LAS VEGAS (Oct. 29, 2016) – Jakob Butturff of Chandler, Ariz., one of the hottest players on tour in 2016, torched the lanes in the Professional Bowlers Association’s Xtra Frame South Point Las Vegas Open Saturday in the South Point Bowling Plaza, averaging 253.75 for 16 games to lead the field of 16 qualifiers into Sunday’s finals.

Butturff, an unorthodox double-jointed left-hander, started Saturday’s qualifying with a modest 218 game, but followed with games of 270, 300, 279, 256, 245, 261 and 248 for a total of 2,072 pins and an early 79-pin lead. In the second round Saturday evening, his scoring pace slowed a bit, but he expanded his lead to 159 pins over Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C.

The top 16 players after 16 games advanced to two eight-game match play rounds Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. PT, leading to the five-player stepladder finals at 5:30 p.m. PT.

Butturff, a 22-year-old second-year PBA member, made his PBA national television debut during the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VII last December in Reno, finishing fourth in the PBA Viper Championship, but since then has won his first PBA Tour title in Lubbock, Texas, earlier this year in addition to winning eight PBA West and/or Northwest Regional titles in 2016. And he really likes bowling in the South Point Bowling Plaza.

“This is one of my favorite buildings,” Butturff said. “I feel pretty comfortable bowling in Vegas because this is where I was born and raised. My family moved to Phoenix when I was 18, but when I’m here, it’s like bowling at home. I’m just more relaxed.”

The comfort of bowling in his native home city, combined with the confidence he has gained early in his PBA career, all support his bigger ambitions.

“I made my first TV show at the World Series last year, but I kinda wanted to get that first win because all of those other rookies (Sweden’s Jesper Svensson and Texan Anthony Simonsen among them) were killin’ it,” Butturff said. “I just wanted to be known as part of the best rookie class ever in the PBA.”

Sunday’s round-robin match play rounds will determine the top five players after 32 games who will advance to the stepladder finals that will be covered live of PBA’s online video-streaming service, Xtra Frame, at 5:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. ET).

In addition to bowling for a PBA Tour title in the Las Vegas Open, the tournament is the final event in a season-long Xtra Frame Tour points competition that will award the points leader a $10,000 bonus. EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind., leads the bonus race with 75 points, three ahead of Jones and six ahead of defending South Point Las Vegas Open champion Ryan Ciminelli of Cheektowaga, N.Y. All three advance to Sunday’s final rounds. In the Xtra Frame series, the tournament winner earns 25 points, second place 19, third 18, etc., declining by one point through 20 places.

The South Point Bowling Plaza PBA Fall Classic continues with the match play and stepladder final rounds of the PBA Xtra Frame South Point Las Vegas Open Sunday and the five-player PBA Team Challenge Monday and Tuesday. All competition in the Fall Classic is being covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online video-streaming service, Xtra Frame. For details, visit xtraframe.tv.

PBA XTRA FRAME SOUTH POINT LAS VEGAS OPEN

South Point Bowling Plaza, Las Vegas, Saturday

Final Round Qualifying Standings (after 16 games, top 16 advance to round robin match play Sunday):

1, Jakob Butturff, Chandler, Ariz., 4,060.
2, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,901.
3, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 3,876.
4, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3,843.
5, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 3,840.
6, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 3,838.
7, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 3,811.
8, Joe Bailey, Wooster, Ohio, 3,798.
9, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 3,775.
10, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 3,769.
11, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,766.
12, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 3,760.
13, Anthony Simonsen, Princeton, Texas, 3,753.
14, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 3,737.
15 (tie), Ryan Graywacz, Feeding Hills, Mass., and Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 3,726.
Other Cashers:

17, B.J. Moore III, Greensburg, Pa., 3,723, $800.
18, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,707, $770.
19, Darren Tang, San Francisco, Calif., 3,704, $740.
20, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3,684, $710.
21, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,674, $680.
22, Brad Miller, Maryland Hts, Mo., 3,671, $650.
23, Sam Cooley, Australia, 3,669, $620.
24, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 3,668, $600.
25, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 3,659, $600.
26, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,650, $600.
27, Mike DeVaney, Winchester, Calif., 3,647, $600.
28, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,635, $550.
29, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 3,631, $550.
30, D.J. Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 3,627, $550.
31, Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 3,626, $550.
32, Dom Barrett, England, 3,622, $550.
33, Jason Sterner, Cocoa, Fla., 3,619, $550.
34, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,608, $500.
35, John Szczerbinski, N. Tonawanda, N.Y., 3,606, $500.
36, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 3,601, $500.
37, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 3,596, $500.
38, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 3,594, $500.
39, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 3,589, $500.
40, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 3,585, $500.

