Jakob Butturff wins his first PBA title in Lubbock, Texas

27 June, 2016

PBA National Tour

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Jakob Butturff, a 22-year-old lefthander who won’t complete his first full year of Professional Bowlers Association competition until next month, won the PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Southwest Open at South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, Sunday, nipping Houston’s Shawn Maldonado in the title match, 207-205.

Butturff (pictured with proprietor Jimbo Evans, right), who has an unorthodox delivery that generates significant strike power, used a late double to pull even with Maldonado, and then struck on his fill ball in the 10th frame to force the Houston two-handed player to double for the win.

Maldonado’s (right) bid for his first PBA Tour title ended when the 4 pin stood on his try for a second strike in the 10th.

“I’m feeling great for once,” Butturff said. “Winning that first title feels great. We were basically going at the same pace in the title match, but eventually, my fill shot in the 10th was the whole thing.”

Butturff, who finished fourth in the PBA Viper Championship and fifth in the PBA Chameleon Championship during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII in December in Reno, earned $20,000 for his first title.

He rolled into the lead with a 6-2 match play record and some keen observations.

“I was watching Gary Faulkner Jr. bowl for a couple of games and I tried to stay in the same zone he was in, and that was most successful for me,” Butturff said. “I tried that (Saturday) and it worked, so I did it again today, and it worked out perfectly.”

Faulkner, also a lefthander, won the 2015 PBA World Championship in Reno.

Butturff also was well aware of the success a couple of other young players have had in PBA competition earlier in the year. Sweden’s Jesper Svensson became the youngest player ever to win the FireLake Tournament of Champions at age 20 in February, and 19-year-old Anthony Simonson of Princeton, Texas, became the youngest ever to win a PBA major title in the USBC Masters.

“I just wanted to go out and prove I could compete with some of the best,” Butturff said. “I wanted to keep up with Jesper and Anthony, and prove the young guns can win out here on tour.”

All rounds of the Lubbock Sports Open were video-streamed live on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. The Lubbock tournament was the fourth in a series of 10 Xtra Frame PBA Tour events that will pay the overall competition points winner a $10,000 bonus.

The next event in the XF series will be the PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles at Bowl on Bellaire in Houston, Texas, July 28-31.

Anthony Simonsen leads PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Southwest Open qualifying
2016 PBA Tour Schedule & Champions

PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Southwest Open

South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, USA (June 24-26, 2016)

Championship Round:
1, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., $20,000
2, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, Texas, $11,000
3, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, $6,000
4, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., $3,000

Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 3 Jensen def. No. 4 Pepe, 214-205
Semifinal Match: No. 2 Maldonado def. Jensen, 248-213
Championship: No. 1 Butturff def. Maldonado, 207-205

Final Match Play Standings

(after 22 games, including match play bonus pins)
1, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 5,240
2, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, Texas, 5,104
3, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 5,121
4, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 5,074

5, Dylan Burns, Lawrence, Kan., 5,072, $2,200
6, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 5,030, $1,500
7, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 5,018, $1,300
8, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 5,014, $1,200
9, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 4,991, $1,100
10, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 4,984, $1,000
11, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4,967, $950
12, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 4,953, $900
13, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 4,950, $850
14, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 4,946, $800
15, Kris Prather, Milton, Fla., 4,878, $750
16, Stuart Williams, England, 4,736, $725

Other Cashers:
(after 14 games, n-denotes non-member)
17, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 3,084, $630
18, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 3,069, $620
19, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,068, $610
20, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 3,057, $640
21, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 3,056, $595
22, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,051, $585
23 (tie) Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., and Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 3,047, $577.50
25, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 3,046, $570
26, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3,042, $565
27, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,032, $560
28, Anthony Colosimo, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 3,030, $555
29, Dom Barrett, England, 3,025, $550
30, n-Tyler Albracht, Amarillo, Texas, 3,024, $545
31, n-Austin Boulds, Creal Springs, Ill., 3,021, $540
32, n-Tyson Branagan, Euless, Texas, 3,017, $535
33, Jason Duran, Littleton, Colo., 3,014, $530
34, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 3,008, $525
35, A.J. Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,988, $525
36, n-Stefan Wood, Lubbock, Texas, 2,981, $520
37, n-Thomas Peters, Belleville, Ill., 2,956, $520
38, Francois Lavoie, Wichita, Kan., 2,947, $520
39, Joe Findling, Mesquite, Texas, 2,932, $515
40, n-Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 2,929, $515
41, Kris Koeltzow, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 2,914, $515
42, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,907, $510
43, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 2,875, $510
44, n-Marshal Morrison, Amarillo, Texas, 2,870, $510
45, n-Trey Sledge, Amarillo, Texas, 2,867, $505
46, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 2,865, $505
47, James Grago, Rome, N.Y., 2,850, $505
48, Benjamin Canfield, Tempe, Ariz., 2,839, $500
49, n-John Pierce, Denton, Texas, 2,827, $500
50, Stephen Keblish, Oklahoma City, Okla., 2,702, $500.