Tom Daugherty
| Tom Daugherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 22, 1975 |
| Occupation | Ten-pin bowler |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Tom Daugherty (born February 22, 1975) is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler residing in Riverview, Florida. He is a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), having joined in 2001. He is one of the few PBA bowlers to successfully use the one-handed no-thumb delivery. Although Daugherty has won two PBA Tour titles and nine PBA Regional titles, he is perhaps best known for rolling a nationally-televised 100 game at the 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions, the lowest score ever bowled in a televised PBA event. He has accumulated 13 career 300 games in PBA events. Daugherty is a pro staff member for Hammer bowling balls, Dexter shoes, and Ultimate Inserts.[1]
PBA career
Daugherty became a PBA member in 2001, and started bowling regularly on the PBA Tour in the 2003–04 season. After three seasons of little success as a full time Tour bowler, he returned to bowling mostly in PBA Regional Tour events for the next six seasons.
The 100 game
By way of his Regional Tour titles, Daugherty made the initial "Champions" field for the 2010–11 PBA Tournament of Champions. He fought his way into the "Elite" field and made the January 22, 2011 televised finals as the #2 seed, where he faced #3 seed Mika Koivuniemi. Daugherty wound up on the wrong end of PBA history that day, rolling seven splits en route to a record-low 100 score. (The previous low score on television was 129, shot by Steve Jaros.) With Koivuniemi nearly missing perfection and bowling a 299 in the same match, Daugherty also became half of the most lopsided match in PBA history (–199 pins). Despite the embarrassment, Daugherty cashed $50,000 for his third-place finish. In the next season’s Tournament of Champions, Daugherty again made the Elite Field and was candid about the previous year’s debacle:
- "That 100 game was the best thing that ever happened to me. I have no problem with it. No one would remember me if I hadn't bowled that game. No one remembers Tom Smallwood and he finished second last year."[2]
Success in 2012
Daugherty returned to full-time touring status in the 2012–13 PBA season. He finally found success, winning his first national PBA Tour title on November 11, 2012 at the PBA Bowlers Journal Scorpion Championship in Las Vegas.[3]
Additional career highlights
Daugherty finished third at the 2015 PBA Players Championship, his best finish in a major since 2011. He was also a member of the Bass Pro Shops Silver Lake Atom Splitters team, which won the 2015 PBA League Elias Cup team title. He would cash a career-high $67,335 on the PBA Tour this season.
Daugherty made the TV finals for the 2016 PBA Tournament of Champions and the 2016 USBC Masters, but could not complete the quest for a title in either of these major events. He would win his second PBA Tour title on September 10, 2016 at the PBA Wolf Open in Allen Park, Michigan.[4]
Personal
Daugherty has three daughters (Camryn, Cayce and Courtney) and a son (Kody). In addition to earning a living on the lanes, he operates two bowling pro shops in the Tampa Bay Area.[1]
References
- 1 2 "PBA Profile, Tom Daugherty". PBA.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ↑ "PBA South Region competitor advances from Champions Round to Elite Field". bowlingdigital.com. April 10, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ↑ "Tom Daugherty". ultimatebowling.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
- ↑ Manzione, Gianmarc (September 24, 2016). "Tom Daugherty Clears the Air After Storm Comments". bowlingdigital.com. Retrieved September 28, 2016.