowlers Journal Championships, where Porter was able to notch the year’s first perfect game.
The 300 came between games of 211 and 201 for a 712 series, and that is seventh in the Open Singles standings.
Since the format at the Bowlers Journal Championships allows competitors to use their scores for singles and doubles at the same time, Porter and Callan chose to team up. Callan rolled a 706 series, and their 1,418 total landed them third in the Open Doubles standings.
Along with the chance at some prize money, competing in the Bowlers Journal event also gave the teammates a look at the same pattern they’ll be bowling on Monday night for doubles and singles at the Open Championships.
They’ll return to the South Point Bowling Plaza at 9 p.m. Eastern, filled with the confidence and momentum from their team set Sunday.
Though they didn’t catch Supreme Deck in the team event, the members of BowlTec will have another shot, as Supreme Deck also leads Team All-Events this year with a 9,917 total. Team All-Events includes the combined all-events scores for all five players.
Individually, Callan has a nice start to his quest to track down Supreme Deck’s David Carroll, who leads Regular All-Events with a 2,080 total.
Beyond this week at South Point, Callan said he and his teammates are hoping to bowl together at the Open Championships for as long as possible, and he’s considering a personal resurgence as he gets closer to being eligible for senior competition.
“I’ve haven’t bowled as much because of work and family and everyday life stuff, but I’m getting the desire to compete again, so you might be seeing a little more of me here and there,” Callan said. “All my buddies at home are telling me that as soon as I turn 50, I’d better be bowling, so I might do that.”
The 2022 Open Championships will run from March 12-July 18. The Bowlers Journal Championships kicked off March 11 and will conclude July 17.
Visit us on Facebook at the official USBC Open Championships page.
CALIFORNIA USBC NEWS! 