Kyle Troup wins 2024 U.S. Open for second career major
February 05, 2024
Stepladder Results | Final Results
INDIANAPOLIS – In what was one of the most stacked stepladders in recent memory, Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, came out on top during Sunday’s stepladder finals at Royal Pin Woodland on Sunday to claim his first U.S. Open title just one year after finishing runner-up to EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana.
“Mission accomplished,” said Troup after winning.
He defeated Tackett, Australia’s Jason Belmonte and tournament leader Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas during Sunday’s live telecast on FOX to capture the $100,000 top prize, the coveted green jacket and the U.S. Open trophy.
For Troup, the victory affirmed the benefit of maintaining a positive mindset.
“It makes me believe firmly into speaking things into the universe and sticking to my process,” Troup said. “My goal was to get better mentally every day, not worrying about bowling good, just trying to be the best version of myself.”
He did exactly that during Sunday’s stepladder finals, and he took down the Professional Bowlers Association Tour’s “Big Three” during consecutive matches while doing so with each game having the energy of a championship match.
Before Troup could begin his journey up the stepladder, he had to wait on the first match of the evening between Tackett and 2010 U.S. Open champion Bill O’Neill or Langhorne, Pennsylvania, who was looking to win his second straight major championship after kicking off his 2024 campaign with a win at the season-opening PBA Players Championship in Wichita, Kansas, on Jan. 15.
O’Neill started that match with the first six strikes while Tackett was unable to put his first strike on the board until frame four.
However, Tackett hung tough by putting up strike in frames four through seven while O’Neill opened in the seventh after leaving and missing the 1-2-4-6-10, cracking the door open for Tackett.
Back-to-back 4-pins by Tackett put the ball back in O’Neill’s hands, but another washout and open frame by O’Neill in the ninth gave Tackett another opportunity to shut out O’Neill in the 10th frame with a double and good count.
Tackett got the first strike, but a 3-4-6-7-9-10 split on the next shot meant that O’Neill could win the match with a double.
O’Neill struck on the first shot, but a ringing 10-pin on his next delivery ended his bid for a second straight major championship.
With the opening match completed, Troup took to the lanes and battled Tackett in another match that came down to the final frame.
The match was close throughout, and Tackett stepped up for his 10th frame with the opportunity to strike out to force Troup to get the first strike to move on.
After securing the first strike, Tackett’s second shot left a 3-6-10, meaning that Troup just needed any mark to move on
His spare of the 6-10 did just that, ending Tackett’s chances at becoming the U.S. Open’s first repeat champion since United States Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer Dave Husted accomplished the feat in 1995 and 1996.
Troup’s next opponent was Belmonte, the PBA Tour’s all-time record holder in major championship victories with 15.
Nevertheless, the match didn’t produce the drama that the capacity crowd anticipated as Troup never lost control Belmonte started the game with a 10-pin that he missed and was unable to find a groove, splitting another three times en route to a final score of 157.
Troup, meanwhile, kept things clean and posted 229 to advance to the championship match and move just one game away from winning his first U.S. Open title.
However, with his opponent for that game being Simonsen, who led the 2024 U.S. Open since Round 3 of qualifying, Troup appeared to still have his work cut out for him.
Simonsen entered the match looking to win his sixth major championship and become the youngest to reach that number of majors at only 27 years old.
But similar to the Belmonte-Troup match, Simonsen started the game with two splits and was in a hole early. Troup, on the other hand, went turkey, spare, spare, turkey through eight frames to take a commanding lead.
Simonsen did his best to mount a comeback, but a 10-pin in the eighth frame all but ended his hopes of capturing his second U.S. Open title – he won the 2022 event, which also was hosted at Royal Pin Woodland.
When the final shots had been thrown, Troup came out on the winning end of a 223-181 decision.
With the win, Troup had finally won a U.S. Open, which is something his father Guppy Troup, who won eight titles of his own on the PBA Tour, was never able to do.
Guppy Troup, who was in the audience to watch Kyle hoist the trophy on Sunday, had a runner-up finish at the 1984 U.S. Open.
Kyle was happy to be able to claim bragging rights, but he was quick to point out that it’s all in good fun.
“It’s another notch on my belt compared to his, but we have some family fun with that,” Kyle Troup said. “He’s going to remember this day forever; it’s a U.S. Open win for the Troup family. I love them; their support really pushes me.”
This year’s field of 108 bowlers at Royal Pin Woodland was made up of the sport’s top performers in recent seasons. It included the leaders on the PBA Tour points list, Team USA and Junior Team members, top performers at USBC events and PBA majors and those who advanced from an on-site pre-tournament qualifier last weekend.
The 2024 U.S. Open was a collaborative effort between the USBC and BPAA. The total prize fund for the event exceeded $275,000.
For more information about the U.S. Open, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.
