Canadian bowler Graham Fach one of seven nominees for PBA Player of the Year

Graham Fach made history in 2016 at the Barbasol PBA Players Championship in Columbus, Ohio

In just his second career event — Fach finished 171st in his debut — he became the first Canadian to win on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.

It took the 33-year-old left-hander from Guelph, Ont., nine years to win again on tour.

Fach (pronounced fah) showed signs he was back last year when he finished 14th in points. And he opened this season by defeating top seed Jakob Butturff in the PBA Delaware Classic in late January to claim the US$30,000 top prize. Next time out, he was ninth at the U.S. Open.

And Fach did not slow down.

Fach finished the season ranking fourth in points (15,181) and sixth in earnings (US$147,925). In his 16 title events, he averaged 221.87 and scored five top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes.

He finished in the top 10 in three of the Tour’s five majors — the USBC Masters, PBA World Championship, PBA Players Championship, PBA Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open. Only E.J. Tackett had more with four.

As a result, the Canadian is one of seven bowlers nominated for the 2025 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award, which honours the late Hall of Fame sports broadcaster who was the voice of the PBA for more than three decades.

The other nominees are Tackett (who topped the season points list), Andrew Anderson (No. 2), Jason Belmonte (No. 3), Chris Via (No. 6), Jesper Svensson (No. 7) and Ethan Fiore (No. 8). The winner, from a vote of PBA members, will be announced later this week.

Tackett won the award for the second straight year — and third overall — in 2024.

Fach says the confidence gained by winning the season opener carried into the rest of the year.

“I felt like I was a threat every week as opposed to just some weeks,” he explained. “I just felt like every week could be my week. Even if I wasn’t at my best, I could still be a dangerous player.”

In June, he finished fourth in the prestigious PBA Tour Finals won by Anderson. Just getting to the tournament, the last event on the PBA’s national tour, is an accomplishment since the elite field is made up of the top eight bowlers over the last two seasons.

The lean years were not easy, however.

“The season is one week after the next and so it’s really hard to have a reset … It can definitely snowball in both good and bad ways,” he said. “This year it was definitely more of a good way. The momentum, kept going week to week.”

While the PBA national season is over, Fach is still on the move. He is currently in Suwon, South Korea, competing in the DSD Samho Korea Cup International Open Bowling Tournament, which offers a purse of 300 million won ($298,045) with 60 million ($59,610) going to the winner.

Flying isn’t easy when you’re a professional bowler.

During the season, with one event after another, Fach will travel with anywhere from 12 to 18 bowling balls — each weighing 15 pounds — if he drives.

When he flies, he may only take six balls and then have some more drilled at his destination. Three can fit into a bag and not go over the airline limit of 50 pounds. So he needs two bags, on top of his suitcase.

“It’s not an easy trek in an airport,” he lamented.

Using both hands, Fach first bowled when he was three — “even younger if you count fivepin.”

He earned a partial scholarship to Ohio’s Urbana University. Now married and a father of two, he continues to make his home in Urbana and practises at Southwest Bowling Center, the same bowling alley he used while at school.

“They actually gave me a key to the centre so I could practise morning, noon and night,” he said. “They taught me how to use all the machines. I’m very blessed with what I can do in terms of that.”

Other Canadians competing full-time on tour these days are Winnipeg’s Mitch Hupe, Quebec City’s Francois Lavoie, Zach Wilkins of Barrie, Ont., and Nathan Lajoie of Temiscouata-Sur-Le-Lac, Que.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2025.