Jason Couch Earns Redemption At PBA50 Monacelli Championship
Lakeville, Minnesota – After what he describes as a disappointing performance in the second half of his title match Saturday at the 2026 PBA50 Ballard Championship, Jason Couch was seeking redemption on Sunday. Again, as the top seed - this time at the Monacelli Championship - the PBA Hall of Fame left-hander put it all on the line against Jack Jurek.
“I gave it all I had and if it wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t good enough. I felt like I had bowled an unbelievable game,” Couch said. “If he was going to step up there and win, good for him, but I gave it all I had.”
After striking in the sixth through eighth frames, Couch then picked up a 6-pin before doubling in the 10th to post a score of 246. He took a seat as Jurek stepped up in the 10th working on five straight strikes. Needing to double for the win, Jurek’s shot drifted to the right resulting in the 2-8 combination. He made the spare and said, “This tour deserves to be on TV, and I hope they realize it.” Jurek then aced his final shot for 238 as Couch yelled out, “Redemption.”
“It was definitely an emotional win for my dad, myself and my wife. Just a proud moment overall,” Couch said, about winning on Mother’s Day. “It gets tougher every year to put in the effort that I do. I have contemplated retiring just because it is so hard to put in the effort before we come out and bowl. All of the hard work I have done definitely paid off this week.”
With his fourth PBA50 title, Couch has now won a senior title in three straight seasons. And he can’t wait to get back out on the lanes competing the rest of the year.
“I think I have a leg up now in the Player of the Year race, so we will see how it works out for the rest of the year,” Couch said. “I am going to skip the U.S. Open because my daughter is graduating from high school. Other than that, I am bowling everything else.”
Couch added, “It was great to be back on national television. I hope they understand how good we actually are as senior bowlers and hopefully it leads to something that maybe we can bowl in the future.”
After finishing second, first, 19th and sixth during this World Series of Bowling IV, Couch is thrilled by his results.
“Going into it, I was so down on myself for the way I had been performing. To come away with four checks, I would have never expected to bowl this good coming into the event,” Couch said. “Just an awesome event for me and I couldn’t be more elated about the whole deal. It just feels great.”
In the opening match, Jurek faced No. 2 seed Bill Rowe. They each started strike, spare, strike, spare. Rowe struck in the fifth then missed a spare, while Jurek got a spare in the fifth before leaving the 4-6-7-10 split for an open frame. Jurek responded with a strike then a key ball change led to a double.
Rowe came back with spare, strike then spare before rolling a double followed by a 10-pin for 197. After a spare in the ninth frame, Jurek stepped up with a strike then tripped the 4-pin for a big double and got nine on his final shot for 200.
Up next for the PBA50 is the Petraglia Championship at 6 p.m. Eastern Monday on CBS Sports Network. Number two seed Ron Hurt will face Andres Gomez in the first match. The winner will advance to take on PBA Hall of Famer Tom Hess in the title match.
The final event of the WSOB IV is the World Championship scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, also live on CBS Sports Network.
PBA50 Monacelli Championship Final Standings:
- Jason Couch $10,000
- Jack Jurek $5,000
- Bill Rowe $3,000
MATCH SCORES:
Match 1: Jurek def. Rowe 200-197
Championship match: Couch def. Jurek 246-238
More information on the WSOB IV is available here.