CORTEZ SCHENCK WINS THE 2023 HARRY GOLDEN PBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
DECEMBER 7, 2023 NOLAN HUGHES
Schenck graduates from an exemplary youth and amateur career to earn the PBA’s top rookie honor
Story And Photo From PBA.Com.
Phoenix - - - After leading all rookies on the 2023 PBA Tour in points, earnings and average, Phoenix’s Cortez Schenck has been named the 2023 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year.
Schenck received 55.3% of the votes from PBA members and the media. Andrew Hall finished second with 16.1% of votes, followed by Dallas Leong, Ramsey Basurto and Nate Stubler.
“I’m super honored and happy to win the award. That was the goal going into the season,” Schenck said. “I have high respect for a lot of the rookies that were out there this year. There were a lot of really good bowlers that I’ve bowled against throughout the years. I know it was not easy for me, so I can imagine it was a mental grind for a lot of us.”
Schenck, 24, started the season slow as he struggled to crack the main field from the pre-tournament qualifiers. He said he got inside his own head as he struggled to meet lofty internal and external expectations.
“I just wasn't trusting myself,” Schenck said. “I was pressing really hard just because I had higher expectations than what was happening. I couldn’t give myself an opportunity to showcase anything or show myself what I can do.”
As a youth player, Schenck won the 2013 U15 Junior Gold Championships and a record 99 Junior Bowlers Tour (JBT) titles across the southwestern U.S.
Schenck won nine gold medals across six years as a member Junior Team USA (2016-2021). He also made Team USA in 2018 after winning that year’s U.S. Amateur title, defeating 2021 PBA Rookie of the Year Matt Russo in the final match.
During the USBC Masters at the end of March, Schenck said his girlfriend and two other friends visited from back home in Arizona. Their visit changed the trajectory of his rookie season.
“It brought me back to reality and loosened me up,” Schenck said. “It reminded me that there were only a few tournaments left and to just do the best that I could. It felt like it couldn’t get much worse and I had nothing to lose.”
Over his final four tournaments, Schenck notched three top-25 finishes, including a season-high finish of 10th in the Roth/Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by Bally's Dover Casino Resort with Michael Fitzgerald.