CUYAHOGA FALLS — Tom Daugherty had a simple explanation for the success he and partner Tom Hess have enjoyed during the past week at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center.
“We just fed off each other. When your partner is bowling good, it’s easy to bowl good,” the 48-year-old Riverview, Fla., right-hander said. “But when your partner is struggling, obviously it’s tougher to bowl well because you put more pressure on yourself.”
His early statement reflects how the pair did in two straight events at the center. The latter sums up how the rest of the field during Sunday’s Ohio Blasting Under 50-Over 50 Scratch Doubles event felt going against the two Professional Bowlers Association champions.
After claiming honors in the PBA-PBA50 Doubles-Clutch Lanes Central Open on March 12 at Clutch, the pair returned after a week of competition during the PBA Tournament of Champions to finish on top again Sunday.
In the two-game finale, Daugherty and Hess teamed up for a 960-825 victory in the title match against Mike Clark Jr. and Jason Johnson.
This came after Daugherty made the cut to match play at the TOC, finishing 19th overall by averaging 214.52 over 42 games to win $3,500. Hess, a 53-year-old Granger, Iowa, right-hander and 2021 PBA50 player and rookie of the year, finished 39th at AMF Riviera Lanes, missing the cut to match play in the 64-player field but averaging 210.61 over 18 qualifying games.
“It was a pretty good week. I struggled a little bit in match play, but it wasn’t terrible,” said Daugherty, who owns six career PBA titles. “If you tell me I’m going make the top 24 against these guys every week, I’ll take our chances with that.
“Now compared to winning every time we’re here … that’s different. But it’s been a pretty solid week.”
“I had higher expectations going in (to the TOC) after making the top 24 last year, but I had a couple of bad games a the end of rounds that hurt me,” said Hess, who has five career titles. “But finishing 39th overall against those guys wasn’t awful. It just wasn’t good enough.”
Sunday was a different story as the pair rose to the top with 2,289 total pinfall, finishing 110 pins ahead of second-place Dan Higgins and Eddie Graham.
“We bowled pretty good today and never felt like we were in any danger,” Daugherty said. “There were a couple of matches that put a little stress on us, but not much really. We bowled solid all day, and when we do that, we’re tough to beat.”
Daugherty finished qualifying with 1,147; Hess came in at 1,142, demonstrating their consistency.
“I was fortunate to get four big breaks in one game early after throwing some really good shots on one lane. That turned into a big game for us that let us kind of relax,” Hess said. “When we got to the matches, Tom helped me get lined up.
“Once we got lined up, both of us made some really nice shots, and we go back-to-back in Cuyahoga Falls.”
The top-seeded pair first stopped No. 8 seed Joe Bailey and Don Hogue 929-774 before shooting a tourney-high 520 in Game 1 of their second match en route to a 993-891 win over No. 5 seed Vincent Bellar and John Shreve Jr..
Clark and Johnson, the No. 3 seed with 2,167, first stopped No. 6-seed Ty McKinney and Carl Bishop 823-680 before using a solid Game 1 to hold off Ben Kight and Donnie Stewart 868-807 in the semifinals.
TITLE MATCH
In Game 1 of the two-game match-play final, Daugherty and Hess came out smoking, striking on seven of their first eight shots before Hess left a 2-4-10 split in the fourth frame. Johnson had a double early, but Clark left a 1-2-8-10 washout in the second as the pair fell behind.
“It seemed like the lanes carried down a lot today. If you missed past the track area, there was no recovery,” said Clark, a 50-year-old North Olmsted right-hander. “They executed a little better than we did today. We were plus on the day, and we’ll take that.”
After his split, Hess came back with three strikes and Daugherty added two doubles late for a 468 total, as the former had 227 and the latter 241.
Clark and Johnson combined for only eight strikes in the game as both shot 192.
“They had a pretty good idea what they were doing. With the amount of games that they bowled this week … we probably bowled 12 here today,” Clark said. “They tripled or quadrupled that this week. To stay mentally focused like they do isn’t easy.
“I don’t think I could bowl 60 games in a week and try to come out here and bowl this.”
Both Johnson and Clark are trying to wind back into bowling shape after not participating in league play, the former due to knee problems and the latter working as a basketball referee.
“Are we as sharp as we could be, maybe not,” Johnson said. “But it’s not like we bowling three games a week in league. But bowling on harder conditions seems to be fending off our bad habits. Our spare game was a little suspect to start the day, but that’s from not bowling much.”
In Game 2, it was more of the same as Hess took command with 258 striking on all but two shots, while Daugherty added 234, including a pair of three-strike runs, for a 492 total.
Clark had 238, with a four-strike run, but Jonson finished with a 203 with six strikes and a 2-4-7-10 split.
“We haven’t been bowling on softer conditions,” Clark said as the pair gears up for the USBC Open Championships in Reno, Nev. “We’re bowling on tough shots and we can see the results. We’re making shots, and that’s all we can ask for.
“We didn’t shoot 150 or 160, and that was out there today. We kept it in play.”
As for Hess and Daugherty, the PBA Tour goes on with the next stop beginning with the first-round Wednesday in Kokomo, Ind.
“We really didn’t even know about this until a couple of weeks ago,” Daugherty said of Sunday’s event. “They invited us to come. It’s been a successful week here.”
NOTEBOOK: The event drew a field of 37 teams. Teams bowled five qualifying games before the field was cut to the top eight teams for two-game match-play rounds. … Bailey and Hogue were the cut line with 2,031. Only 14 teams were even or better. PBA players Chris Barnes and Dom Barrett finished even for the event at 2,000. … Dan Higgins turned in the top individual performance with 1,176 for five games, including a tourney-high 289 game. Zac Gentile also had 279. … The only other 500 game came from Hogue and Bailey in Game 2 of qualifying with 500 even. … First place was worth $3,800. … The event was co-sponsored by Backswing Golf Events. … The oil pattern was the Marshall Holman PBA 41-foot pattern from 2019.
OVER 50-UNDER 50 SCRATCH DOUBLES
(Sunday at Clutch Lanes and Sports Center, Cuyahoga Falls)
Quarterfinals
(All losers receive $550)
Tom Daugherty-Tom Hess d. Joe Bailey-Don Hogue 929-774; Ben Kight-Donnie Stewart d. Dan Higgins-Eddie Graham 878-825; Jason Johnson-Mike Clark Jr. d. Ty McKinney-Carl Bishop 823-680; Vincent Bellar-John Shreve Jr. d. James Nolen-Bobby Shultz 867-755
Semifinals
(Losers receive $1,050)
Daugherty-Hess d. Shreve-Bellar 993-891; Clark-Johnson d. Kight-Stewart 868-807.
Championship
(Winner receives $3,800; loser receives $2,000)
Daughtery-Hess d. Clark-Johnson 960-825.
