Urbana PBA pro Graham Fach enjoys the first place trophy after winning the 18th Annual Bowlerstore.com Classic Sunday at Pla-Mor Lanes in Coldwater. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Ten-year pro Graham Fach, from Urbana, was the model of patience and consistency Sunday to outlast the championship field of 32 and win his second PBA Bowlerstore.com Coldwater Classic crown.
Coldwater, OH – Ten-year PBA touring pro Graham Fach, from Urbana, Ohio, made history Sunday by winning the Bowlerstore.com Coldwater Classic at Pla-Mor Lanes.
History?
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You bet. Fach (pronounced FAH) averaged 218 for the tournament and bested Tampa’s Ethan Fiore Sunday afternoon, 217 to 213, to win the Coldwater Regional Tour tournament for a second time, becoming the first PBA professional to win at the notoriously tough Pla-Mor Lanes for a second time in the tournament’s 18 year history. He previously won it back in 2022, beating Australia’s Sam Cooley.
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“It was a very competitive field with some of the best bowlers in the world,” said Fach, afterwards. “So anytime I can come here and finish near, or on top of this kind of field is pretty special.”
Well, yeah, of course. But the manner in which Fach wins bowling tournaments is special in an of itself.
In a day of thoroughbred athletes in almost every sport Fach is the proverbial image of the ant versus the grasshopper. Let others bowl 300, or average 30 pins more, and Fach just keeps throwing balls in the pocket, getting three strikes here, four strikes there, and a clean game without an open frame. His consistency is his hallmark, and this weekend in Coldwater he quietly outlasted 21-year-old Ethan Fiore, from Tampa, for the title.
Fiore threw the lone 300 game of the tournament yesterday, owned the high average for the tournament (220), and yet Fach put enough pressure on him with that consistency that Fiore eventually had a critical open frame in the fourth frame of the deciding game and Fach took advantage to outscore him, 217 to 213, and take the title.
21-year-old Ethan Fiore led the tournament with a 220 overall average, but a critical open in the fourth frame of the deciding game opened the door for Graham Fach.
The tournament itself was highlighted by a lot of young and up-and-coming talents like Trae Henrichsmeyer, a Wichita State bowler who ignited to average 213 for the tournament and leapfrog veterans like Tom Smallwood and EJ Tackett to secure the #4 seed in the stepladder final round.
But head-to-head against Fach, young Henrichsmeyer cracked, opening three times in the game, and eventually lost to Fach by 59 pins, 243 to 184.
Fach then faced the #2-seed, and long-time professional AJ Johnson, from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who likewise had been a model of consistency for the tournament after winning the Delphos regional tournament earlier in the week. Johnson couldn’t buy a strike in the early going, Fach struck three of the first four frames to put pressure on the Wisconsin native, and eventually won the second final game, 223 to 171.
The championship match against the #1-seed Fiore was highly anticipated for Fiore’s brilliance at such an early age, and for the fact that twenty four hours earlier he had become one of just a handful of participants in the 18-year history of the tournament to bowl a perfect game.
“There’s been more 300s from locals and high school kids here than by the pros,” someone in the audience made the point Saturday, following Fiore’s gem. But after sitting and waiting for 30 minutes to bowl, Fiore seemed to lose some of his edge. Still, he opened with a pair of strikes.
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Fach answered with a pair of solid strikes, throwing down the gauntlet.
Fiore struck again on a thin hit, but then opened in the fourth with a rarely seen 3,4,7,6,10 split. It was the opening that Fach needed.
“Yeah, because these guys are all so good when something like that happens to a bowler as good as Ethan you have to make the most of it,” said Fach.
And he did.
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He bowled cleanly into the eighth when he opened himself, chopping a 6-7 spare, leaving the door open for Fiore.
But after throwing a strike in the ninth and on the first ball of the tenth, Fiore opened again with a 4-10 split. Needing just a strike in the tenth to finish it out, Fach threw it perfectly to cash out, 217-213, and to cash the winner’s check for $10,000.
“You never let your opponent get too comfortable,” smiled Fach. “Especially in a stepladder match. All of these guys are just too good. Ethan came out swinging, he was throwing some great shots, and of course I couldn’t back down so it forced me to get my game going to match.”
Fiore was awarded the second place check for $5,000 and recognized as the Brunswick Cup Winner for being the outstanding bowler over the three-tournament span covering Minster, Delphos, and Coldwater.
“Coldwater is always a tournament you circle on your calendar because it’s just so tough to come here and win,” said Fach. “It always feels good to come out on top at Coldwater.”
Even better when you make history!
The Hartings family with touranment winner Graham Fach, who previously won the title in 2022.
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