STEFANIE JOHNSON GRABS LEAD IN OPENING ROUND OF U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN

ORLANDO, Fla. – The first-round leader of the U.S. Women’s Open wasn’t determined until the final frames of the final squad were thrown at Boardwalk Bowl on Monday.

Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, fired a 225 final game for a 1,843 pinfall total (230.38) to overtake Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills, California, who set the bar with a 1,829 total on the day’s opening squad.

Johnson said staying patient was the key.

“I watched other people’s ball reaction because we don’t get a lot of practice on the pairs,” Johnson said. “That was kind of crucial, looking ahead to see where girls were playing and try to say ahead of any transition.”

Johnson said playing on the third squad of the day, after the 16 games had been rolled on the oil pattern, doesn’t affect what she is trying to accomplish.

“Whatever I can score on,” Johnson said. “I don’t prefer one (squad) or the other. It’s capitalizing when you can, and grinding when you have to.”

Parkin finished with a flourish to post a lead that would hold until Johnson’s final shots.

Tied with four-time defending champion Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, heading into the final game, Parkin fired the lone 300 of the day to lead the block.

Parkin said it did take a little time to get going on Monday. At this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, players warm up on practice lanes before starting on their competition pair. That change, plus the fact it is a major, did contribute to make her a little nervous.

“I’ll be honest, to start I was not very relaxed,” Parkin said. “I did not start out bad, but it took me two full games to chill out and relax. I was really nervous, which is crazy. I was almost as nervous as being on a TV show, when I started today. After I relaxed, I was able to get in a groove.”

Parkin started with games of 197 and 186 before peeling off a 245 game. She would average 241 over her final six games.

Aruba’s Thashaina Seraus, who bowled her first PWBA event of 2018 last week, had the high block of the day’s second squad and sits in third with a 1,817 total (227.13 average). The runner-up at the 2017 Pepsi PWBA Lincoln Open, she is competing in her first U.S. Open.

“I’m just trying to have a good time and learn everything,” said Seraus. “Every day is a learning experience. At the end of the day, I just want to have fun, make good shots, and if it’s not a good shot, learn from it.”

Competition at the 2018 U.S. Women's Open continues Tuesday with the second of three days of qualifying. After 24 games, and the field then will be cut to the top 36 players for an eight-game cashers' round. The 32-game pinfall totals will determine the 24 bowlers for round-robin match play. The 56-game totals, including 30 bonus pins for each win in match play, will decide the five players for the stepladder finals.

Xtra Frame, the online bowling channel of the Professional Bowlers Association, is live streaming all preliminary rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open, with CBS Sports Network providing live coverage of the stepladder finals on Saturday, June 30 at 5 p.m. (Eastern).ORLANDO, Fla. – Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, started a little slow during Tuesday’s second round of qualifying at the U.S. Women’s Open, but a strong finish allowed her to keep the lead for another day.

Bowling on the second squad of the day, Johnson finished her eight-game block at Boardwalk Bowl with a 279 game for a 1,736 total. While her 217 average on Tuesday was a little off the pace she set in the opening round, her 3,579 pinfall total was enough to hold off Shannon Sellens of Copiague, New York, for the lead.

“Today didn’t start out of the gate very well,” Johnson said. “The key for me today was staying patient. It got me to that big game at the end.”

Sellens posted the second-highest block of the day (1,857, a 232 average) to jump from 28th place to second.

“I watched a lot yesterday, so I kind of had an idea how people were playing the lanes,” Sellens said. “My definite goal is to make match play because I did not make the cut last year. I really wanted to come back and have a good showing and make all my spares. Literally, through 16 games, I’ve missed one, so that’s a win in my book.”

Also making big moves were Brandi Branka of Fairview Heights, Illinois, and Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York.

Branka posted two 278 games and averaged 233 during the final squad of the day to move from 62nd into eighth. Her 1,867 set not only was the highest for all squads, it was 251 pins more than her opening-round block.

“I used the same ball the whole block and just kept creeping left,” Branka said. “Luckily, I was able to carry a lot, and I was mostly clean. That was a big thing. I had quite a few clean games today, unlike yesterday. I knew I had to have somewhat of a big block.”

On the opening squad, McEwan, a four-time titlist on the PWBA Tour, used a 1,848 block (231 average) that included games of 279 and 299.
“Other than that, I just kind of grinded,” said McEwan, who moved from 65th to 11th. “I had a couple of low games in there where I got lost in transition. I took good notes and, hopefully, I’ll see fresh (conditions) again later in the event and not make the same mistakes.”

Four-time defending champion Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, followed her opening set of 1,740 with a 1,759 set and sits in sixth place with a 3,499 total.

Competitors in the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open will bowl their third eight-game qualifying block Wednesday after which the field will be cut to the top 36 players for the eight-game cashers' round. The 32-game pinfall totals will determine the 24 bowlers for round-robin match play. Players earn 30 bonus pins for each win in match play and the 56-game totals will decide the five players for the stepladder finals.

Xtra Frame, the online bowling channel of the Professional Bowlers Association, is live streaming all preliminary rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open, with CBS Sports Network providing live coverage of the stepladder finals on Saturday, June 30 at 5 p.m. (Eastern).

U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
At Boardwalk Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
Tuesday’s Second Round
(After 16 games)
      1, Stefanie Johnson, McKinney, Texas, 3,579; 2, Shannon Sellens, Copiague, N.Y., 3,561; 3, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 3,547; 4, Missy Parkin, Laguna Hills, Calif., 3,520; 5, Thashaina Seraus, Aruba, 3,512; T6, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 3,499; T6, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 3,499;
      8, Brandi Branka, Fairview Heights, Ill., 3,483; T9, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 3,482; T9, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 3,482; 11, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 3,457; 12, Li Jane Sin, Malaysia, 3,455; 13, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 3,452;
      14, Kayla Bandy, Salisbury, Md., 3,448; 15, Victoria Johansson, Sweden, 3,432; T16, Juliana Franco, Colombia, 3,429; T16, Daria Kovalova, Ukraine, 3,429; 18, Elysia Current, Ephrata, Pa., 3,420; 19, Kristin Nieter, Homewood, Ill., 3,414; 20, Kamilah Dammers-Naddall, Aruba, 3,413;
      21, Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, 3,406; 22, Marcia Kloempken, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,402; 22, Stephanie Schwartz, Racine, Wis., 3,402; 24, Sydney Brummett, Wichita, Kan., 3,401; 25, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 3,398; 26, Nina Flack, Sweden, 3,377; T27, Giselle Poss, Nashville, Tenn., 3,367;
      T27, Cassandra Leuthold, Lincoln, Neb., 3,367; 29, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 3,366; 30, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 3,365; 31, Haley Richard, Tipton, Mich., 3,364; 32, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 3,362; 33, Sabrena Divis, Gillette, Wyo., 3,361.
      34, Sierra Kanemoto, Riverside, Ohio, 3,351; 35, Rocio Restrepo, Louisville, Ohio, 3,350; 36, Siti Rahman, Malaysia, 3,349; 37, Jen Higgins, Westerville, Ohio, 3,344; 38, Daria Pajak, Poland, 3,343; 39, Leanne Hulsenberg, Pleasant View, Utah, 3,339; 40, Bryanna Cote, Red Rock, Ariz., 3,338

Visit PWBA.com/Live for complete results.