By Jef Goodger

Defeats top seed Tom Daugherty in championship match

Chesapeake, Va.—On his 39th birthday, Sean Rash claimed his 17th Guaranteed Rate PBA Tour title by winning the PBA Chesapeake Open at AMF Western Branch Lanes. Rash, the No. 2 seed, eliminated 20-time PBA Tour champion Tommy Jones in the semifinal match, then defeated top seed Tom Daugherty, who won two of his four career titles earlier this season, in the championship match.

Daugherty finished with a 212 game, forcing Rash to strike on his first shot in the 10th frame to have a chance. After a re-rack, Rash rolled the strike he needed, then fired his next shot down the middle to get enough count to make it official. Rash finished with a score of 228 to win his first title since the 2020 PBA Cheetah Championship.

The victory moves Rash out of a tie with Hall of Famer Jason Couch and into a tie with Hall of Famer Carmen Salvino in all-time titles. It also jumps Rash into seventh in the PBA Summer Tour points race, which will net him a share of the $40,000 bonus prize fund. With his second-place finish, Daugherty also moved inside the top 10, finishing one spot behind Rash in eighth.

Darren Tang, who won his first PBA Tour title last weekend in the PBA Bowlerstore.com Classic presented by Moxy’s Xtra Pair, finished seventh in Chesapeake to clinch the $20,000 bonus for leading the PBA Summer Tour points race. Tang finished in the top 12 in four of the five Summer Tour events to build a 35-point margin over runner-up Anthony Simonsen.

Tang entered the final event of the PBA Summer Tour with a 65-point lead over Simonsen, who finished sixth in Chesapeake, which was not enough to catch Tang. Simonsen will receive $7,000 for placing second.

PBA CHESAPEAKE OPEN FINAL STANDINGS

AMF Western Branch Lanes – Chesapeake, Va.

1. Sean Rash
2. Tom Daugherty
3. Tommy Jones
4. Ryan Ciminelli

MATCH SCORES

Match 1 – No. 4 Jones def. No. 3 Ciminelli, 250-202
Match 2 – No. 2 Rash def. No. 4 Jones, 248-216
Match 3 – No. 2 Rash def. No. 1 Daugherty, 228-212

View the full PBA Chesapeake Open standings.

PBA SUMMER TOUR POINTS FINAL STANDINGS

1. Darren Tang, 4,825 ($20,000)
2. Anthony Simonsen, 4,790 ($7,000)
3. Shawn Maldonado, 3,902.5 ($4,000)
4. EJ Tackett, 3,665 ($3,000)
5. Jakob Butturff, 3,175 ($1,000)
6. Tommy Jones, 3,132.5 ($1,000)
7. Sean Rash, 3,090 ($1,000)
8. Tom Daugherty, 3,072.5 ($1,000)
9. Matt Russo, 3,010 ($1,000)
10. Chris Via, 2,655 ($1,000)