USBC Communications
RENO, Nev. – Six-time Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour champion Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tenn., took over the top spot in Regular All-Events at the 2026 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, placing her in position to become the first female competitor at the event to win the prestigious title.
The right-hander secured the lead with sets of 759 in doubles, 751 in team and 746 in singles for a 2,256 total at the National Bowling Stadium. Tom Adcock – a 2005 Regular Team champion from Forsyth, Illinois – had taken the lead Friday with 2,234.
After a 256 start in doubles, Barnes connected for 300 in Game 2 to also become the 15th woman at the USBC Open Championships to roll a perfect game. She closed the set with 203, and the performance helped Barnes and her sister, Jessica Earnest, also move into fourth place in Regular Doubles with 1,446. Earnest had games of 215, 215 and 257 for a 687 series.
Barnes started singles with 231 and 237, so she needed to get to 257 for the outright lead in her final game. She started the game with nine strikes before a 9 pin stood on her first delivery in the 10th. She covered the spare and closed with another nine count (8-pin) on her fill ball to post a 250.66 average for her nine games at the 2026 event.
Her final all-events score is seventh on the tournament’s all-time list across 122 editions of the Open Championships and sets the new mark by a female competitor for nine games at the event by 124 pins (Brenda Padilla with 2,132 in 2009).
She also is in position to become the third woman to win a title in the Regular Division at the Open Championships. USBC and PWBA Hall of Famer Wendy Macpherson won Regular Singles at the 2006 event, and Padilla paired with Stephen Padilla to record the victory in Regular Doubles in 2009.
History also could be made in Team All-Events — featuring teams across all divisions at the tournament — in 2026. USBC and PWBA Hall of Famer Liz Johnson is part of the Armstrong Printing 1 group currently leading Team All-Events at the 2026 Open Championships (10,169 total), and she can become the first female competitor to capture a victory in Team All-Events at the tournament.
Barnes now will look ahead to the start of the 2026 PWBA Tour season, which gets underway this week in Rockford, Ill. The PWBA Bowlers Journal Rockford Open will take place at The Cherry Bowl from April 29 through May 2.
The 2025 campaign was a strong one for Barnes, who recorded a pair of wins during the season. She claimed her second major title at the USBC Queens – to go along with her victory at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2021 – and took home the win at the PWBA Anniversary Open.
WISCONSIN PAIR TOPS STANDARD
Also, the duo of Bryan Polinski of St. Francis, Wis., and Robert Nowaczyk of West Allis, Wis., worked their way to a tie at the top of the standings in Standard Doubles.
The pair matched the 1,282 posted by Tommy Tran of Port Arthur, Texas, and Houston’s Duc Tran on April 12 at the National Bowling Stadium.
Nowaczyk led the charge Monday with games of 223, 244 and 207 for a 674 series. Polinski added 243, 174 and 191 for 608.
Although the team had the chance at the lead heading into the final frame, they were able to secure just enough pins to share the top spot.
“I figured we both needed a double to lock it up pretty easy,” said Polinski, who made his seventh appearance at the USBC Open Championships. “But, we both left kind of difficult spares.”
Both players started the 10th with a strike. It marked two in a row for Polinski and four straight strikes for Nowaczyk. Polinski got eight on his second delivery and converted the spare. Nowaczyk left a five-count split on his second shot (3-4-6-7-10) and was able to knock over four on the spare attempt.
“I know I needed the first one and good count, and I left a pretty bad five count on my second,” said Nowaczyk, making his 16th tournament appearance. “I knew I needed to go for it and got four. Five would have been that one extra pin we needed.”
The pair have known each other for nearly 20 years through bowling, but they previously bowled with different groups at the Open Championships.
The change in 2026 allowed for a strong showing in team for their group, and the momentum carried over into doubles.
Polinski and Nowaczyk helped The Slow Buffalo of Franklin, Wis., to a 3,170 total in Regular Team, which currently places the group in the top 25.
“He’s new to the group this year,” Nowaczyk said. “We changed it up a little bit this year, and it was kind of nice to bowl with him. Everybody worked together. We started off well yesterday with 3,170. It was a nice start to the week.”
Nowaczyk had 673 during the team event, which put him in position to make a run at Tommy Tran’s leading score in Standard All-Events (1,963). He slowed down a little during singles, though, finishing with 542 to move into the top 15 with 1,889.
The score serves as his top overall performance at the Open Championships.
Polinski also put together a personal best at the tournament. He added 576 in team and 575 in singles for a 1,759 total.
Standard Doubles features pairs with combined entering averages of 321-362. The Standard Division includes bowlers with entering averages of 161-181.
BOWLERS JOURNAL NEWS
Charlie Brown II of Grand Rapids, Mich., closed his set Friday night at the 2026 Bowlers Journal Championships with 10 strikes to take the lead in Open Singles with an 817 series.
The 45-year-old right-hander connected for games of 279, 258 and 280 to rise to the top of the standings at the National Bowling Stadium, passing the 813 posted on March 26 by 2012 Regular Team champion Nicholas Heilman of La Crosse, Wis.
Since Brown was in doubles during the set – taking over second place in Open Doubles with Daniel Kelsey of Garden City, Mich. (706 series), with 1,523 – he also moved into the top spot for the Dual Entry prize fund.
In the final game, Brown quickly put himself in a must-strike scenario starting in the third frame.
“I had a great look, but I was really trying to stay in the moment,” Brown said. “You start thinking about big numbers like 800, but I just wanted to keep making good shots. I started with a strike, then threw one right and left a washout. I regrouped, made the spare and executed the rest of the game.”
Stepping up in the 10th working on seven in a row, he needed two more for a chance at the lead. Brown connected for the first two in high-flush fashion. Needing seven pins on the fill for the outright lead, he crossed over on the final shot but was able to add one more strike to the mix.
“I told myself to just make the best shot of the day and don’t do anything different,” Brown said. “The second shot in the 10th was pure. That one really locked it up.
“Everyone talks about the last shot, but by that point I had already done what I needed to do. It was still important, but the job was basically finished.”
Now, Brown will start the waiting game to see if his final score is enough for the top spot. Regardless of the final outcome, he’s proud of the performance.
“It was an incredible night,” Brown said. “I had some time to think about it, and you always go through the what ifs. I feel like I might be one shot short, but right now I’m in the lead, and that’s going to be tough to beat. If someone does beat it, they deserve it. No matter what happens, it’s something I’ll remember.”
During his time at the Open in 2026, Brown put together sets of 687 in doubles, 674 in singles and 657 in team for an all-events score of 2,018.
The Open Championships is celebrating its 122nd edition in 2026 and making its 15th trip to Reno, Nevada. The 2026 event is scheduled to feature more than 55,000 bowlers and 11,000 five-player teams competing across 128 consecutive days at the National Bowling Stadium.