INDIANAPOLIS – After the second day of qualifying at the 2026 Go Bowling U.S. Women’s Open at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis, Brittany Smith of Adel, Iowa, authored the highest eight-game block of the day with 1,789 pins knocked down on Friday.
Smith’s block included one blemish, a 141 in Game 3, but otherwise she shot 218 or better in every game and capped her set with a 258 to put her third in the overall standings. Combined with her first day total of 1,767, Smith now sits at 3,556 as she looks to make the match-play field for the second consecutive year.
"If you'd asked me in practice, I would've taken plus-50 and ran away with it," Smith said, talking about today’s almost flat 37-foot oil condition. "It was super important for me to stay behind the ball. The minute I got around it, it would hook at my feet. As long as I stayed up the back of it, even on my spare shots, to get the ball down the lane, I was doing okay.”
Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, added 1,770 on Friday to bring her total to 3,668. The mark is the second-highest 16-game qualifying total since the PWBA Tour relaunched in 2015, trailing only Diana Zavjalova’s 3,817 from 2024. Zavjalova is currently second after 16 games with 3,559 this year. Behind Smith in fourth at 3,509 is Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York, and 2026 United States Bowling Congress Queens winner Erin McCarthy of Elkhorn, Nebraska, closes out the top five with 3,496.
Annalise OBryant of Ball Ground, Georgia, sits sixth with 3,472, followed by Dasha Kovalova of Ukraine with 3,468. Stephanie Zavala of Long Beach, California, Crystal Elliott of Palm Bay, Florida, and Gianna Brandolino of Channahon, Illinois, finish out the top 10 with totals of 3,429, 3,426 and 3,419, respectively.
Holding the final spot above the cut line is Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, with 3,268, eight pins ahead of 37th-place Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee.
Smith said patience remains one of the biggest lessons she has learned competing on the PWBA Tour and a key ingredient for success at the U.S. Women’s Open.
"You can't win this tournament in one day," Smith said. "It's a lot of games. You've got to be extremely patient."
Smith also noted that survival is often more important than striking on every shot at the U.S. Women's Open.
"If you can just control the pocket, that's important," Smith said. "We know when you come into this event, you don't have to strike every shot."
With one more eight-game qualifying round remaining before the first cut, Smith hopes to continue building on her position near the top of the leaderboard.
"I'm hoping that I can find some luck like I did today and feel confident going into the last block and sitting in a good spot heading into the top 36, and then the top 24," Smith said.
All competitors will return Saturday for their final eight-game qualifying block in their respective squads starting at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern. The top 36 after 24 games of qualifying will advance to the Cashers’ Round on Sunday at 10 a.m. Eastern for another eight-game block.
Round-robin match play starts Sunday at 5 p.m. Eastern with the first eight-game block for the top 24 bowlers. The remaining two eight-game blocks will take place Monday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern. The top five after 56 games will advance to the stepladder finals Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. Eastern, broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. All rounds leading up to the stepladder finals will be streamed live on BowlTV.
For more information on the U.S. Women’s Open, click HERE.
