Chicago area bowler gets shot at PBA Tour win close to home after career breakthrough
CHICAGO (CBS) – The best bowlers in the world are in the area as the PBA Tour makes a stop in Mount Prospect.
One local professional will try to win one for the hometown fans.
It's the first time the PBA Tour has made a stop in the Chicago area since an event in Aurora in 2019. That made for a unique opportunity for Oswego native AJ Johnson. He spoke to CBS 2 about bowling close to home, his recent breakthrough victory, and more.
Johnson's love of bowling started at a very young age for a pretty simple reason.
"I always watched my dad bowl, and I loved the fact that you could throw something at objects and knock them all down and hit stuff, and then it comes right back, and you get to do it all over again," he said.
The Oswego native gets a chance to compete against the best bowlers in the world close to home in the PBA Illinois Classic in Mount Prospect.
"I mean, it's absolutely amazing," he said. "It's just so cool being able to bowl a professional event near my hometown. It's really, I guess, tough to bowl in your home state because you want to do so well in front of your family and friends and people that come out to support you, but I also thrive on that."
Johnson has dealt with some time times as a professional. For eight years on the PBA Tour, he went through what he called "the grindest of grinds." That included bowling upwards of 40 games each tournament through multiple rounds of qualifying without getting rewarded with a victory.
"After a while, it takes a toll on you," he said. "It did. It took a toll on me for a little while, and getting to certain points in my career where I thought about throwing the towel in and being done."
Last September, Johnson finally broke through with his first PBA Tour win, which hit him a little differently than he expected.
"I've never been one of those players to say, like, it's just that sense of relief because I've always thought that once you get to that point, there's more work to be done," he said. "But there was a sense of relief. At the time, I didn't even really know that I had gotten it. I turned around and looked at my girlfriend, and I said 'Did I just win? Is it over?' And then everything just came out of me."
Johnson was clear that he's not complacent after getting that first victory and it appeared to have rejuvenated his love for the sport.
"I get to play a sport for a living, and I get to compete for a living, which is what I've been doing since I was a kid," he said. "I've loved being able to travel. I've gotten to go, I think, now 19 or 20 different countries because of bowling. I've gotten to meet some really cool people, met my girlfriend through this sport. It's been very rewarding, and sometimes I just need to make sure I remind myself of that."
Johnson is still the same kid throwing something at objects and, most of the time, knocking them all down.
He credited his work with sports psychologist Brian Cain for helping him get his first win. Johnson will have a shot at his second win on Saturday night.
Johnson made it through all the qualifying rounds this week to be one of the five finalists competing for the PBA Illinois Classic title.