FIRST SIX-FIGURE PRIZE IN WOMEN’S PRO BOWLING HISTORY AWARDED

The 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, which took place Aug. 24-31 at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park, Calif., featured a record-setting top prize of $100,000, won by Josie Barnes, and the finals were broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

It marked the first professional women’s bowling event to award its champion a six-figure first-place prize. The second major championship on the 2021 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour schedule featured an increased overall prize fund of $275,000.

In addition to this year’s U.S. Women’s Open, the four major championships presented by the United States Bowling Congress and Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America will be awarding $100,000 to each champion through 2023. These include the U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Open, USBC Queens and USBC Masters.

Next month, the PWBA Tour Championship, part of the Fall Classic Series at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., will offer a $50,000 top prize and its live finals will air on CBS Sports Network. The Tour Championship, with a new format, will replace the PWBA Bowl for the Cure Classic on the schedule as the final event of the Fall Classic Series, Oct. 29-31, and feature a projected prize fund of $200,000. The CBS Sports Network broadcast will be Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Dates and locations for USBC’s major championships in 2022 and 2023 will be released at a later date.