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Tuesday, July 28, 1998
Senior bowler shows heart
Gene Stus, coming off heart surgery earlier this year, is after his third straight title in this week's Showboat Invitational.
By Royce Feour
Review-Journal
Gene Stus has overcome his third major heart surgery to become the hottest player on the Professional Bowlers Association Senior Tour.
Stus, of Allen Park, Mich., underwent heart surgery in January and has rebounded to win the last two tournaments, including last week's PBA Northwest Senior Classic in Beaverton, Ore.
"I had some health problems the last two or three years," said Stus, who led the first qualifying round Monday in the Showboat PBA Senior Invitational.
Stus, 58, had triple-bypass surgery when he was 35 and 45.
"I started having problems the end of last year," Stus said. "I could feel some of the same symptoms coming back."
The 6-foot-2 Stus said he was gaining weight because he couldn't exercise and was up to 270 pounds, 30 pounds above his normal weight.
He said he was examined by doctors and took various tests before his surgery.
"They used a gall bladder stent (larger than a normal heart stent) to clear some blockage," Stus said. "I wasn't going to be able to bowl (without the heart surgery)."
He said he was back bowling within a month and feels relatively good.
"It's not like I was 10 years ago," Stus said. "But it is a lot better than I was. I still get tired."
Stus rolled a 277 to defeat Mike Durbin (245), Ron Winger (213) and Dale Eagle (225) in a four-man shootout last week in Oregon to advance to the championship match, in which he beat top-seeded Steve Neff, 216-199.
Stus captured the Seattle PBA Senior Open on July 16. He defeated top-seeded John Hricsina 216-188 in the championship match after bowling a 257 in the shootout to beat Eagle (237), Sam Flanagan (206) and Pete Couture (198).
Stus said he is having his best year since 1992, when he won three tournaments and was the Senior PBA Player of the Year.
"After that, I went into a lull," he said. "I did OK, but the wins didn't come as often. But I was up there at least in the top 10."
Stus has 10 career Senior Tour victories, second all-time behind former Las Vegas resident John Handegard, who has 13.
Stus credits the improvement to a change in his approach from five steps to six steps.
"I was struggling and went to six steps," Stus said.
He started using the six-step approach in the final tournament of 1997, the Naples (Fla.) PBA Senior Open, which he won for his only victory of the year.
"That six steps got my timing in sync," he said. "It seemed to put everything in sync."
Stus is second on the 1998 money list with $21,595. Couture, of Titusville, Fla., has won $25,550 in five tournaments.
Stus is fifth in average with a 223.31. The average leader is Couture at 226.97.
Stus joined the PBA Senior Tour when he was 51 after retiring following a 32-year career with General Motors Corp.
"I always wanted to go on the tour," he said.
Stus made the 24-man match play in the first tournament he entered, reached the five-man championship round in the second tournament and won the third tournament.
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Gene Stus, shown in Monday's qualifying round at the Showboat, has had three heart surgeries yet is still competitive.
Photo by John Gurzinski.
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