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Marshall Kent wins PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open
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In a duel of past PBA Rookies of the Year, Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., ended a personal quest for his first PBA singles title in the U.S. Sunday, defeating EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., 233-194, in the PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open at South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday.
Kent (pictured above with proprietor Jimbo Evans, right), who won his only previous PBA Tour singles title in Saudi Arabia in 2014, locked out Tackett with a string of six strikes to finish the title match after Tackett struggled until the ninth and 10th frames to throw two strikes in a row.
“I had a game plan going in to do what I did all week, which basically meant making moves to the left and making good shots,” Kent (right) said. “It looks like I made enough good shots down the stretch to get the job done.
“I’m still trying to process the win,” he added. “It means the world. It’s been a long time. It feels unbelievable. I haven’t been bowling that well lately, so I spent 15 hours last week practicing, putting in the extra time to get ready.”
The Lubbock Sports Open were a showcase for the PBA’s youth movement. Tackett, PBA’s reigning Player of the Year and Lubbock’s top qualifier, was the oldest of three 24-year-olds in the stepladder field, just a few weeks older than Kent and fourth-place finisher AJ Johnson of Oswego, Ill. Third-place finisher Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., is 23. Tackett was PBA’s 2013 Rookie of the Year; Kent won that honor in 2014.
Kent kicked off the four-man stepladder finals with a string of six strikes on his way to a 259-228 victory over Johnson (left). He then took advantage of Butturff’s inability to carry strikes early in the semifinal match, posting a 222-217 victory to advance to the title match against Tackett, who helped Kent win his second PBA Tour title as Merica Rooster Illusion teammates in winning the PBA Team Challenge in Las Vegas last fall.
Butturff (right), the defending champion and the only left-hander among the top 16, made a big move during the six-game cashers round, averaging 259.5 behind games of 259, 258, 258, 234, 259 and 289 to charge out of 11th place into the lead heading into the eight-game match play round.
The Tempe, Ariz., resident held the lead until his final position round match where he lost to Tackett, 228-165, dropping to second place for the stepladder finals and eventually finishing third.
With his second-place finish, Tackett (left) took the lead in the Xtra Frame Storm Cup points race, picking up 19 points for a 53-point total to move ahead of previous leader Dom Barrett of England who finished in a tie for 28th, failing to add to his 46-point total.
Lubbock was the fourth event in the seven-tournament Xtra Frame Storm Cup series that will reward the top five points leaders with shares of a $50,000 bonus prize pool.
After a 13-day break, PBA’s 2017 Xtra Frame Tour continues June 24-25 with the “throwback” PBA Xtra Frame Billy Hardwick Memorial Open at Billy Hardwick’s All Star Lanes in Memphis, Tenn.
The tournament will allow each player to use only two limited-technology polyester plastic balls, more in the tradition of technology used by the late PBA Hall of Famer during the early years of the PBA.
All of the Memphis action will be streamed live on PBA’s Xtra Frame online bowling channel. For subscription and schedule information click here.
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2017 PBA Tour Schedule & Champions
PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open, presented by Ebonite
South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, USA (June 9-11, 2017)
Championship Round:
1, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 714 (3 games), $12,500
2, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 194 (1 game), $7,000
3, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 217 (1 game), $4,000
4, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., $2,500228 (1 game),
Playoff Results:
First Match: No. 4 Kent def. No. 3 Johnson, 259-228
Semifinal Match: Kent def. No. 2 Butturff, 222-217
Championship: Kent def. No. 1 Tackett, 233 -194
PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open – Final Match Play Standings
Players with position, hometown and 22-game totals, including match play bonus pins; n-denotes non-member.
1, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 7-1, 5,332
2, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 3-5, 5,279
3, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 5-3, 5,267
4, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 5-3, 5,253
Missed Cut:
5, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6-1-1, 5,242, $2,200
6, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 4-4, 5,240, $1,900
7, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 5-3, 5,186, $1,700
8, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 4-4, 5,154, $1,550
9, Kris Koeltzow, Wheat Ridge, Colo., 4-4, 5,148, $1,400
10, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2-6, 5,144, $1,300
11, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 5-3, 5,143, $1,250
12, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 5-3, 5,106, $1,200
13, Trevor Roberts, Crystal River, Fla., 3-5, 5,095, $1,150
14, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz, 3-5, 5,051, $1,100
15, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1-6-1, 5,000, $1,050
16, Sam Cooley, Australia, 1-7, 4,846, $1,000
Other Cashers (after 14 games):
17, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 3,131, $850
18, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,129, $840
19 (tie), Kris Prather, Milton, Fla., and
Francois Lavoie, Canada, 3,118, $825
21, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 3,109, $810
22 (tie), Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., and
Dylan Burns, Lawrence, Kan., 3,107, $795
24, n-Kyle Duster, Phoenix, Ariz., 3,104, $780
25, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 3,101, $770
26 (tie), DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, and
Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 3,100, $755
28 (tie), Dom Barrett, England, and
Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 3,065, $735
30, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 3,054, $720
31, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 3,047, $710
32, Tyson Branagan, Fort Worth, Texas, 3,033, $705
33, n-Peter Hellstrom, Sweden, 3,031, $700
34 (tie), Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, and
Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 3,023, $693
36, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,021, $685
37, Donald Davis Jr., W. Tawakoni, Texas, 3,006, $680
38, Stuart Williams, England, 3,000, $675
39, Lucas Legnani, Argentina, 2,998, $670
40, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 2,995, $665
41, n-Tyler Albracht, Amarillo, Texas, 2,978, $660
42, Humberto Vazquez, Mexico, 2,967, $655
43 (tie), Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, and
n-Trey Sledge, Amarillo, Texas, 2,962, $648
45, n-Sean Sadat, Houston, Texas, 2,932, $640
46, Isaac Russell, Malaysia, 2,909, $635
47, n-Nicholas Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 2,895, $630
48, n-Scotty Pope Jr., Odessa, Texas, 2,860, $625
49, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 2,857, $620
50, Kenneth Harlan, Lubbock, Texas, 2,810, $615
51, Jorge Gutierrez, Las Cruces, N.M., 2,784, $610
52, n-John Baeten, Topeka, Kan., 2,760, $605
53, Martin Bedford, Gasport New York, 2,752, $600
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Excitement grows for the 55th QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup By Paul Lane
-
Korea dominates Medal Tally as World Junior Championships conclude in Paris
-
Korea wins four out of five gold medals in the WJBC Arena Finals
-
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Korea and Mexico to bowl for the Team gold medal
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Korea, Singapore, Mexico and Finland advance to the Team semi-finals
