Westland, Michigan – Jason Couch has quite the connection to the PBA Tournament of Champions. In 2002, he made PBA Tour history as the only player to ever win three consecutive TOC titles. While the talented lefty was not competing at this year’s PBA TOC in Fairlawn, Ohio, he was winning his second career PBA50 title instead at the 2024 PBA50 Hamtramck Singles Classic Open at Vision Lanes.
The PBA and USBC Hall of Famer started his Thursday in second place and never recorded a game under 200. He won both of his bracket matches defeating Brian LeClair followed by a thrilling three-game match against fellow southpaw Parker Bohn III, coming out on top in game three, 227-215, to earn the top seed in the stepladder finals.
“He bowled great today, and I bowled great today. Somedays it just goes your way and I got fortunate,” Couch said of the battle with Bohn. “We laughed about how many times we have bowled against each other in match play and overall. We think over 200 times. It’s just nuts.”
The title match got off to a slow beginning. Couch felt the lanes were hooking a lot for him as he converted three straight spares against No. 2 seed Troy Stus, who was making his first PBA50 Tour stepladder. Stus was a bit shaky to start with three spares over his first four frames, but then he matched Couch’s three strikes in a row to cut his deficit to 18 pins in the seventh frame. Stus left a costly 8-10 split for an open frame followed by two more spares finishing with a 184 game. Couch stayed clean with three single-pin spares across his final four frames for a 214. He stood proudly on his two reconstructed knees collecting the $7,500 prize and enjoying his first return to the winner’s circle since 2021.
“I’ve worked harder this offseason. I’ve definitely put in the time, and this is an awesome feeling,” Couch said. “I am the manager of the Detroit Motown Muscle (in the PBA Elite League), so I felt like there were some people rooting for me. I accomplished a goal early but there is still a lot of work to do, and I want to build on the confidence.”
Stus and Couch have a special connection. When Couch was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2012, Stus’s dad, Gene was also inducted. That was the first time Couch met Troy, as Troy was there represented his dad at the ceremony.
“He did the acceptance speech for his dad, and it was just fantastic. When I saw him before the tournament started, he gave me a big hug,” Couch said. “He told me his dad loved me. He bowled great all week. That family is a bowling family. They are really good.”
Stus, who lives about 30 minutes away from Vision Lanes, won the semifinal match in commanding fashion over Dave Wodka. Stus opened with a spare followed by six consecutives strikes on the way to a 231-169 victory. In Wodka’s first match, he was stringing strikes together over Brad Angelo. Wodka has nine total strikes in his 248-185 win. The opening match between Angelo and Jon Rakoski came down to the final two frames. Rakoski chopped the 3-6 in his ninth frame while Angelo posted five out of seven strikes to end game with the 216-215 win.
After the win, Couch called his wife and aimed to respond to the 207 text messages he received. On Friday, he starts his roughly 13-hour drive to Aberdeen, North Carolina for the next stop on the PBA50 Tour. And you can also bet Couch will be cheering on three of his Detroit Motown Muscle players Anthony Simonsen, EJ Tackett and Jason Sterner, who will all be bowling on Sunday in the stepladder finals at the 2024 PBA Tournament of Champions.
MATCH SCORES:
Match 1: Angelo def. Rakoski 216-215
Match 2: Wodka def. Angelo 248-185
Match 3: Stus def. Wodka 231-169
Championship match: Couch def. Stus 214-184
2024 PBA50 HAMTRAMCK SINGLES CLASSIC OPEN FINAL STANDINGS:
- Jason Couch $7,500
- Troy Stus $4,000
- Dave Wodka $2,800
- Brad Angelo $2,300
- Jon Rakoski $2,000
View final results at PBA50 Hamtramck Singles Classic Open