Sports

Rash wins 9th PBA title three days after dropping bowling ball on foot

On Saturday, Anchorage bowler Sean Rash tweeted his thanks to friends and fans who sent get-well wishes after he dropped a bowling ball on his foot. He included a photo of the foot, which showed a big ugly bruise on the big toe of his left foot.

"Good news is I didn't break or fracture it, just very sore and hard to walk but getting better," he wrote.

He had even better news the next day.

Rash, a Dimond High graduate, won his ninth career PBA title Sunday by beating Hall of Fame bowler Pete Weber in the championship match of the Iowa Midwest Open in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Rash defeated Weber 219-217, denying Weber his 38th career title.

Rash, 33, said on Facebook that he dropped a bowling ball on his foot last Thursday while unloading a ball bag from his car.

Tournament officials excused Rash from Friday night's pro-am so he could ice his foot, and in eight games Saturday he averaged 194 to finish second to Weber in qualifying.

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The next day, he won for the ninth time in a career that dates back to 2005. It was his first victory since the 2014 PBA Wolf Open.

"Fortunately, all I had to do was ice it down a lot so it got to a point where it was feeling well enough that I could bowl with not much problem," Rash said in a news release from the PBA.

"It was an emotional win for me for a number of reasons. First, I wasn't sure I'd be bowling this weekend. Then, having to bowl against one of the all-time greats for the title, and finally having won on my grandmother's birthday made this win very special."

Rash won $10,000 for the win. He has earned nearly $1.1 million in prize money since turning pro after a successful college career at Wichita State. He was the PBA's Player of the Year in 2011-12.

Weber, 53, has earned $3.4 million in a colorful career that began in 1979. Next week in Las Vegas, Rash and Weber will be partners in the doubles championships at the PBA Fall Classic.

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