INDIANAPOLIS – In what was one of the most stacked stepladders in recent memory, Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, North Carolina, came out on top during Sunday’s stepladder finals at Royal Pin Woodland on Sunday to claim his first U.S. Open title just one year after finishing runner-up to EJ Tackett of Ossian, Indiana.
“Mission accomplished,” said Troup after winning.
He defeated Tackett, Australia’s Jason Belmonte and tournament leader Anthony Simonsen of Las Vegas during Sunday’s live telecast on FOX to capture the $100,000 top prize, the coveted green jacket and the U.S. Open trophy.
For Troup, the victory affirmed the benefit of maintaining a positive mindset.
“It makes me believe firmly into speaking things into the universe and sticking to my process,” Troup said. “My goal was to get better mentally every day, not worrying about bowling good, just trying to be the best version of myself.”
He did exactly that during Sunday’s stepladder finals, and he took down the Professional Bowlers Association Tour’s “Big Three” during consecutive matches while doing so with each game having the energy of a championship match.
Before Troup could begin his journey up the stepladder, he had to wait on the first match of the evening between Tackett and 2010 U.S. Open champion Bill O’Neill or Langhorne, Pennsylvania, who was looking to win his second straight major championship after kicking off his 2024 campaign with a win at the season-opening PBA Players Championship in Wichita, Kansas, on Jan. 15.
O’Neill started that match with the first six strikes while Tackett was unable to put his first strike on the board until frame four.
However, Tackett hung tough by putting up strike in frames four through seven while O’Neill opened in the seventh after leaving and missing the 1-2-4-6-10, cracking the door open for Tackett.
Back-to-back 4-pins by Tackett put the ball back in O’Neill’s hands, but another washout and open frame by O’Neill in the ninth gave Tackett another opportunity to shut out O’Neill in the 10th frame with a double and good count.
Tackett got the first strike, but a 3-4-6-7-9-10 split on the next shot meant that O’Neill could win the match with a double.
O’Neill struck on the first shot, but a ringing 10-pin on his next delivery ended his bid for a second straight major championship.
With the opening match completed, Troup took to the lanes and battled Tackett in another match that came down to the final frame.
The match was close throughout, and Tackett stepped up for his 10th frame with the opportunity to strike out to force Troup to get the first strike to move on.
After securing the first strike, Tackett’s second shot left a 3-6-10, meaning that Troup just needed any mark to move on
His spare of the 6-10 did just that, ending Tackett’s chances at becoming the U.S. Open’s first repeat champion since United States Bowling Congress and PBA Hall of Famer Dave Husted accomplished the feat in 1995 and 1996.
Troup’s next opponent was Belmonte, the PBA Tour’s all-time record holder in major championship victories with 15.
Nevertheless, the match didn’t produce the drama that the capacity crowd anticipated as Troup never lost control Belmonte started the game with a 10-pin that he missed and was unable to find a groove, splitting another three times en route to a final score of 157.
Troup, meanwhile, kept things clean and posted 229 to advance to the championship match and move just one game away from winning his first U.S. Open title.
However, with his opponent for that game being Simonsen, who led the 2024 U.S. Open since Round 3 of qualifying, Troup appeared to still have his work cut out for him.
Simonsen entered the match looking to win his sixth major championship and become the youngest to reach that number of majors at only 27 years old.
But similar to the Belmonte-Troup match, Simonsen started the game with two splits and was in a hole early. Troup, on the other hand, went turkey, spare, spare, turkey through eight frames to take a commanding lead.
Simonsen did his best to mount a comeback, but a 10-pin in the eighth frame all but ended his hopes of capturing his second U.S. Open title – he won the 2022 event, which also was hosted at Royal Pin Woodland.
When the final shots had been thrown, Troup came out on the winning end of a 223-181 decision.
With the win, Troup had finally won a U.S. Open, which is something his father Guppy Troup, who won eight titles of his own on the PBA Tour, was never able to do.
Guppy Troup, who was in the audience to watch Kyle hoist the trophy on Sunday, had a runner-up finish at the 1984 U.S. Open.
Kyle was happy to be able to claim bragging rights, but he was quick to point out that it’s all in good fun.
“It’s another notch on my belt compared to his, but we have some family fun with that,” Kyle Troup said. “He’s going to remember this day forever; it’s a U.S. Open win for the Troup family. I love them; their support really pushes me.”
This year’s field of 108 bowlers at Royal Pin Woodland was made up of the sport’s top performers in recent seasons. It included the leaders on the PBA Tour points list, Team USA and Junior Team members, top performers at USBC events and PBA majors and those who advanced from an on-site pre-tournament qualifier last weekend.
The 2024 U.S. Open was a collaborative effort between the USBC and BPAA. The total prize fund for the event exceeded $275,000.
For more information about the U.S. Open, visit BOWL.com/USOpen.