Failed to Cash:
41, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 3,583.
42, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 3,582.
43, Matthew O'Grady, Matawan, N.J., 3,580.
44, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 3,567.
45, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,562.
46, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 3,548.
47, Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 3,546.
48, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 3,543.
49, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 3,540.
50, n-Zachary Wilkins, Canada, 3,533.
51, A.J. Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 3,529.
52, Tommy Gollick, Oberlin, Pa., 3,527.
53 (tie), w-Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., and n-Alex Aguiar, N. Dartmouth, Mass., 3,520.
55 (tie), Richie Teece, England, and w-Liz Kuhlkin, Rotterdam, N.Y., 3,516.
57, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 3,508.
58 (tie), Graham Fach, Canada, and Osku Palermaa, Finland, 3,500.
60, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 3,494.
61, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 3,491.
62 (tie), Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., and Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,489.
64, Paul Moor, England, 3,484.
65, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 3,475.
66, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 3,470.
67, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,468.
68, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 3,465.
69 (tie), Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio; Francois Lavoie, Canada, and Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 3,463.
72, Chris Arcaro, Wilmington, N.C., 3,455.
73, Eric Forkel, Henderson, Nev., 3,440.
74, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 3,432.
75, Alex Cavagnaro, Massapequa, N.Y., 3,426.
76, Patrick Allen, South Salem, N.Y., 3,411.
77, Chuck Tillson, Santa Rosa, Calif., 3,410.
78, Michael Duran, Banning, Calif., 3,401.
79, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 3,399.
80, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 3,394.
81, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,382.
82, n-Steve Novak, Bay City, Mich., 3,381.
83, n-Russ Oviatt, Tempe, Ariz., 3,372.
84, John Furey, Freehold, N.J., 3,365.
85, Travis Celmer, Brigham City, Utah, 3,360.
86, Anthony Colosimo, Davie, Fla., 3,343.
87, Dave Wodka, Beavercreek, Ohio, 3,334.
88 (tie), Christopher Sloan, Ireland, and Matt Jones, Winnetka, Calif., 3,330.
90, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 3,320.
91, n-Tim Cagle II, Pinole, Calif., 3,319.
92, J.R. Raymond, Bay City, Mich., 3,314.
93, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,292.
94, Lowell Huber, Westminster, Calif., 3,257.
95, w-Anggie Ramirez, Colombia, 3,231.
96, Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., 3,222.
97, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 3,216.
98, David Allen, Las Vegas, 3,208.
99, Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, 3,204.
100, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 3,194.
101 (tie), n-Jason Buenviaje, Ontario, Calif., and David Sevier, Gilbert, Ariz., 3,192.
103, n-Kevin Valmonte, LaVerne, Calif., 3,183.
104, Dave Han, Hoover, Ala., 3,172.
105, Timothy Tripp, Santa Clarita, Calif., 3,166.
106, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 3,153.
107, Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 3,132.
108, Tommy Barna, Westminster, Md., 3,078.
109, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 3,056.
110, n-w-Adrianne Barela, Henderson, Nev., 3,018.
111, William Grant, Rio Rancho, N.M., 2,947.
112, n-Luke Bow, Temecula, Calif., 2,811.
113, Michael Marranca, Phoenix, 2,772.
114, n-Daniel Jackson, Scottsdale, Ariz., 2,722.
115, Joe Moorehead, Fate, Texas, 2,683.
116, Dave Oliver, San Tan Valley, Ariz., 2,611.
117, Ryan Normand, Portland, Ore., 2,602.
Withdrew: Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., and Louis Catiller, Las Vegas.

300 Games (9): Wes Malott, Jakob Butturff, Jesse Buss, Brad Miller, Richie Teese, Brandon Novak, Marshall Kent, Andrew Graff, Sean Rash.

n-denotes non-member; w-denotes woman.