By BILL SNIER
AKRON — AJ Rice has been all over social media recently with various controversies surrounding his bowling exploits near his new home in Holly, Mich.
“You know, people view me as a house hack … a house bowler … but just look at everything I’ve done,” said the 35-year-old two-handed left-hander, who is a bowler by trade, traveling all over the country for weekend events.
“I’ve won multiple events that were not on house shots.”
Although this weekend’s Akron Open Singles at Station 300 was on a house oil pattern, Rice said don’t let that fool you.
“For a house shot, this definitely was not the easiest in the world,” said Rice, who used a Storm Concept most of the time. “It was tricky from pair to pair. For me, all weekend, the right lane was tighter on every pair I went to, but I was able to figure it out.
“I used a little bit of everything, but the Storm Concept gave me the best look overall. If I kept it in play, I knew I would get nine with it. It was up to me to find a way to strike. Luckily, that ball did well for me down the stretch.”
Rice, who has finished second and fifth in previous stepladder appearances in the event over the past four years and won the 2025 Akron Open Doubles Sweeper with Andre Gonzales, stopped 19-year-old Indiana Tech junior Tuna Böncü 492-428 on Sunday in the two-game cumulative championship finals.
The tournament’s eighth edition brought a new format, with 317 bowlers rolling six qualifying games over two shifts — each on fresh oil — before the field was cut to the top 64 for rounds of two-game cumulative match play by seed. The two finalists bowled 12 games Sunday through six rounds.
“This feels great anytime you can put yourself in the winner’s circle. It doesn’t matter if it’s a little sweeper or a big event like this,” said the No. 37-seeded Rice, who earned $5,000 for the title. “To finally come through and make the shots when I needed them … I’m happy.”
Rice admittedly has been working on some parts of his game after making a big change in the summer of 2022.
“I took my thumb out of the ball and I kind of lost some of the control I had,” said Rice, a career two-hander who made the grip adjustment due to pain in his thumb. “I’ve been working on my hand position to make sure it’s in the right spot on the release.
“When it’s not, it drastically makes a difference in my ball roll and it just doesn’t match up. I can really throw some bad shots.”
That didn’t happen Sunday as Rice’s most difficult match came against right-hander Zeke Bayt in the round of eight, when he shot 258 in Game 2 to pull out a 462-461 win after trailing by 10 pins following Game 1.
He followed that by shooting 238 and 203 with just one open frame in a 441-414 win over fellow lefty Jeffrey Scott Jr. during the semifinals.
To read more about the semifinal rounds and complete scores, go to https://snieronbowling.com/2026/08/31/akron-open-notebook-pennington-scott-come-up-short-in-finals-bids/
BÖNCÜ’S RUN
Böncü, a two-handed righty who finished fourth a year ago in his first Akron Open appearance, had to endure a rolloff in the Round of 8 against No. 15-seed Charles Brown II after both tied at 454.
After a pair of spares in the ninth- and 10th-frame rolloff, Böncü was able to strike on his final ball while Brown left a 5-pin as the former won 39-38 to advance.
But the No. 10 seed could do no wrong in the semifinals against No. 51 seed Steve Pennington, missing just four times overall in a 546-493 win — the highest two-game set of the day.
“During qualifying, you had seven bowlers on a pair so they transitioned pretty quickly,” said Böncü, a computer science major and native of Turkey. “Most of the people who had good looks were doing about the same thing (Sunday) and there were only four instead of seven so it was controllable.
“I knew what to do after two games, and as you moved on, you went right back to the fresh and got the same look. It was easier to focus and follow the transition today.”
But that changed for the college junior in the title match on Lanes 25 and 26.
FINALS BATTLE
Rice was able to get lined up on the title pair, throwing 10 strikes in Game 1 and eight in Game 2 with his lone blemish being a 7-pin spare miss in the fourth frame of the second game.
But Böncü wasn’t as fortunate on the right side.
“The racks were a problem. The previous four games, most of the time when I went light, I would get a swisher 7-pin or maybe clip a 10-pin down,” Böncü said. “But every single time I didn’t go dead-high flush, I would leave a pin there … a blower 7-pin, wrap 10 or a flat 10.
“I tried moving right, tried slowing down, but the ball just wouldn’t do the work.”
In all, Böncü left nine one-pins spares — staying clean throughout — without having more than three strikes in a row.
Rice remembered the pair from qualifying — and what adjustments he had to make.
“It was tighter than normal and I had to be a little softer at the bottom and roll it more. I tried not to be as aggressive,” said Rice, who finished Game 1 with seven strikes and had two three-strike runs in Game 2. “I tried to keep it in front of me and keep it slow.
“I got a couple of breaks with messengers that kept me in my rhythm. I just had to roll it and, hopefully, the pins would fall my way. Thankfully, they did.”
Böncü, who used the same Hammer Black 78D that he used a year ago in his first appearance, will be back for the 2027 edition.
“It will be the same ball, same place, same shot and same speed,” added Böncü, who won $3,000 for taking second. “I don’t think I will lose my talent next year. At least, I hope not.”
As for Rice, who journeys from coast to coast on weekends in search of bowling events, it’s on to Orlando, Fla., this weekend for more action.
And forget about that “reputation.”
“House hack … yeah sure,” Rice said, grinning. “I don’t want to be mean or ugly, but come out and bowl me and we’ll see. That’s the truth.”