Christopher Tuholski, of Battle Ground, started his final game of team competition on April 29 at the National Bowling Stadium with 10 strikes on the way to the first 800 series of the 2023 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.
The talented two-hander kicked off his 2023 event with games of 236 and 279 before making his run at perfection. Although his 11th shot left the 10 pin standing, he secured enough count to earn his spot in the tournament’s record book, finishing with 289 for an 804 set.
Tuholski’s performance helped Proformance Bowling Services No. 1 of Weed, California, to a 3,209 total in Regular Team competition, placing the group in the top 30 of the event. Las Vegas’ Chili Garlic Edamame led Regular Team with 3,422.
For the 24-year-old, the moment was amplified by getting to spend it on the lanes with his father, Craig, a past exempt player on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.
“It’s pretty cool that I got to share it with him,” Tuholski said. “It means everything. My dad and I are so tight. … He’s like my best friend. I’m going to be my dad’s favorite bowler no matter what. It doesn’t matter if I shoot 800 or 490, he’s going to cheer me on.”
After driving from Washington to the tournament in Reno, Nevada in April, and making a quick stop at the Bowlers Journal Championships in the morning, Tuholski put up seven strikes in his first game but knew he had to make a change.
With a ball change and quick moves through the transition at the NBS, he struck on 21 of his next 22 deliveries.
As the strikes continued to add up in Game 3, Tuholski had the 800 series in his sight and knew what he needed to get the job done.
“I threw the Columbia 300 Cuda the first game and shot in the 230s, and then the lanes transitioned to if I missed a little right, it wouldn’t make the corner,” said Tuholski, who made his sixth USBC Open Championships appearance. “I switched to a Hammer Envy Tour and kept chasing it left every time it crept up a little high. I stayed ahead of the moves a lot faster than I normally do, and our team helped to break them down perfectly. I was thinking more about the 800, so I really wanted the first one in the 10th. You always want to shoot 300 and 800, but I’m glad I got the first one to pretty much lock it up.”
The three-time PBA Regional Tour champion and 2019 PBA Northwest Region Player of the Year didn’t perform as well as he would have liked during the weekend before the tournament at a regional stop, and he elected to take some rest leading up to his appearance at the National Bowling Stadium.
The break helped him find a strong rhythm early in his team event, and the support he has on and off the lanes is something he credits to the success he’s found in his young career.
“It’s probably the best I’ve thrown the ball in a long time,” Tuholski said in April. “At the regional last weekend, I didn’t bowl that great. And, sometimes, it’s better not to bowl too much. I just kind of took that week off and said I wasn’t going to practice.”
Tuholski added, “We have a great group. We’re from Washington, but our whole group is from Oregon and California. I look forward to this tournament every year and it’s not very often when you get to bowl with your friends as a whole group. And, I really want to thank my mom and dad, my girlfriend, Dakotah, and our 4-month-old daughter, Raelyn, for all their support.”
Tuholski returned to the NBS on Sunday, April 30 for doubles and singles.
The Regular Division features bowlers with entering averages of 176 and above. Regular Team consists of five-player groups with a combined entering average of 876 and above.
The 2023 Open Championships kicked off March 4 and will conclude July 24. The 143-day tournament will feature more than 9,700 five-player teams and nearly 50,000 bowlers making their way to compete in The Biggest Little City in the World.
To learn more about the USBC Open Championships, go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/USBCOpenChamp.
