Daugherty wins 2025 USBC Senior Masters in Las Vegas
June 08, 2025
Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida, poses with the trophy after winning the 2025 USBC Senior Masters at Sam's Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas. The victory gave the 50-year-old right-hander his first PBA50 title and major.
FINAL RESULTS
BRACKETS
QUALIFYING STANDINGS
LAS VEGAS – In late February, Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida, became eligible to bowl events on the Professional Bowlers Association’s PBA50 Tour, which is reserved for athletes age 50 and older.
Despite still actively competing on the PBA Tour, where he is a four-time titlist and major champion, Daugherty decided he’d begin bowling some PBA50 events as well, figuring that more opportunities to compete would mean more opportunities to win and bolster his resume for eventual consideration for the PBA and United States Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.
That decision certainly seems to have been a good one as the 50-year-old right-hander won the 2025 USBC Senior Masters at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Sunday to collect his first PBA50 win and major.
Daugherty achieved the feat thanks to a 233-185 win over USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, who qualified second for the stepladder finals and earned his berth in the title match after defeating No. 4 seed Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, 247-232 during the semifinal match.
Koivuniemi, who also is in both the USBC and PBA Halls of Fame, kicked off Sunday’s stepladder with victories over 2025 USBC Super Senior Classic champion James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee, 249-204, and No. 3 seed Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas, 268-249, before falling to Bohn in Match 3.
The win earned Daugherty the Senior Masters trophy and the event’s $20,000 first-place prize. It also put him into early consideration for PBA50 Player of the Year honors and moved him one step closer to the hall of fame.
Bohn’s runner-up finish netted him $12,000. Koivuniemi earned $9,000 for finishing third while Franklin and Campbell took home $7,500 and $6,000, respectively.
But Sunday’s win was about much more than prize money for Daugherty. In part, it was about redemption.
“The last event I bowled was a major, and I missed the top five by three pins, and it was completely my fault,” Daugherty said. “After that, I came to this event with a different mental gameplan, and it seemed to work out a little bit.”
That may be the understatement of the year as Daugherty didn’t just win this year’s Senior Masters, he dominated the event.
The powerful righty averaged just under 244 and authored the second-highest qualifying total in the 310-player field, finishing second only to Bohn, who placed first after breaking both the tournament’s 10 and 15 game qualifying scoring records.
It was Daugherty who stood alone on top after the completion of match play, however, as he was the only athlete in the 64-player Senior Masters bracket to post a perfect 6-0 record.
The final victory during that stretch was a win over Bohn during the battle to determine the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals. Because Daugherty came out on top, it meant that he’d have to be beaten twice on Sunday in order to be denied the title.
Daugherty spoke highly of that advantage on Saturday evening; nevertheless, once the championship match began on Sunday, he had no desire to use it.
“My mindset kind of changed during the middle of the game when Parker (Bohn) was struggling,” Daugherty said. “I didn’t really have the advantage with how the lanes were breaking down like I thought I might, so I knew that was my chance to win. I told myself ‘this is the game; I have to win this one.’ He was giving me an opportunity, and I had to take it.”
That opportunity arose due to Bohn’s struggle with pin carry.
The 61-year-old left-hander threw more strikes than just about everyone at Sam’s Town from Tuesday through the semifinal match on Sunday, but that all changed during the title tilt with Daugherty when Bohn only managed to get all 10 pins to fall four times.
Daugherty, on the other hand, struck eight times, including a five-bagger in frames three through seven that allowed him to have the match all but sewn up with three frames to go.
Despite coasting to the finish line, Daugherty had a bit of trouble at the start of the final match as his first shot was a Brooklyn strike and his second resulted in a pocket 7-10; nevertheless, Daugherty wasn’t shaken.
“I think that was my first pocket 7-10 of the week, and it was a bad time for it, but I felt confident in my ball reaction,” Daugherty said. “I think some of that was just nerves, but I made those two mistakes, got them out of the way early and then threw some pretty good shots after that.”
He most certainly did, and that allowed him to reach the winner’s circle and get to experience what it feels like to win a major title once again. According to Daugherty, it’s a feeling that never gets old.
“We’re out here to bowl the majors; those are the ones that mean the most to us,” Daugherty said. “Also, it’s nice to have a USBC title because they treat their champions really well and celebrate them in the years to come. I’m out here trying to win player of the year and possibly get myself on Senior Team USA, and this is going to go a long way for that. This is great.”
The 2025 Senior Masters started on Tuesday with 310 athletes completing three five-game qualifying blocks to determine the top 64 players in the double-elimination bracket. All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder featured a three-game total-pinfall format.
All rounds of competition at the 2025 Senior Masters were streamed live on BowlTV.
The PBA50 Tour is now headed to Greeley, Colorado, for the PBA Senior U.S. Open. Competition begins June 11 and, like the Senior Masters, BowlTV will provide live coverage of the event from start to finish.
For scores and information about the 2025 USBC Senior Masters, visit CLICK HERE.
