Daugherty earns top seed; stepladder finals set at 2025 Senior Masters
June 08, 2025
The five stepladder finalists at the 2025 USBC Senior Masters are (from left to right) 1. Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida; 2. Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey; 3. Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas; 4. Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan; and 5. James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee.
BRACKETS
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
LAS VEGAS – The 2025 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters began on Tuesday with a field of 310 athletes. At the conclusion of Saturday’s final rounds of bracket match play at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas, just five bowlers remain.
The lone undefeated player left in this year’s field is Senior Masters rookie Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida. The 50-year-old right-hander earned the No. 1 seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals after posting a perfect 6-0 record during two days of three-game total-pinfall matches.
As the top seed, Daugherty will have to be defeated twice on Sunday in order to be denied the title in the tournament’s true double-elimination format. The stepladder finals will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern and be streamed live on BowlTV.
Attempting to keep Daugherty out of the winner’s circle will be No. 2 seed Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, No. 3 Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas, and Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, and James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee, who will enter the stepladder finals as seeds No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
The winner of the 2025 USBC Senior Masters will take home a major championship on the PBA50 Tour and the first-place prize of $20,000.
Daugherty began his run to the top seed by collecting a pair of victories on Friday. The four-time PBA titlist and major champion then proceeded to pick up right where he left off when competition resumed at Sam’s Town on Saturday morning, winning four additional matches.
The day began with Daugherty – who entered match play as the No. 2 seed in the 64-player Senior Masters bracket – scoring a 743-688 victory over Don Smith of Fontana, California.
Then, he dispatched Patrick Shipley of Indianapolis (721-549) and Andy Neuer of Milton, Pennsylvania (745-643), during the next two rounds to officially lock up a spot in the stepladder finals. The only question was what seed Daugherty would be.
For as well as he’s bowled all week long at Sam’s Town, Daugherty technically entered the top-seed battle as an underdog. That’s because his opponent was Bohn, a USBC and PBA Hall of Famer who broke both the Senior Masters 10-game and 15-game qualifying scoring records en route to the No. 1 seed for match play.
Saturday’s Round 6 Winners Bracket battle between Bohn and Daugherty marked the first time in at least 20 years that the tournament’s top two qualifiers faced off to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for the stepladder finals.
The enthusiastic crowd at Sam’s Town was probably expecting the matchup to be a nip-and-tuck affair that would come down to the 10th frame of Game 3, but that wasn’t how it played out.
Instead, just as he had throughout bracket play, Daugherty jumped out to a big lead early and won going away, this time by a final score of 717-628.
The significance of earning the top seed was certainly not lost on Daugherty.
“I really wanted to beat Parker (Bohn) because having to be beaten twice during the stepladder is huge,” Daugherty said. “I think I’ll be able to make some adjustments without having to worry about the consequences too much. If I need to make a ball change, I can do so without worrying if it’s right as long as I think it will help me the next game.”
At the end of the day, Daugherty doesn’t really care whether it takes one game or two on Sunday; he just wants to win.
“It would mean the world to me for my first PBA50 title to be a major,” Daugherty said. “We’re all out here to bowl the majors. They’re definitely the tournaments I like the most. I like my chances, but we’ll see what happens.”
Despite having to navigate a slightly longer path to the winner’s circle on Sunday, Bohn remains confident as well.
“Tom (Daugherty) has the edge because he has to be beaten twice, but in a one-game match, anything can happen,” Bohn said. “Plus, if you beat the guy once, I’m going to say you’ve got a little bit of mojo going your way.”
Things certainly went Bohn’s way up until the loss to Daugherty in Round 6.
The 61-year-old left-hander was dominant during his first three bouts on Saturday, winning 738-614 over Anthony Crews of Sebring, Florida, 696-641 against 2025 USBC Super Senior Classic champ Campbell and 771-689 versus Franklin.
Even though the setback to Daugherty during the top-seed match forced Bohn to settle for a 5-1 record and the No. 2 seed for the stepladder, the PBA legend doesn’t plan on changing his strategy should the two meet again in Sunday’s championship match.
“Even though my gameplan wasn’t fruitful during that last match, obviously, it pretty much worked all week long,” Bohn said. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to do. I might tweak it a little bit one way or the other, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it because it went right for me during every other match.”
A lot of things went right during match play for Franklin (4-1), Koivuniemi (5-1) and Campbell (4-1) as well, so all three are looking forward to taking their shot at the title during Sunday’s stepladder finals.
For Franklin, winning on Sunday would be particularly gratifying since he doesn’t have the chance to compete nationally nearly as often as some of his fellow competitors.
“It’s really cool to be in the stepladder,” Franklin said. “I have a full-time job, not in the bowling industry, so I only get a couple opportunities to do this every year. I just love to compete and challenge myself.
“Just like everybody else, I grew up wanting to bowl on tour. It was one of my dreams. I tried it for two years when I was younger, and it wasn’t for me. So, to win tomorrow might complete a little bit of a circle. I’ve always felt like there’s a little bit of unfinished business, so the goal tomorrow is to see if I can finish it.”
Koivuniemi has certainly proven that he knows how to finish. After all, the PBA and USBC Hall of Famer has 15 PBA titles to his credit, including three majors.
One of those major titles came at the 2000 USBC Masters. After punching his ticket to the stepladder finals on Saturday evening, Koivuniemi discussed how it would feel to now add a Senior Masters title to his resume.
“I won the Masters 25 years ago, so it would be great to get the Senior Masters a quarter century later,” Koivuniemi said.
Nevertheless, with all his major championship experience, Koivuniemi knows it won’t be easy.
“I’m pretty happy with how I bowled, especially after losing the first match today,” Koivuniemi said. “It’s going to be different tomorrow on the show, so I need to be ready; it’s a long way from over.”
Despite bowling 33 games so far this week in addition to the plethora of games he bowled last week en route to the Super Senior Classic title, Campbell just doesn’t want the ride he’s on to end.
When asked how it felt to make the stepladder finals for the second week in a row at Sam’s Town, Campbell simply said “I’m just happy to still be bowling.”
Should Campbell win on Sunday, he’d become the first bowler to win both the Super Senior Classic and Senior Masters in the same year.
Regardless of whether or not that dream materializes, Campbell is just grateful for the opportunity.
“It feels amazing to be on another major show,” Campbell said. “I had the PBA60 major show with the Super Senior, and now this is my first chance to do it for PBA50. All I ever ask for is a chance, so this is pretty cool.”
For scores and information about the 2025 USBC Senior Masters, CLICK HERE.
BRACKETS
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
LAS VEGAS – The 2025 United States Bowling Congress Senior Masters began on Tuesday with a field of 310 athletes. At the conclusion of Saturday’s final rounds of bracket match play at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas, just five bowlers remain.
The lone undefeated player left in this year’s field is Senior Masters rookie Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida. The 50-year-old right-hander earned the No. 1 seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals after posting a perfect 6-0 record during two days of three-game total-pinfall matches.
As the top seed, Daugherty will have to be defeated twice on Sunday in order to be denied the title in the tournament’s true double-elimination format. The stepladder finals will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern and be streamed live on BowlTV.
Attempting to keep Daugherty out of the winner’s circle will be No. 2 seed Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, No. 3 Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas, and Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, and James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee, who will enter the stepladder finals as seeds No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
The winner of the 2025 USBC Senior Masters will take home a major championship on the PBA50 Tour and the first-place prize of $20,000.
Daugherty began his run to the top seed by collecting a pair of victories on Friday. The four-time PBA titlist and major champion then proceeded to pick up right where he left off when competition resumed at Sam’s Town on Saturday morning, winning four additional matches.
The day began with Daugherty – who entered match play as the No. 2 seed in the 64-player Senior Masters bracket – scoring a 743-688 victory over Don Smith of Fontana, California.
Then, he dispatched Patrick Shipley of Indianapolis (721-549) and Andy Neuer of Milton, Pennsylvania (745-643), during the next two rounds to officially lock up a spot in the stepladder finals. The only question was what seed Daugherty would be.
For as well as he’s bowled all week long at Sam’s Town, Daugherty technically entered the top-seed battle as an underdog. That’s because his opponent was Bohn, a USBC and PBA Hall of Famer who broke both the Senior Masters 10-game and 15-game qualifying scoring records en route to the No. 1 seed for match play.
Saturday’s Round 6 Winners Bracket battle between Bohn and Daugherty marked the first time in at least 20 years that the tournament’s top two qualifiers faced off to determine the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds for the stepladder finals.
