ARLINGTON, Texas (Jan. 4, 2019) – Jakob Butturff, the unorthodox 24-year-old left-hander from Tempe, Ariz., continued his torrid scoring pace, threatening the Professional Bowlers Association’s 12-game scoring record as he dominated qualifying in the PBA Hall of Fame Classic Friday at the International Training and Research Center.

The Hall of Fame Classic is the opening event of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season.

After averaging 258 for his first six qualifying games Thursday, Butturff he nearly duplicated that performance Friday, starting the second round with games of 238, 259, 255, 263 and 268. Needing to finish with a 249 game to break the PBA 12-game record of 3,083 pins set by PBA Hall of Famer Mike Aulby in Baltimore, Md., in 1996, Butturff closed with a 197 (his only sub-200 game of the tournament) for a 3,031 pinfall total and a 175-pin lead over four-time PBA Player of the Year Jason Belmonte of Australia who had 2,856 pins.

“I came up short of the record, but a record’s a record, and winning a title is just as important. When I bowl, I always put my foot down,” Butturff said. “I may lead by 300 pins, but I’m never going to let my opponent think it’s a gimme. I have a pretty comfortable lead, but I’m still going to give it the best I’ve got. I know the other guys are capable of putting up big numbers.”

Rounding out the top five were Jason Sterner, Fayetteville, Ga., and Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., who were tied for third with 2,756 pins, and Rhino Page, Orlando, with a 2,749 total.

The top 18 bowlers after 12 games will bowl a third six-game round Saturday morning to determine the top five players for Sunday’s live FS1 stepladder finals on FS1 at 11 a.m. EST.

Saturday’s final qualifying round will be being live-streamed on FloBowling.com at 10 a.m. EST, followed by coverage of the PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday at 7:45 p.m. EST. Fans also can follow Saturday’s qualifying round as it happens on pba.com’s live scoring feature: (https://www.pba.com/PBALiveScoring?TournamentID=2755).

PBA HALL OF FAME CLASSIC

International Training and Research Center, Arlington, Texas, Friday

Second Round Standings (after 12 games, top 18 players advance)

1, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 3,031.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,856.
3 (tie), Jason Sterner, Fayetteville, Ga., and Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,756.
5, Rhino Page, Orlando, 2,749.
6, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 2,740.
7, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 2,736.
8, Sam Cooley, Australia, 2,691.
9 (tie), Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., and Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,663.
11, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 2,645.
12, DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 2,636.
13, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 2,620.
14, Stuart Williams, England, 2,617.
15, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,605.
16, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 2,592.
17, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 2,591.
18, x-Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2,590.

Failed to advance:

19, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,590.
20, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,576.
21, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 2,569.
22, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2,565.
23, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,561.
24 (tie), Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., and Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio, 2,557.
26, Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 2,544.
27 (tie), Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, and Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,536.
29, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 2,531.
30, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,530.
31, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 2,520.
32 (tie), Matt O'Grady, Rahway, N.J., and AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 2,519.
34, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,517.
35, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 2,505.
36, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 2,493.
37 (tie), Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., and Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,492.
39, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 2,491.
40, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 2,487.
41, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 2,484.
42, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 2,483.
43, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 2,473.
44, Allan Smith, Killeen, Texas, 2,449.
45 (tie), Mitch Hupe, Canada; Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., and Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 2,443.
48, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 2,442.
49, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,438.
50, Dom Barrett, England, 2,437.
51 (tie), Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., and Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,436.
53, Anthony Pepe, East Elmhurst, N.Y., 2,431.
54, Richie Teece, England, 2,419.
55, Nate Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 2,417.
56, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 2,416.
57, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,414.
58, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 2,403.
59, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 2,391.
60, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,379.
61, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 2,370.
62, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2,360.
63, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 2,339.
64, Daria Pajak, Poland, 2,310.
65, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2,304.
66, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 2,289.
67, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 2,268.
68, Michael Davidson, Versailles, Ohio, 2,239.
69, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y., 2,224.
70, Kenneth Bland Jr., San Antonio, Texas, 2,181.

x- Troup def. Larsen, 218-211, in a one-game roll-off to break a tie for 18th place.

300 Game: EJ Tackett.