Pro bowler wins Beehive Open

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2024 (511 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mitch Hupé, one of Canada’s most accomplished professional bowlers, was in top form Sunday.

The 29-year-old Winnipegger entered a Professional Bowlers Association regional tour event on a whim and walked away as the winner of the Beehive Open in Lehi, Utah, and a first-place cheque for US$2,400.

The two-time Pan Am Games silver medallist’s attendance at the event coincided with a business meeting. The PBA Tour member was visiting a sponsor, Storm Products Inc., a bowling ball and bowling-related accessories company headquartered in Brigham City, Utah.

“I just took some time off to drive to Utah to spend time at Storm and try some new equipment and work with some of the bowling ball reps,” said Hupé by phone Monday. “There just so happened to be a regional in that area and I decided to bowl.”

Hupé’s 227.67 average was comfortably in front of runner-up Michael Fitzgerald of Phoenix, who had a 217.84 average.

Hupé has been a member of the PBA since 2018. His first win on the regular PBA Tour was as a member of the Portland Lumberjacks team in 2019. He won his first PBA Tour title in 2023, with teammate Packy Hanrahan, at the Roth-Holman Doubles Championship.

Sunday’s regional event was a step below the regular PBA Tour, which runs annually from January until April.

“The idea behind regionals is for PBA members who are trying to get their feet wet and compete on a regional tour and maybe have success on the regional tour before they decide to try the national stops,” said Hupé, who won a regional event in 2018. “And it’s also just an opportunity for the national players such as myself to just maintain and still compete.”

Hupé, who also works as an IT specialist with the provincial government, captured silver medals in the men’s singles and doubles tenpin bowling at the Pan Am Games in November.

“It’s never easy to win,” said Hupé of Sunday’s result. “You have 100 people competing in an event and it’s tough to be the one to win. So the calibre’s a little bit lower. Being a touring player, I guess you have a little bit of an edge and your skills are a little sharper. You have a little bit more intimidation (factor).”

He’s planning to spend some time during the off-season working to improve his game.

“I had a decent season on the professional tour and I was ranked 32nd but I’m trying to break out of that,” said Hupé. “I’m trying to break into the top 10. So I took some time to go to Storm and I’m going back to Wichita, where I went to school, and network with some of the coaches and just taking a month or so just to really practise and seek out some help and try some new bowling balls.”

While visiting Utah, Hupé took a side trip to Las Vegas to be tutored by coaching guru Mike Jasnau.

“The tricky thing about being a professional is finding a good coach, a reputable coach, and it’s tough to find a coach who thinks that they can help a professional player or player with accolades like I have,” he said. “Sometimes they think that I know more than they do.”

Hupé hopes the extra work will translate into good results on the PBA Tour.

“I’m hoping for a national tour singles title next season,” said Hupé. “That’s kind of my goal and maybe a major (title). That would be that’d be quite something.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca