July 20, 2021 Jef Goodger

First of five PBA Summer Tour titles to be awarded Sunday

Lubbock, Texas—The 2021 PBA Summer Tour gets underway this weekend with five PBA Tour titles to be decided between now and the end of August. The PBA Lubbock Sports Open begins Saturday and concludes with the four-player stepladder finals Sunday at 5 p.m. ET. Every round of competition will be streamed live on FloBowling.

Here are some of the top storylines heading into the 2021 PBA Lubbock Sports Open:

Two Defending Champions?

The last time the PBA Lubbock Sports Open was held was in January 2019, with Dick Allen defeating Sean Rash in the championship match. The last time a PBA Tour title was decided in South Plains Lanes was in June 2019, with Jakob Butturff defeating Stu Williams to win the Lubbock Sports Shootout as part of the PBA Summer Tour. For the sake of clarity, although both Allen and Butturff have a claim, Allen will officially enter as the defending champion.

Butturff’s Success in Lubbock

Butturff has bowled in four of the five Summer Tour events at South Plains Lanes and has never finished lower than third. He won in his first appearance in 2016, finished third in 2017, second in 2018 and won again in 2019.

First-Time Champions

The first time South Plains Lanes hosted a national title event in 2015, EJ Tackett earned his first career PBA Tour title. Likewise, Butturff’s win in 2016 was his first title. To date, Tackett and Butturff have combined to win 20 times (13 for Tackett and seven for Butturff), including three majors (two for Tackett and one for Butturff). Coincidence or not, any player who has not yet won a PBA Tour title might be extra motivated to make this event his first.

Can Barnes Sweep Lubbock?

PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes won his first career PBA50 title in the PBA50 Cup held June 30 in South Plains Lanes. Barnes, who won the PBA Lubbock Sports Open in 2018 as his 19th and most recent PBA Tour title, will be looking to repeat his success from three weeks ago to win for the 20th time on the PBA Tour.

Troup Closing in on a Half Million Dollars

So far this season, Kyle Troup has earned a single-season PBA record $489,200. If he can earn an additional $10,800 over the course of five PBA Summer Tour events, he’ll become the first player in PBA history to earn a half million dollars in a single season. A win in Lubbock would put him over the top.

PBA Lubbock Sports Open Live Streaming Schedule

South Plains Lanes – Lubbock, Texas

Saturday, July 24
9:30 a.m. ET – Qualifying (A Squad)
4:30 p.m. ET – Qualifying (B Squad)

Sunday, July 25
9:30 a.m. ET – Cashers Qualifying
1:15 p.m. ET – Match Play
5 p.m. ET – Stepladder Finals

All rounds will be streamed live on FloBowling. To subscribe, visit FloBowling.com.

PBA Lubbock Sports Open Winners Since 2015

2015 – EJ Tackett
2016 – Jakob Butturff
2017 – Marshall Kent
2018 – Chris Barnes
2019 (Lubbock Sports Open) – Dick Allen
2019 (Lubbock Sports Shootout) – Jakob Butturff
2020 – not held

About the PBA

The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated to the sport of bowling and its professional competition, with thousands of members and millions of fans throughout the world. The PBA plays host to bowling’s biggest tournaments from the PBA Tour, PBA Regional Tour, and PBA50 Tour. In 2020, the PBA launched PBA Jr., a club for elite youth bowlers under the age of 17 and the PBA Pinsiders, a membership for fans of the sport. For more information, please visit PBA.com.

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