The old saying “Patience is a Virtue,” is a characteristic that the 34 year old bowler from Charlestown, Rhode Island Jon Van Hees had to employ. The 11 year part-time PBA Tour competitor defeated Jason Sterner 202-176 to win the PBA Scorpion Championship last Sunday, and thus, Rhode Island’s first native to capture the title.

Van Hees won a title in his first national television appearance at the end of a string of 106 career tournaments. He survived a 209-191 battle with Lonnie Waliczek of Wichita, Kansas, in the semifinal round, and a couple of bad frames in the title match after building a nearly insurmountable lead.

Van Hees led Waliczek by 24 pins after seven frames before leaving the 4-6-7-9-10 "Greek church" and opening in the ninth frame. When Waliczek was unable to strike to close the gap, Van Hees threw three strikes in his 10th frame to seal a trip to the championship match.

He started with three spares and a string of four strikes to build a 49-pin lead over Sterner, but left a 7-10 split in the eighth frame and failed to convert the 2-4-5-8 in the ninth. However, Sterner wasn't able to close the gap, and the rest was history. Congratulations to Jon Van Hees!