BUTTURFF WIN XTRA FRAME TITLE

Arizona’s Jakob Butturff Wins PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open Title

22-year-old lefthander wins first PBA Tour title by two pins over Houston’s Shawn Maldonado

LUBBOCK, Texas (June 26, 2016) – 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 Open at South Plains Lanes Sunday, nipping Houston’s Shawn Maldonado in the title match, 207-205.

Butturff, 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 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 PBA 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.

PBA XTRA FRAME LUBBOCK SPORTS OPEN

South Plains Lanes, Lubbock, Texas, Sunday

Final Standings

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.

Stepladder Results

Match One – Maldonado def. Pepe, 214-205.

Semifinal Match – Maldonado def. Jensen, 248-213.

Championship – Butturff def. Maldonado, 207-205.

Final Match Play Standings (after 22 games, including match play bonus pins)

1, Butturff, 5,240.
2, Maldonado, 5,104.

3, Jensen, 5,121.

4, Pepe, 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):

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.

n – denotes non-member