By BILL SNIER
FAIRLAWN — When Tom Hess was a child back in Iowa, he was given an assignment to write about his future plans.
“I think I was nine or 10 years old,” the 2024 Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Fame enshrinee said. “It was one of my class assignments and I wrote that I wanted to bowl a 300 to win the PBA Tournament of Champions.”
It didn’t happen at the same time, but the now 54-year-old Granger, Iowa, right-hander and former construction worker has achieved his childhood dream.
Hess captured his 10th overall PBA title and third career PBA50 Tour major by winning the PBA50 Tournament of Champions on Thursday at AMF Riviera Lanes.
“I’m a champion of champions,” said Hess, who didn’t begin bowling full-time on the PBA50 Tour until 2021. “The PBA50 Tour has been a rebirth in my career. It gave me the opportunity to do this full-time and I’m thankful they gave us seniors the opportunity to compete.”
The top-seeded Hess, who led the 16-game qualifying round by averaging 226.18, defeated 14-time PBA winner Mika Koivuniemi 248-237 in a title match that went down to the 10th frame.
It marked Hess’ fifth title of this season, tying Player of the Year John Janawicz for the most in 2024. Janawicz earns the honor based on points as one of Hess’ victories (the PBA-PWBA-PBA50 Trio event in Arkansas) carried no points.
Hess also cashed in 12 of his 15 events this season.
“This just capped a great year … getting to double-digit titles, something I never thought could happen,” said Hess, who earned $15,000 with the win. “It’s just one helluva way to end the season.”
Hess earned the No. 1 seed by finishing 322 pins ahead of second-seeded Koivuniemi and averaging 226 over his 40 total games. That included rolling one of the tourney’s three 300 games in Game 7 of the second round of match play.
“I bowled a 300 and I won a tournament of champions and its the PBA Tournament of Champions,” said Hess, who won the title on the traditional Lanes 27 and 28 used for all TOC events over the years at Riviera.
EARLIER MATCHES
The night started with No. 5 seed Dan Knowlton, a 53-year-old Dade City, Fla., right-hander facing No. 4 Brad Angelo, a 54-year-old Lockport, N.Y., right-hander in the first match.
Angelo struck on four of his first five shots while Knowlton, who chose to start with urethane equipment as he had all week, struck just once during the first seven frames.
“I really had it in my mind that I was going to use urethane and I settled in with that,” said Knowlton, a two-time winner with one of those titles coming earlier this season who is a member of Senior Team USA. “This was my plan B and it took me awhile to figure the lanes out.
“I made a couple of strategic errors and one bad shot (1-2-8-10 in the seventh frame). Brad put a lot of pressure on me early so there really wasn’t much room for error.”
Angelo, who has a regional win at Strike Zone Lanes in Canton as one of his titles, remained clean in earning a 225-199 win after Knowlton struck on his final five shots.
In the quarterfinals, Angelo took on Advancers’ Round leader Chris Warren, a 60-year-old Plano, Texas, right-hander and the lone super senior (ages 60 and older) in the finals.
While Angelo was able to throw three strikes in a row early to take the lead, Warren finished the match with just six strikes as the former emerged with a 236-209 win by again remaining clean.
“I didn’t bowl very well and it shows. It was just poor execution,” said Warren, who has one PBA50 Tour title in the 2018 U.S. Senior Masters.
With a strike up in the ninth, Warren still had a chance in the 10th frame, but left a 4-7 on his opening shot.
“I tried to keep it tight after I kept leaving 10-pins on that lane,” Warren said. “It was a bad move.”
ANGELO’S PROBLEMS
That set up Koivuniemi, appearing in his eighth straight PBA50 Tour stepladder finals, against Angelo for the right to meet Hess.
But Angelo saw changes in the lanes when Koivuniemi and Hess came on the title pair for practice prior to that match.
“I had a pretty solid look the first two matches. Chris came on and really didn’t change them that much,” said Angelo, who has three career PBA titles and 16 regional wins. “All I had to do was move a little bit and change the way it was coming off my hand.
“But when Mika and Tom came on, they were both a little left of where I was with surface. I knew I was going to run into a bit of their depletion so I changed to the (Storm) Absolute Power. That’s what I had done all week once friction developed.”
He opened with a 5-pin spare and then doubled to start the match.
“I didn’t throw the first one well at all. I moved a little more on the right lane and threw it great, but it still checked up and laid there, but it struck,” Angelo said. “I made an even better shot on the left lane and struck.
“When I went back to the right, I thought I had to hit it harder. But I ran into too much of their friction.”
That resulted in a 3-4-6-7 split in the fourth, followed by a 4-6-7 in the fifth for Angelo.
“The ball checked up and I paid the full penalty,” Angelo said. “So when I went to the other lane, I moved a little more, but that one checked and went through the face. Mika was able to trip out a 4 (pin) on a high flush so I knew he saw the friction. But he made a good shot for the double.”
Angelo was able to settle in after those shots, but left three 10-pin spares while Koivuniemi overcame a 3-6-10 spare in the seventh and struck out in the 10th from a. 215-187 win.
“It would have been nice to put some pressure on him,” said Angelo, who now turns his attentions to instructing in the Bowl U program. “But he stepped up and made two good shots when he needed to.”
