Striking Spotlight

Editor’s Note: This release will be updated after round four at est. 10 p.m.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bill Vint | PBA Media Relations

Professional Bowlers Association | 55 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 401 | Chicago, IL 60604

bill.vint@pba.com | cell: 414.339.0404

Perfect Game Helps Jakob Butturff Lead Field of 24 into Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Match Play

Indiana’s Matt Sanders, Ronnie Russell keep title hopes alive

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 15, 2018) – Helped by rolling the only 300 game of the round, 23-year-old Jakob Butturff of Tempe, Ariz., took the lead at the end of the cashers round in the Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic Thursday at Woodland Bowl.

Butturff, an unorthodox double-jointed left-hander, entered the cashers round in a tie for second place, four pins out of the lead, but quickly overtook second-round leaderMarshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., behind games of 268, 258, 290, 217, 185, 237, 300 and 209 for a 24-game average of 243.79 and a total of 5,851 pins – 98 pins ahead of Kent. Butturff is a two-time PBA Tour titlist, winning both titles during the 2016 season.

Following the cashers round, the field of 37 was trimmed to the top 24 for the start of round robin match play Thursday at 6 p.m. The finals two match play rounds are set for Friday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. EST. After 48 games, the top five players will advance to Sunday’s stepladder finals.

Heading into the opening round of match play, Indianapolis’ Matt Sanders was in third place with 5,622 pins followed by two-hander Keven Williams of Springfield, Mo., with a 5,593 total and Andrew Anderson of Holly, Mich., at 5,533 pins. Ronnie Russell of nearby Marion, Ind., was the other Hoosier to keep his title hopes alive, advancing in 13th place.

The Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic, dedicated to the organization’s 60th year of competition, is part of a season-long celebration will be the unveiling of the PBA’s 60 Most Memorable Moments, the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration dinner and hall of fame induction ceremonies Saturday, and Sunday’s live 1 p.m. ESPN finals of the 60th Anniversary Classic. The Indianapolis tournament is part of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour schedule.

All preliminary rounds, plus the annual PBA League Draft on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and the PBA 60th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Saturday at 6:30 p.m., will be live streamed on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. To sign up, visit xtraframe.tv.

GO BOWLING! PBA 60TH ANNIVERSARY CLASSIC

Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Feb. 14

CASHERS ROUND STANDINGS (after 24 games, top 24 advance to round robin match play)

1, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 5,851, $100.
2, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 5,753, $100.
3, Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 5,622.
4, Keven Williams, Springfield, Mo.,, 5,593.
5, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 5,533.
6, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 5,512.
7, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5,495.
8, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 5,480.
9, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 5,459.
10, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 5,428.
11, Graham Fach, Canada, 5,417.
12, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 5,400.
13, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 5,394.
14, Dom Barrett, England, 5,388.
15, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 5,374.
16, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 5,363.
17, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 5,356.
18, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 5,355.
18, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 5,355.
20, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 5,354.
21, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,345.
22, Richie Teece, England, 5,319.
23, Richard McCormick, Cincinnati, Ohio, 5,309, $100.
24, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 5,304.
Failed to advance

25, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 5,296, $2,000.
26, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 5,286, $1,950.
27, Patrick Girard, Canada, 5,274, $1,900.
28, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 5,262, $1,850.
29, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 5,260, $1,775.
29, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 5,260, $1,875.
31, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 5,248, $1,700.
32, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 5,241, $1,650.
33, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 5,240, $1,600.
34, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 5,219, $1,650.
35, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 5,216, $1,500.
36, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 5,210, $1,450.
37, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 5,117, $1,400.

300 Games: Jakob Butturff.

About the PBA

In 2018 the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) celebrates its 60th anniversary. The PBA is an organization of more than 3,000 of the best bowlers from 27 countries who compete in Go Bowling! PBA Tour, PBA International Tour, PBA Regional Tour, PBA Women’s Regional and PBA50 Tour events. The 2018 season also marks the 59th consecutive year of nationally-televised competition, reaching bowling fans around the world who follow PBA activities through the PBA Network which includes Xtra Frame, the PBA’s exclusive online bowling channel, ESPN and CBS Sports Network, and the PBA on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. PBA sponsors include Barbasol, Brunswick, Ebonite International, GEICO, GoBowling.com, HotelPlanner.com, MOTIV, 900 Global, PBA Bowling Challenge Mobile Game, Storm Products and the United States Bowling Congress, among others. For more information, log on to www.pba.com.

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