FINAL RESULTS
BRACKETS
QUALIFYING STANDINGS
LAS VEGAS – In late February, Tom Daugherty of Riverview, Florida, became eligible to bowl events on the Professional Bowlers Association’s PBA50 Tour, which is reserved for athletes age 50 and older.
Despite still actively competing on the PBA Tour, where he is a four-time titlist and major champion, Daugherty decided he’d begin bowling some PBA50 events as well, figuring that more opportunities to compete would mean more opportunities to win and bolster his resume for eventual consideration for the PBA and United States Bowling Congress Halls of Fame.
That decision certainly seems to have been a good one as the 50-year-old right-hander won the 2025 USBC Senior Masters at Sam’s Town Bowling Center in Las Vegas on Sunday to collect his first PBA50 win and major.
Daugherty achieved the feat thanks to a 233-185 win over USBC and PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III of Jackson, New Jersey, who qualified second for the stepladder finals and earned his berth in the title match after defeating No. 4 seed Mika Koivuniemi of Traverse City, Michigan, 247-232 during the semifinal match.
Koivuniemi, who also is in both the USBC and PBA Halls of Fame, kicked off Sunday’s stepladder with victories over 2025 USBC Super Senior Classic champion James Campbell of Loudon, Tennessee, 249-204, and No. 3 seed Anthony Franklin of Frisco, Texas, 268-249, before falling to Bohn in Match 3.
The win earned Daugherty the Senior Masters trophy and the event’s $20,000 first-place prize. It also put him into early consideration for PBA50 Player of the Year honors and moved him one step closer to the hall of fame.
Bohn’s runner-up finish netted him $12,000. Koivuniemi earned $9,000 for finishing third while Franklin and Campbell took home $7,500 and $6,000, respectively.
But Sunday’s win was about much more than prize money for Daugherty. In part, it was about redemption.
“The last event I bowled was a major, and I missed the top five by three pins, and it was completely my fault,” Daugherty said. “After that, I came to this event with a different mental gameplan, and it seemed to work out a little bit.”
That may be the understatement of the year as Daugherty didn’t just win this year’s Senior Masters, he dominated the event.
The powerful righty averaged just under 244 and authored the second-highest qualifying total in the 310-player field, finishing second only to Bohn, who placed first after breaking both the tournament’s 10 and 15 game qualifying scoring records.
It was Daugherty who stood alone on top after the completion of match play, however, as he was the only athlete in the 64-player Senior Masters bracket to post a perfect 6-0 record.
The final victory during that stretch was a win over Bohn during the battle to determine the top seed for Sunday’s stepladder finals. Because Daugherty came out on top, it meant that he’d have to be beaten twice on Sunday in order to be denied the title.
Daugherty spoke highly of that advantage on Saturday evening; nevertheless, once the championship match began on Sunday, he had no desire to use it.
“My mindset kind of changed during the middle of the game when Parker (Bohn) was struggling,” Daugherty said. “I didn’t really have the advantage with how the lanes were breaking down like I thought I might, so I knew that was my chance to win. I told myself ‘this is the game; I have to win this one.’ He was giving me an opportunity, and I had to take it.”
That opportunity arose due to Bohn’s struggle with pin carry.
The 61-year-old left-hander threw more strikes than just about everyone at Sam’s Town from Tuesday through the semifinal match on Sunday, but that all changed during the title tilt with Daugherty when Bohn only managed to get all 10 pins to fall four times.
Daugherty, on the other hand, struck eight times, including a five-bagger in frames three through seven that allowed him to have the match all but sewn up with three frames to go.
Despite coasting to the finish line, Daugherty had a bit of trouble at the start of the final match as his first shot was a Brooklyn strike and his second resulted in a pocket 7-10; nevertheless, Daugherty wasn’t shaken.
“I think that was my first pocket 7-10 of the week, and it was a bad time for it, but I felt confident in my ball reaction,” Daugherty said. “I think some of that was just nerves, but I made those two mistakes, got them out of the way early and then threw some pretty good shots after that.”
He most certainly did, and that allowed him to reach the winner’s circle and get to experience what it feels like to win a major title once again. According to Daugherty, it’s a feeling that never gets old.
“We’re out here to bowl the majors; those are the ones that mean the most to us,” Daugherty said. “Also, it’s nice to have a USBC title because they treat their champions really well and celebrate them in the years to come. I’m out here trying to win player of the year and possibly get myself on Senior Team USA, and this is going to go a long way for that. This is great.”
The 2025 Senior Masters started on Tuesday with 310 athletes completing three five-game qualifying blocks to determine the top 64 players in the double-elimination bracket. All bracket matches leading up to the stepladder featured a three-game total-pinfall format.
All rounds of competition at the 2025 Senior Masters were streamed live on BowlTV.
The PBA50 Tour is now headed to Greeley, Colorado, for the PBA Senior U.S. Open. Competition begins June 11 and, like the Senior Masters, BowlTV will provide live coverage of the event from start to finish.
For scores and information about the 2025 USBC Senior Masters, visit CLICK HERE.