By BILL SNIER
CUYAHOGA FALLS — There’s just something about Clutch Lanes and Sports Center for Professional Bowlers Association members Tom Daugherty and Tom Hess.
Especially in doubles competition.
Daugherty’s explanation? “Tom just bowls good here,” the 49-year-old Riverview, Fla., right-hander said.
“I’ve been coming here for years,” said Hess, a 54-year-old Granger, Iowa, right-hander who will be inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame on Friday in Fairlawn, site of this week’s PBA Tournament of Champions.
“We just jell well together. Tommy helps line me up and he gives me a lot of credit for bowling well and I do, but we’re a team and we communicate well.”
The last-minute pairing of a year ago in a PBA regional event went on to win twice in a two-week period at Clutch in 2023.
On the eve of the TOC, the pair returned Sunday to defend their title in the Ohio Blasting-Valley Motor City Over 50-Under 50 Scratch Open Doubles at Clutch.
The pair made it three titles in a row at the site, stopping Dean Billings and Frank Testa 945-795 in the two-game championship match.
It was far from easy.
Only two teams in the field finished on the plus side bowling on the 2019 Ohio Senior Masters 40-foot oil pattern.
“They were hard,” said Daugherty, an eight-time PBA champion. “Shooting 420 was a great score on this. We didn’t know until the last game if we had enough to get in there.”
Going into Game 4 of the five-game qualifier, Daugherty and Hess were 17th and 69 pins out of the cut to the top eight. Neither man shot 200 during their first three games, with Daugherty having just 159 in Game 1.
“We could have bowled a little better Game 4, but I kind of messed up,” Daugherty said. “But we bowled a solid last game. We made a couple of moves after the first couple of frames.”
“It seemed like there was no defining spot to throw it to. Earlier today if you missed eight, it was gone,” said Hess, a former PBA50 player and rookie of the year. “It kind of developed into where we like to play, and we took advantage.”
The pair combined for 419 in Game 4 and 435 in Game 5 to jump into the seventh spot, making the cut by 28 pins.
“Everyone had to play in kind of the same spot and it kind of blew open a little bit so you could use that,” Daugherty said. “We don’t need much to have something. It was just trying to manipulate the right ball off that proper spot to do the right thing.
“It was pretty much easy to control the pocket at that point. It was just a matter of finding the right ball to carry.”
It showed in Game 2 of their opening match against PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes and 2022 PBA TOC winner Don Barrett when the pair shot the high game of the day — 502 — en route to a 922-835 win. Hess had 256 that game while Daugherty had 246 after the pair won the opening game 420-392.
“We had a pretty good look in the matches. We got to where we both matched up really well as the day went on,” Hess said. “Speed control was big today. I had to be really soft with it. When I got fast is when it didn’t pick up.”
To reach the finale, the pair stopped James Nolan and Bobby Schultz 854-774, but Daugherty shot just 173 in Game 2 as the they combined for 385.
BILLINGS, TESTA REACH FINALE
Billings and Testa claimed the 2022 edition of this event, but did not compete a year ago due to the former’s injury problems.
“We talked about it, but I told Frank I was good if we didn’t bowl … that I was a little banged up,” Billings, a 60-year-old Rootstown right-hander said. “But he’s so good. If I don’t train wreck, we should be here.”
The pair made a jump from eighth to third after shooting 447 in Game 4 and grabbed the sixth spot for match play with 341 as Billings struggled in Game 5 with a 149.
“We got tricked a little bit on that last pair in qualifying,” Testa said of Lanes 23 and 24. “It might be the toughest pair in the building.”
“Frank was consistent all day,” Billings said. “I was as up and down as it gets and it showed. But I picked it up in matches.”
In their opening match against No. 3 seed Butch Ferrell ad Viktor Varner, Testa and Billings shot 460 and 426 en route to an 886-742 win. They followed up with an 861-824 win over No. 1 seeded Kevin Cowper and Les Mann to reach the finale.
That’s when things changed.
FINAL MATCH
Daugherty and Hess started out strong in Game 1 of the finale, each failing to strike on just one of his first seven shots. Meanwhile, Billings failed to double until late, leaving a 6-7-10 split in the eighth frame while Testa had a pair of doubles around a 4-7-10 split in the sixth and a 6-7-10 in the 10th frame.
“I think it started the last half of the match with Les and Kevin. I kind of lost it a little bit,” Billings said. “I don’t think I was throwing it any different, but what I had toward the end of that match is what I had on both lanes in the title match.
