By AARON SMITH
USBC Communications
BATON ROUGE, La. – With more than 90 combined appearances at the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, Steve Wright and Paul McCordic are no strangers to throwing strikes on one of the biggest stages in the sport.
They paired up Tuesday at the 2025 event looking to add a couple more to their collection, and they walked away from their time at the Raising Cane’s River Center with a perfect game from Wright and the lead in Regular doubles.
Wright, of Cypress, Texas, rolled 300 in Game 1 and followed with 244 and 222 for a 766 series – his best set in 42 appearances at the tournament. He recorded the second perfect game of the 2025 event.
McCordic, of Sugar Land, Texas, added games of 235, 197 and 215 for 647 to bring the team to a 1,413 total.
Trevor Baumgartner of Topeka, Kan., and Dylan Burns of Wichita, Kan., had held the lead with 1,408.
Wright – a 66-year-old right-hander – needed a double and eight pins in his final frame to reach 800 for his set, but his first shot resulted in a 1-2-4-10 combination he was unable to convert.
McCordic – a 71-year-old left-hander making his 52nd tournament appearance – left the 2 pin standing on his first delivery in the 10th and needed to convert for the pair to take the lead. He took care of business on the single pin and knocked over nine pins on his fill ball to secure the top spot.
McCordic celebrated his 50th appearance at the 2023 USBC Open Championships in Reno, Nev., and he’s looking forward to watching his twin brother and Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer – Pete McCordic of Katy, Texas – join the 50-Year Club in 2026 at the National Bowling Stadium.
Wright finished his 2025 appearance with an all-events total of 1,882, bringing his average at the event up to 196.4.
McCordic wrapped up in Baton Rouge with 1,797. He’s now knocked over 94,891 pins for a career average at the tournament of 202.7.
The Open Championships is celebrating its third trip to Baton Rouge in 2025 and scheduled to feature more than 58,000 bowlers and 11,600 five-player teams competing across 150 consecutive days at the River Center.