Sean Rash

Sean Rash
Born Sean Rash
(1982-08-22) August 22, 1982
Anchorage, Alaska
Occupation Ten-pin bowler
Years active 2005–present
Spouse(s) Sara Rash
Children 2

Sean Rash (born August 22, 1982) is a right-handed ten-pin bowler from Anchorage, Alaska, and is considered one of the top players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He currently owns 12 PBA titles, including two major championships, and was the 2011–12 PBA Player of the Year. Rash has rolled two of the PBA's 26 televised perfect 300 games, making him the only PBA player in history with multiple perfect games in the TV finals of a PBA Tour event. He also owns ten PBA Regional Tour titles. He now resides in Montgomery, Illinois with his wife Sara and their daughters Kaylee and Olivia. He is a member of the Brunswick and Vise Grips pro staffs.[1]

Before the PBA

Sean Rash was a highly accomplished bowler before turning pro. His amateur accomplishments included:

  • Junior Team USA member in 1998, 2002 and 2003.
  • Won 2002 Junior Olympic Gold Tournament
  • Team USA member in 2002, 2004 and 2005. Was part of the 2004 team that won the World Tenpin Team Cup in The Netherlands.
  • Two-time All-American at Wichita State University (2002 and 2003).
  • Won the 2003 International Bowling Congress (IBC) National Championship, and was runner-up for IBC Bowler of the Year.
  • Won the 2003 USBC Doubles Championship, where he and partner Derek Sapp established an all-time record for pinfall with 1,540 over six games (later broken in 2007 by Jonathan Masur and Jeffrey Butler shooting a 1,544).
  • Bowled as an amateur in the 2003 USBC Masters, his first-ever PBA Tour event, and finished seventh.

Rash also started a tournament in his native Alaska when he was just 13 years old. Frustrated by a lack of scratch tournaments for junior bowlers, he started his own: Sean Rash Stars of the Future. The tournament is in its 18th year as of 2012, and has awarded nearly $25,000 in scholarship money over the years.[2]

PBA career

Sean Rash throws a ball in a game with Area I Soldiers and civilians.

Rash joined the PBA in 2005. He holds the distinction of being the first PBA player to ever win a title when starting from the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR), which he accomplished in his rookie season at the 2006 West Virginia Championship. He won his first PBA major title at the 2007 USBC Masters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The win gave Rash four titles in his first four television appearances, and seven straight match wins on TV to open his career (one short of the record eight wins set by George Branham III). The streak ended when Rash lost to Norm Duke in the semi-final match of the 2008–09 season-opening PBA World Championship. Rash won the 2012 PBA Tournament of Champions for his first championship in five years, and second major title overall. Qualifying as the #1 seed, Rash beat Ryan Ciminelli in the final match 239–205.[3]

Rash led the 2011–12 PBA Tour in average, earnings and points. On May 28, 2012, the PBA announced that Rash had won the 2012 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award in an extremely close vote (Rash received 29% of the vote to Jason Belmonte's 26.6%).[4]

Sean won his sixth and seventh PBA Tour titles in the 2012–13 season, in the WBT Kuwait Open and WBT Thailand Open. He later won an additional $20,000 in the World Bowling Tour finals (contested at the 2013 World Series of Bowling), but this did not count as a PBA title. Sean was the top money winner on Tour for the 2012–13 season, with earnings of $248,317.[5]

In the finals of the PBA Wolf Open on May 24, 2014 (broadcast nationally on June 3, 2014), Sean rolled the PBA's 23rd televised 300 game in the opening match. He went on to win the tournament for his 8th PBA title.[6]

On February 15, 2015 Sean bowled a 300 game on ESPN while competing in the Barbasol Tournament of Champions in Indianapolis, Indiana, the 25th time a perfect game has been bowled in a televised PBA event. This, combined with his June 2014 perfect game, made him the only player in PBA history to have bowled two televised perfect games in PBA Tour events. He did not, however, go on to win the tournament.[7] On October 11, 2015, Rash bowled from the #1 seed position and defeated Hall of Famer Pete Weber in a single-game final to win the PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open for his ninth PBA title.[8]

