Tom Hess Wins PBA50 Monacelli Championship
Jackson, Michigan – After several weeks of not quite feeling like himself or performing like he knows he is capable of, Tom Hess is back.
The game has a way of humbling you sometimes. Hess felt that way after failing to cash for the first time this season in West Virginia, then missing the cut by just one pin at the Bud Moore PBA50 Players Championship.
This week, Hess was one of the final two bowlers to make the cut at the 2024 PBA50 Monacelli Championship. On Friday, this No. 15 seed definitely took advantage of the opportunity in front of him during the PBA50 World Series of Bowling II at JAX 60 in Jackson, Mich.
“This sport can really knock you down when things aren’t going the right way. I came into this week with great feelings. I had an awesome World Series of Bowling last year,” Hess said. “To regroup and have my one shot at getting one of these (standard) titles and to come through is special.”
Hess found himself down 0-2 to start his day in bracket match play against No. 2 seed Brad Angelo. Hess stormed his way back with games of 268, 246 and 298 to advance. Against No. 7 seed Jason Couch, Hess shot 299, 255 and 231 to earn his spot in the stepladder finals.
“The two guys I bowled to get to the show are definitely top 5 or 6 bowlers out here right now. To be down 0-2 to a caliber of bowler of Brad Angelo to stay patient, believe in yourself and just keep making good shots and come away with a win was huge. I rode that momentum,” Hess said. “I had a great game plan bowling Jason. I was able to get the win.”
As the No. 4 seed in the stepladder finals, he cruised by No. 5 seed Brian Diede in the opening match 268-228 before a tough match against Mika Koivuniemi, who finished in third place at the Ballard Championship on Thursday.
Koivuniemi started with a split, picked up a 10-pin then put together five straight strikes. Hess went double, spare, double, spare again through the sixth frame, finding himself down by nine pins. After following that up with a strike and spare, Koivuniemi split again in the eighth frame as Hess took a 3-pin lead. The duo each struck in the ninth and on their first shot in the 10th. Koivuniemi picked up the 7-pin for 224 while Hess got six pins and the spare for the tie.
In the shot-for-shot roll-off, they each matched one another with two strikes. Koivuniemi then got 8 and Hess got 9 to advance.
In the semifinal match, Hess took on Steve Ludwig. Hess began with a strike followed by three straight single-pin spares, while Ludwig rolled a strike, spare and then an open frame. Ludwig found his shot as he threw four straight strikes yet failed to strike again over his last three frames. Hess was on cruise control as he rolled seven strikes in his final eight shots for the 256-190 win.
In the championship match, Hess opened with a split followed by four consecutive strikes and another split. Larry Verble, the No. 1 seed and a native of nearby Mason, Mich., struck then left the 7-10 split. After that, Verble added three strikes and two spares over his next five frames. The dreaded 2-8-10 in Verble’s eighth frame put him 20 pins behind.
Hess stayed clean from there to earn the 203-183 win, and officially climb the stepladder.
Hess said a few keys to his success were his improved communication with Storm PBA Tour manager Jim Callahan as well as a tip from fellow PBA50 player Andy Schnebelt. After qualifying, Schnebelt told Hess he noticed a fault in his push away. By leaning too far forward, Hess was missing his shot at the bottom, and he didn’t have the leverage to make a really good shot. Throughout the day, he reminded himself to keep his shoulders up and his legs under him. Text messages from his good friend Lennie Boresch Jr. were also added motivation as Boresch texted him that he has to live his dreams through Hess this year.
“This win means a lot. I started off the year so good and then just haven’t been myself the last couple of weeks,” Hess said. “I kind of got out of the slump and I am going to use the momentum on Sunday when I start 260 pins off the show, and I am going to see what I can do. Eighteen games with bonus pins to try to get to the World Championship show.”
Before Hess and the other 17 bowlers compete in the World Championship on Sunday, the PBA50 Petraglia Championship will conclude on Saturday. Bracket match play best-of-five games will begin at 11 a.m. Eastern with the Round of 16. The Round of 8 best-of-five matches will start at 3 p.m. ET. The four winners and the highest seeded losing bowler in the Round of 8 will be in the stepladder finals set to start at 6 p.m.
You can watch all rounds of match play and the stepladder finals of the Monacelli Championship on BowlTV.
PBA50 MONACELLI CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
- Tom Hess, $4,000
- Larry Verble, $2,500
- Steve Ludwig, $2,000
- Mika Koivuniemi, $1,750
- Brian Diede, $1,500
MATCH SCORES
Match 1: Hess def. Diede 268-228
Match 2: Hess and Koivuniemi tie 224-224; Hess wins roll off X-X, X-X, 9-8
Match 3: Hess def. Ludwig 256-190
Championship match: Hess def. Verble 203-183
Final standings - PBA50 Monacelli Championship
More information on the PBA50 WSOB II is available here.