“If I got it a pinch out, it wasn’t quite getting back, and if I got it in it was going that way. Those days happen.”
Daugherty and Hess were able to build a 92-pin lead after Game 1, with the former shooting 246 and the latter a 227 after leaving a 4-5 split in the 10the frame. Testa and Billings combined for 381, shooting 188 and 193, respectively.
“It’s a different caliber of bowling with these guys. The rev rates are different and they repeat shots,” Testa said. “It’s what they do for a living.”
Testa found his stride in Game 2, striking on his final seven shots for 246. But Billings failed to convert a 4-6-10 spare in the eighth and left a 4-7-10 split in the 10th as they combined for 414. Hess missed just once in his first 10 shots en route to 267 while Daugherty added 205 with a missed 2-4-8 spare in the 10th for the final count.
“These guys just look at the lanes differently than I do, so I still have some learning to do apparently,” Billings said. “I got schooled pretty good.
“Those two are awfully good. It’s no shame to to lose to them. We got our butts kicked soundly.
“I was able to find it at the end,” Testa added. “In the beginning you try to replicate what they’re doing and you’re just not able to do that.”
It’s the start of a big week for the champions, with Daugherty sitting 22nd in the PBA points list in hopes of landing a spot among the top 16 for the PBA playoffs.
“I’m going to need probably a top 12 or 15 finish to make the top 16,” Daugherty said. “I need a solid week. I usually bowl well at the TOC, but I haven’t been bowling great the last couple of weeks.”
For Hess, this week takes on more meaning a the PBA moves to an exempt tour situation for 2025.
“Unless I go out and make the show this week, this will probably be my final event as a full-time touring player,” Hess said of the TOC after being voted into the Hall of Fame as a PBA50 Tour member. “But it’s all going to be surreal. It’s been a lifelong dream.
“When some of the greats of the game, guys you look up to, tell you they supported you, it really means a lot. It’s just awesome to have this opportunity.”
NOTEBOOK: The winning tandem matched up for the first time a year ago because Hess’ partner, Sean Rash, was having back problems, and Daugherty’s partner, Lennie Boresch, was doing his own preparations for joining the Hall of Fame. “Tom asked me, and I said sure,” Hess added. Unfortunately, the two will not be able to defend their title as Daugherty turns 50 in February 2024. “If they enforce the rules or move it up, I’m going to have to find a new partner,” Daugherty said. … The tourney had 32 teams in the field, with Cowper and Mann, a pair of left-handers, being the top seed with 2,145 total pinfall. Barnes and Barrett were the only other doubles team on the plus side, earning the No. 2 seed with 2,044. … Cowper and Mann swept most of the top scores of the day. Cowper shot 290 in Game 2 of the pair’s opening match for the high game of the day with PBA pro Stu Williams, who bowled with PBA50 Tour player Michael Haggitt, having the high qualifying game of 268. … Cowper and Mann also posted four 400 games during qualifying, posting the two high games of 473 and 464. … Stewart and Couch earned the final qualifying spot with 1,925 despite shooting just 375 in Game 5, just 17 pins ahead of Alan and Trent Hoover (1,908). The latter pair shot 466 the final game to jump from 14th to ninth. … We would like to thank tournament director Tony Varn, Dawn Altimore-Eckenrode and Kim Hogue for their help with this report.
OHIO BLASTING-VALLEY MOTOR CITY OVER 50-UNDER 50 SCRATCH OPEN DOUBLES
(Clutch Lanes and Sports Center, Cuyahoga Falls)
Round of Eight
(Two-game total pinfall match play, losing teams receive $550)
Kevin Cowper-Les Mann (398-461) d. Devan Stewart-Jason Couch (397-391) 859-788
Tom Hess-Tom Daugherty (420-502) d. Chris Barnes-Dom Barrett (392-443) 922-835
Dean Billings-Frank Testa (460-426) d. Butch Ferrell-Viktor Varner (366-376) 886-742
James Nolen-Bobby Schultz (404-405) d. Matt Latarski-Chris Freeman (336-311) 809-647
Semifinals
(Two-game total pinfall match play, losing teams each receive $1,050)
Billings-Testa (448-413) d. Mann-Cowper (402-422) 861-824
Daugherty-Hess (469-385) d. Nolen-Schultz (393-389) 854-774
Championship
(Two-game total pinfall match play, winning team receives $4,000; loser receives $2,000)
Daugherty-Hess (473-472) d. Billings-Testa (381-414) 945-795
