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Space Invaders fan Troup falls to 8th
HUBBARD
Kyle Troup went from the top qualifier headed into Sunday’s final 16 of the PBA Hubbard Open to missing the stepladder portion.
Troup finished eighth and earned $775. He was sporting Space Invader trousers reminiscent of Guppy Troup, his father who was an outlandish bowling apparel pioneer.
As Troup devoured a vending-machine treat before departing for Taylorsville, N.C., he barely caught his breath, then sputtered the words, “I’ll be alright.”
But the momentary interruption wasn’t from the candy; instead, it was a reaction had a head cold he suffered through most of the weekend.
“There’s no excuse for today, I didn’t bowl well,” said the 22-year-old after his decline over a 12-game bloc.
“I missed several, several makeable spares,” he said. “My mental game wasn’t all the way focused.
“I had a good start, but ran into some bad ball reaction and made some bad shots. I changed hand positions the last game and learned something and ending up shooting 260.
“So I at least turned the day around a little bit and got into the top eight – not a bad finish.”
What of sliding from the No. 1 qualifier to finishing eight?
“That’s something new in my book,” Kyle said. “It never happened, but has now; it’s all part of the game.
“I’ll be back at it next week and the week after that,” he said of going back home to North Carolina for a non-PBA team challenge event in Rocky Mount.
After that, Troup will bowl in regionals in Indiana and Maryland.
Of Hubbard, Troup enjoyed the experience.
“I had a great time Friday in the pro-am — a lot of fun with a full house. They like the bowlers here. Saturday was a great day, but today wasn’t; still, it was a great weekend.”
His dad bowled in a senior event over the weekend in Virginia.
“I carry over the tradition,” Kyle said of wearing — like his dad — the outrageous pants. Kyle said he picked Space Invader because “they were the loudest pair on the website,”
Troup said of the John Daly Co. designs: “I thought they’d turn a few heads, so I might as well order them.”
He decided to wear the Space Invader pants because he wore them last week and was runner-up at a PBA regional in Pensacola, Fla.
The talent impressed onlookers, One Hubbard Open spectator, after glancing at tournament scoresheets, commented, “They shoot some big numbers.”
Bell-Wick co-host Francis Zitnik responded: “They’d throw two balls before one of mine hit the pins and returned.”