PBA Hall of Famer Walter Ray Williams Jr. remained atop the U.S. Open leaderboard after the completion of the second round of qualifying at Fountain Bowl Tuesday night.

Williams, of Ocala, Fla., rolled the highest scoring six-game block of the day, averaging 228, and climbed one spot into the lead. He rolled high games of 257 and 255 while building his 12-game pinfall total to 2,752 for a 229 tournament average.

"I'm elated that I bowled so well today," said the 34-time PBA champion. "I played the lanes different than I did last night and being on the early squad today, I knew it was going to be tough. I started to lose my reaction in the last two games and was fortunate to keep my last games at 213 and 205."

First-round leader, Mike DeVaney, of Escondido, Calif., fell one place into second after averaging 208 for the day. DeVaney, who owns three PBA regional titles, has upended 2,662 overall pins. He is looking for his first PBA title and is competing in his first U.S. Open.

George Branham III, of Indianapolis, sits in the third position (2,636). The five-time PBA titleholder owns one PBA major, the 1993 Tournament of Champions, Akron, Ohio. He is looking for his first win since 1996 when he won in Cleveland, Ohio.

Brian LeClair, of Chatham, N.Y., is in fourth place. LeClair, whose best finish in the U.S. Open is 11th in 1999 (Uncasville, Conn.), has a 2,635 pinfall total. The 37-year-old right-hander is searching for his first title.

The entire field returns Wednesday for the third, six-game round of qualifying. The field will then be trimmed to the top 25 percent (65). Those athletes will compete in two additional six-game rounds of qualifying Thursday. The top 32 will advance to match play competition beginning Friday afternoon. After two eight-game rounds of head-to-head competition, the top 16 will advance. The top 16 will bowl two finals rounds of match play Saturday. The top four will vie for the title and the $100,000 first-place prize in the stepladder finals Sunday. ESPN will air the finals live on Sunday, Dec. 9, from 1–2:30 p.m. (ET).