The USBC Queens is an annual ten-pin bowling event for amateur and professional female bowlers, sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress. The event is one of four women's professional majors since the PWBA tour returned in 2015 and the female equivalent of the USBC Masters, now one of the four majors on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour.
The format for the USBC Queens tournament is similar to the USBC Masters. All entrants bowl 15 games of qualifying over three days. The top 63 qualifiers plus the previous year's champion are then seeded for match play. Match play consists of three-game, total-pinfall matches in a double-elimination format. First-time losers during the match play rounds are not eliminated, but are instead placed into an elimination bracket, where they must survive all subsequent three-game matches to have a chance at making the championship finals. The last five remaining players with either one or zero match play losses are seeded for the televised finals, which is a single-game stepladder format.[1]
The USBC Queens made its debut in 1961, as a companion to the Women's International Bowling Congress (WIBC) National Tournament.[2] It was known as the WIBC Queens from 1961–2004, until the WIBC became a part of the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) on January 1, 2005. The tournament is part of the World Bowling Tour, annually attracting a field of hundreds of the top bowlers from around the world.[1]
Ten bowlers have won at least two USBC Queens titles, with only two winning three times: Millie Ignizio (Martorella) (1967, 1970, 1971) and Wendy Macpherson (1988, 2000, 2003). Both bowlers are now in the USBC Hall of Fame.
The 2023 USBC Queens tournament was held May 17–23 at Sam's Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The tournament had 216 total entries and a $333,500 prize fund, with a $60,000 top prize.[3] A five-player stepladder format was used for the live televised finals on May 23. Lindsay Boomershine won her first PWBA title and first major from the #1 seed position, defeating #2 seed and former USBC Queens champion Maria Jose Rodriguez of Colombia in the final match.[4]
| Match #1 | Match #2 | Match #3 | Championship Match | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Lindsay Boomershine | 202 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Maria Jose Rodriguez | 202 | 2 | Maria Jose Rodriguez | 176 | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Carlene Beyer | 202 | 3 | Carlene Beyer | 198 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Corrine Acuff | 215 | 4 | Correen Acuff | 170 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Dasha Kovalova | 190 | ||||||||||||||||
Final Standings:
1. Lindsay Boomershine (Brigham City, Utah) – $60,000
2. Maria Jose Rodriguez (Colombia) – $30,000
3. Carlene Beyer (Ogdensburg, Wisconsin) – $22,500
4. Correen Acuff (Surprise, Arizona) – $17,500
5. Dasha Kovalova (Muskegon, Michigan) – $12,500