Sean Rash
Sean Rash of Anchorage closed strong to wrap up the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region of the PBA Tour Players Championship.
The 17-time tour champion held off AJ Johnson of Illinois by a mere 15 pins after 28 grueling games of qualifying, with the final game determining the top seed.
Rash, of Dimond High fame, racked up a total of 6,405 with Johnson close behind at 6,390 after four rounds of qualifying at the AMF West Lanes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Rash passed Johnson in the 28th and final game to earn the No. 1 seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals that will be televised on FS1.
Qualifying for the PBA Tour Players Championship featured 275 bowlers spread out over five regions.
Rash is guaranteed a spot in the TV finals for the Midwest Region based on his No. 1 seed.
“Didn’t bowl my best this morning. Bowled decent tonight,” Rash told Ten Pin Life. “Keeping my head slow and staying in the present. I knew I was going to make the show coming into the day, I was pretty confident about that. But anything can happen.”
Here are the top 5 scorers among the 25 qualifiers:
6,576 Graham Fach, East Region
6,541 Tommy Jones, South Region
6,505 Dom Barrett, Southwest Region
6,496 Brandon Runk, East Region
6,405 Sean Rash, Midwest Region
Rash held a comfortable 133-pin lead after two rounds before Johnson roared back with a terrific third round to leapfrog Rash for an eight-point lead.
“AJ bowled phenomenal this morning,” Rash said.
The Alaskan responded when it mattered most, a staple of his 17-year pro career.
Rash was steady in the fourth round and came up clutch down in the final stages of the final game.
“You never close yourself out,” he said. “If there’s a pencil on a chair, you keep playing.”
It was no easy task.
Rash had to hold off some of the top names in the sport, including Johnson, a six-time regional champion, and third-place finisher E.J. Tackett, a 14-time champion and former PBA Player of the Year, among others.
“Those guys are all really good,” he said.