Kulick and Sandelin Lead After Qualifying Round 3 of 2012 U.S. Women's Open

After three days of qualifying, the field of 201 has been winnowed down to 50 in the regular division of the U.S. Women's Open, with Kelly Kulick regally occupying her customary spot in first place and a predictable Who's Who of female bowling talent populating most of the other positions, including defending champion Leanne Barrette-Hulsenberg rising from 38th place the previous day to twelfth place yesterday. In the senior division, Lucy Sandelin continued her round-by-round dominance ending with a pinfall total that would have been good enough to land her in 28th place in the regular division, and the field of 60 has been cut to 15.

The remaining bowlers will roll six more games of qualifying before the regular field is narrowed to the top 16 and the senior field is cut to the top eight for 16 games of round-robin match play beginning this (Monday) evening. The top five in the regular division at the end of match play will meet under the famous Reno Arch Wednesday evening to battle it out stepladder fashion for the championship. It will be shown the following Tuesday on ESPN2 at 8 PM Eastern.

You can check the results of the first 18 games in both divisions and read the USBC's synopsis of the action here. Below, you can watch Sunday's qualifying round 3.