Sean passed the $1 million mark in career PBA earnings during the 2015 season and stands at over $1.2 million in earnings through 2017. He has accumulated 28 perfect 300 games in PBA events to date (end of 2017 season).[1]

Rash won his 10th PBA title at the PBA Fall Swing Badger Open on September 10, 2016 in Allen Park, Michigan, defeating #1 qualifier Wes Malott in the final match.[9] One day later, Rash won his 11th title in the PBA Detroit Open, defeating top seed Jason Belmonte in the final match.[10]

As one of the top eight money leaders from the start of the 2015 season through the 2017 USBC Masters, Rash was invited to participate in the inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals in May, 2017. He placed sixth in the event.[11] On August 20, 2017, Rash won his 12th PBA Tour title at the Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic in Middletown, Delaware, defeating reigning PBA Player of the Year E. J. Tackett in the final match.[12]

PBA Titles

Major titles in boldface.

1. 2005–06 West Virginia Open (Parkersburg, WV)
2. 2006–07 Beltway Classic (Baltimore, MD)
3. 2006–07 Earl Anthony Medford Classic (Medford, OR)
4. 2007–08 USBC Masters (Milwaukee, WI)
5. 2011–12 PBA Tournament of Champions (Las Vegas, NV)
6. 2012–13 WBT Kuwait Open (Kuwait City)
7. 2012–13 WBT Thailand Open (Bangkok)
8. 2014 PBA Wolf Open (Shawnee, OK)
9. 2015 PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open (Council Bluffs, IA)
10. 2016 PBA Badger Open (Allen Park, MI)
11. 2016 PBA Detroit Open (Allen Park, MI)
12. 2017 Storm Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic (Middletown, DE)

Career statistics

Statistics are through the last complete PBA season.

SeasonEventsCashesMatch PlayCRA+PBA TitlesAverageEarnings ($)
2005–061912411214.2555,655
2006–0720201222221.2991,500
2007–0821201311217.96151,500
2008–0921211430218.1067,090
2009–1019161030217.6054,110
2010–111210720217.8164,930
2011–1213121071228.13140,250
2012–1330221172227.36248,317
20142017631221.4094,884
201526191131225.16101,690
201627181132219.3674,555
20172218521221.6574,787

+ CRA=Championship Round Appearances

Sources

References

  1. 1 2 "Sean Rash PBA bio". pba.com. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  2. ↑ Bragg, Beth (November 13, 2012). "After no off-season, Rash begins defense of PBA Player of Year title". adn.com.
  3. ↑ ToC Tournament Results at www.pba.com
  4. ↑ Vint, Bill (May 28, 2012). "Sean Rash Wins Closest PBA Player of the Year Contest in Years; Belmonte Second, Fagan Third". www.pba.com.
  5. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (January 17, 2014). "Australia's Jason Belmonte Named 2012–13 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year". pba.com.
  6. ↑ Vint, Bill (June 3, 2014). "Sean Rash Rolls 300 on His Way to Eighth Career Title in PBA Wolf Open to Kick Off PBA Summer Swing". pba.com. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ Vint, Bill (February 15, 2015). "Belmonte Repeats as Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions Winner; Rash Rolls Historic 300 Game". pba.com. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (October 11, 2015). "Sean Rash Wins PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open For Ninth Career Tour Title". pba.com. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (October 5, 2016). "Sean Rash Wins PBA Badger Open for Milestone 10th Career Title". pba.com. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  10. ↑ Schneider, Jerry (October 12, 2016). "Sean Rash Wins PBA Detroit Open for Back-to-Back Fall Swing Titles". pba.com. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  11. ↑ Vint, Bill (June 27, 2017). "Indiana's EJ Tackett Wins Inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals for Third 2017 Title". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  12. ↑ Vint, Bill (August 20, 2017). "Sean Rash Wins 12th Career Title in PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic". Retrieved August 21, 2017.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Australia Jason Belmonte		 Best Bowler ESPY Award
2012		 Succeeded by
United States Pete Weber
Preceded by
Finland Mika Koivuniemi		 PBA Player of the Year
2011-12		 Succeeded by
Australia Jason Belmonte
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