The 30-year-old right-hander rebounded from a 545 doubles effort and opened singles with nine consecutive strikes. He struck 31 times on the way to games of 278, 259 and 280 for the first 800 series of the year and moved past Wilbert Moorer of Dover, Del., who previously held the Regular Singles lead with 784.

"This is the biggest accomplishment of my life, and it gives me chills," said Price, a bowling center mechanic who competed in his eighth consecutive USBC Open Championships. "I discovered a chip in my ball while bowling doubles and switched to one of my other balls, which I also used in singles."

Because of airplane problems Sunday on the way out of Omaha, Price and his two brothers, Dale and Darren, almost didn't make it to Albuquerque in time for their team event Monday night.

Mechanical issues caused their flight from Omaha to be canceled, so they rented a car and drove 90 miles to Sioux City, Iowa, where they were able to get on another flight early Monday morning. Unfortunately, de-icing the plane caused another delay, which forced the trio to miss the connecting flight in Denver by one minute. On standby for the next available flight, the three finally made it to Albuquerque on Monday afternoon, just three hours before they were scheduled to bowl team.

The brothers then teamed up with Todd Verplank and Jason VanHoosen and helped Westside Lanes Pro Shop to a 2,774 total. Jason shot 644 and was followed by Darren (583), Dale (542), Verplank (519) and VanHoosen (486).

"The airplane trouble and flying in was frustrating, and we're just glad we got our luggage so we could be here in time for team," said Jason, who finished his 2008 campaign with a career-high 2,006 all-events total.

Price and his brothers are very close, and he attributes his success on the lanes to their influence, while his passion for bowling was passed down from his mother, Connie, who died in March 2003.

With his honor score Tuesday, Jason now will share a place in Open Championships history with Dale, who rolled a 300 game during the event's inaugural trip to the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., in 1995.

"Our mom used to love bowling, and now we love bowling too," Jason said. "I'm sure she is proud of us. My brothers have been a great help in my bin just yet. It's a heck of a feeling to be listed up on the leaderboard, I hope it lasts."

Chip Aki of Nicholasville, Ky., won last year's Regular Singles title with an 814 series, while Wendy Macpherson of Henderson, Nev., won in 2006 with 812.