Jakob Butturff Wins PBA Lubbock Sports Shootout for Seventh Career Title, Early USBC Cup Points Lead
LUBBOCK, Texas – Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Arizona, returned to the site of his first PBA Tour victory Sunday and defeated top qualifier Stuart Williams of England, 194-188, to win his seventh career title and third of the 2019 season in the PBA Lubbock Sports Shootout presented by Ebonite at South Plains Lanes Sunday.
In winning the kickoff event in the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Summer Tour series, Butturff automatically became the early leader in the USBC Cup points race that is part of the summer series.
Butturff, who won his first PBA Tour title in Lubbock in 2016 and had a second-place finish in 2018, said the secret to his success was his comfort in bowling at South Plains Lanes.
“I think it’s the fact that when you win your first PBA title here, it makes you more comfortable,” the 25-year-old left-hander said.
Williams, who made a key ball change after a sluggish start in the title match, threw three strikes to take a four-pin lead into the 10th frame, but left the 2-4-6-10 split when a strike could have closed the door on Butturff. Butturff failed to throw consecutive strikes, but filled every frame and needed only a mark in his final frame. He left the 6 pin on a high hit, converted the spare and knocked down seven pins on his fill ball to lock up the title.
“The hope was to not throw a split,” Butturff said with a grin, “and fortunately I didn’t.”
The win was Butturff’s third in 2019. He previously won the PBA Oklahoma Open and his first major in the USBC Masters. He also has three second-place finishes.
In Sunday’s first four-player stepladder finals match, Tackett started with seven strikes in denying Anthony Lavery-Spahr of Pasadena, Texas, his chance for a first PBA Tour title, 279-204. In the semifinal match, Butturff turned the tables on Tackett, starting with six strikes while Tackett lost his strike carry. Despite leaving a 4-7-10 split in the seventh frame and failing to convert, Butturff cruised to a 235-185 win, ending Tackett’s hopes for his first title of 2019.
After a break in the schedule for three days of PBA League Elias Cup competition at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine, July 16-18, and the Barbasol PBA Tour Finals presented by Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa July 20-21 in Las Vegas, the PBA Summer Tour and USBC Cup points competition resumes July 25-28 in Houston, Texas when Copperfield Bowl will host the Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles. Tackett and Liz Johnson of Palatine, Illinois, are defending champions.
The PBA League will be covered in its entirety over three nights on FOX Sports’ FS1 network. The Barbasol PBA Tour Finals will air live on CBS Sports Network in five separate shows over two days. All PBA Summer Tour events will be livestreamed exclusively, from start to finish, on FloBowling.com. Visit www.flobowling.com for subscription and schedule information.