TITLE MATCH
Hess did not start the title match well, leaving a 3-6-10. But he converted the spare, which would prove key.
While Koivuniemi was able to strike on just three of his first six shots, Hess was able to run off a string of six in a row before leaving a 7-pin in the eighth frame. He would strike just once more the rest of the way.
Hess had that only strike on his first ball in the 10th frame, but followed with a 3-6-9-10 spare conversion to close the frame.
The scenario was simple: If Koivuniemi was able to finish with three strikes in the 10th frame, there would be a tie and a one-ball rolloff for the title after both would finish with 248.
After his finish, Hess took a walk to the low end of the center.
“That shot, I just tried to throw it too good and it wasn’t my best effort. I knew I had to strike on that second shot in the 10th,” said Hess. “Thank goodness I was able to make that 3-6-9-10. I gave myself a chance.
“I took a little walk because I had to get my mind right. I was preparing to go to another one-shot rolloff. I figured Mika was going to strike out.”
Koivuniemi struck on his first shot, but left a solid 10-pin on his second to give Hess the win.
“I was really happy with the way I threw that shot. But it seems like the whole season has been like that,” said Koivuniemi, who stepped away from the Tour for several years while coaching for United Arab Emerites. “In my stepladders, I don’t always get the breaks, and you need to get some breaks.”
The runner-up finish gives him three during his eight-week stepladder run.
“I had to make some small adjustments, but nothing major. I just used some of my tricks,” Koivuniemi said. “Of course, when I don’t strike that’s a problem. But that happens.”
A tie between the two had happened before earlier this season.
Hess actually had to cover a 2-4-5-8 bucket spare during the Monacelli Championship, one of his five wins, to force a tie at 224 in the second stepladder match with Koivuniemi. The two went three rounds with the one-ball rolloff as Hess emerged on the final one with a 9-8 win en route to the title.
This was no easy run, despite Hess’ big lead following match play.
“I wouldn’t say I was comfortable until those two final (match-play games). I just had to be patient,” Hess said. “Jim Callahan (Storm PBA Tour manager) has been working with me to stay present. You know everyone is going to have those games, but when you have yours, you just have to let it go and keep going.”
But Hess’ second career continues to flourish.
After winning the U.S. Masters during the 2010-11 season, Hess had earned a two-year exemption to bowl on the PBA Tour. But the Tour changed it’s rules the following year, robbing Hess of his opportunity.
“It was heartbreaking … I didn’t get the opportunity to chase my dream back then. I’ve bowled since, but it was never full-time,” Hess said. “You can’t beat these guys trying to do that. They’re too good.”
But now, as a senior, the dream has been realized.
“I really never had a career. I was just a hard worker with a strong back, arms and bottom who did my job,” Hess said. “Now, I can spend 100 percent of my effort to bowling on the PBA50 Tour.”
NOTEBOOK: Attendance was poor throughout the week at the event, with only about 20 people on hand to watch the finals, which were aired live on BowlTV. … This marked the final event of the PBA50 Tour season. … PBA Commissioner Tom Clark said he expects both the PBA and PBA50 Tournament of Champions to return to Riviera in 2025. … With his eighth-place finish, Columbia, S.C., right-hander Randy Weiss earned PBA50 Rookie of the Year honors, which also was based on points, getting past Mario Quintero 12,515-11.955. Quintero finished 21st. … The top 10 finishers on the PBA50 points list receive free entries into next year’s TOC, which was just revived last season in Florida. That list includes Janawicz, Hess, Chris Barnes, Angelo, Koivuniemi, Jason Couch, Jon Rakoski, Knowlton, Parker Bohn III and Walter Ray Williams Jr. Bohn did not participate this year due to moving his daughter into college at Vanderbilt. … Bohn did clinch PBA60 Player of the Year honors, holding off Williams 15,447-15,043 and Tom Adcock (14,265). Williams finished seventh in the tourney while Adcock was 15th. … Hess joined Dino Castillo and Jeff Johnson with 300s — all coming during match play. James Campbell also had 299. … Although no area bowlers made the cut to match play, Wadsworth’s Dale Csuhta (37th) and Ashtabula’s Dave Johnson (34th) earned super senior $500 checks. Eight checks outside of the top 32 were awarded to bowlers ages 60 and older, including one to a 70-and-older participant (Ted Staikoff). … There are two PBA50 Central Region events set for Northeast Ohio in September: the J.D. Producing Inc.-Triway Lanes Central Open on Sept. 13-15 at Triway Lanes in Wooster and the PBA50-PBA60 Doubles-Park Centre Lanes Central Open, set for Sept. 20 to 22 at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton.
PBA50 TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
(Thursday, at AMF Riviera Lanes, Fairlawn)
Match 1: Brad Angelo d. Dan Knowlton 225-199; Knowlton wins $4,000
Match 2: Angelo d. Chris Warren 236-209; Warren wins $5,000
Match 3: Mika Koivuniemi d. Angelo 215-187; Angelo wins $6,000
Championship: Tom Hess d. Koivuniemi 248-237; Hess wins $15,000, Koivuniemi wins $8,000