The enthusiastic crowd at Sam’s Town was probably expecting the matchup to be a nip-and-tuck affair that would come down to the 10th frame of Game 3, but that wasn’t how it played out.
Instead, just as he had throughout bracket play, Daugherty jumped out to a big lead early and won going away, this time by a final score of 717-628.
The significance of earning the top seed was certainly not lost on Daugherty.
“I really wanted to beat Parker (Bohn) because having to be beaten twice during the stepladder is huge,” Daugherty said. “I think I’ll be able to make some adjustments without having to worry about the consequences too much. If I need to make a ball change, I can do so without worrying if it’s right as long as I think it will help me the next game.”
At the end of the day, Daugherty doesn’t really care whether it takes one game or two on Sunday; he just wants to win.
“It would mean the world to me for my first PBA50 title to be a major,” Daugherty said. “We’re all out here to bowl the majors. They’re definitely the tournaments I like the most. I like my chances, but we’ll see what happens.”
Despite having to navigate a slightly longer path to the winner’s circle on Sunday, Bohn remains confident as well.
“Tom (Daugherty) has the edge because he has to be beaten twice, but in a one-game match, anything can happen,” Bohn said. “Plus, if you beat the guy once, I’m going to say you’ve got a little bit of mojo going your way.”
Things certainly went Bohn’s way up until the loss to Daugherty in Round 6.
The 61-year-old left-hander was dominant during his first three bouts on Saturday, winning 738-614 over Anthony Crews of Sebring, Florida, 696-641 against 2025 USBC Super Senior Classic champ Campbell and 771-689 versus Franklin.
Even though the setback to Daugherty during the top-seed match forced Bohn to settle for a 5-1 record and the No. 2 seed for the stepladder, the PBA legend doesn’t plan on changing his strategy should the two meet again in Sunday’s championship match.
“Even though my gameplan wasn’t fruitful during that last match, obviously, it pretty much worked all week long,” Bohn said. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to do. I might tweak it a little bit one way or the other, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it because it went right for me during every other match.”
A lot of things went right during match play for Franklin (4-1), Koivuniemi (5-1) and Campbell (4-1) as well, so all three are looking forward to taking their shot at the title during Sunday’s stepladder finals.
For Franklin, winning on Sunday would be particularly gratifying since he doesn’t have the chance to compete nationally nearly as often as some of his fellow competitors.
“It’s really cool to be in the stepladder,” Franklin said. “I have a full-time job, not in the bowling industry, so I only get a couple opportunities to do this every year. I just love to compete and challenge myself.
“Just like everybody else, I grew up wanting to bowl on tour. It was one of my dreams. I tried it for two years when I was younger, and it wasn’t for me. So, to win tomorrow might complete a little bit of a circle. I’ve always felt like there’s a little bit of unfinished business, so the goal tomorrow is to see if I can finish it.”
Koivuniemi has certainly proven that he knows how to finish. After all, the PBA and USBC Hall of Famer has 15 PBA titles to his credit, including three majors.
One of those major titles came at the 2000 USBC Masters. After punching his ticket to the stepladder finals on Saturday evening, Koivuniemi discussed how it would feel to now add a Senior Masters title to his resume.
“I won the Masters 25 years ago, so it would be great to get the Senior Masters a quarter century later,” Koivuniemi said.
Nevertheless, with all his major championship experience, Koivuniemi knows it won’t be easy.
“I’m pretty happy with how I bowled, especially after losing the first match today,” Koivuniemi said. “It’s going to be different tomorrow on the show, so I need to be ready; it’s a long way from over.”
Despite bowling 33 games so far this week in addition to the plethora of games he bowled last week en route to the Super Senior Classic title, Campbell just doesn’t want the ride he’s on to end.
When asked how it felt to make the stepladder finals for the second week in a row at Sam’s Town, Campbell simply said “I’m just happy to still be bowling.”
Should Campbell win on Sunday, he’d become the first bowler to win both the Super Senior Classic and Senior Masters in the same year.
Regardless of whether or not that dream materializes, Campbell is just grateful for the opportunity.
“It feels amazing to be on another major show,” Campbell said. “I had the PBA60 major show with the Super Senior, and now this is my first chance to do it for PBA50. All I ever ask for is a chance, so this is pretty cool.”
For scores and information about the 2025 USBC Senior Masters, CLICK HERE.