March 26, 2026 Nolan Hughes

Round 3 Standings | Match play bracket

Jakob Butturff finished four pins shy of setting the all-time 15-game scoring record in the USBC Masters, a feat held since 1996 by Parker Bohn III.

Butturff averaged more than 245 to total a pinfall of 3,668 (+668), happily settling for the No. 1 seed entering the 64-player, double-elimination bracket.

He will face defending champion Gary Haines in the first round, starting at 10 a.m. ET on Friday.

“It's an amazing feeling to be in that spot, but especially in this format, it's a matter of just making that bracket,” Butturff said. “You can't focus on who you're bowling down the road, you’ve got to focus on your one opponent. I’m going to stick with what I've been doing the whole week. I know that I have my little tricks that most people can't do, and I'm gonna keep using them as long as I can.”

Eric Jones ranked second overall with 3,592, followed by Deo Benard, Spencer Robarge and Graham Fach.

Jones said he learned an important lesson last year, after qualifying sixth and losing his first two matches: “Don’t get cocky.”

“I bowled nervously last year,” the 21-year-old said. “The Masters is an event that I always want to bowl well at. I grew up a Belmo fan. He won four Masters titles. It’s a really cool tournament when you're a legend of the sport and you win the Masters.”

Jesper Svensson, Matt Russo and Killian Kilpatrick made up the all-left-handed top eight.

Dom Barrett, the high right-handed player, qualified ninth with an average just shy of 233.

“The first five games were the best bowling I've done all season. It was really good decision making,” Barrett said. “In any sport, once you get down to a bracket, everyone says the same thing: It’s a new tournament.”

Five USBC Masters champions advanced to match play:

All rounds of match play will air live on BowlTV. Select parts of match play will be livestreamed for free on the PBA YouTube channel.

The stepladder finals will air live Sunday, March 29 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW.

Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern

Friday, March 27 — BowlTV
10 a.m. — Left side of bracket (fresh)
12:30 p.m. — Right side of bracket (fresh)
2:30 p.m. — All winners (burn)
5 p.m. — Contenders bracket matches (fresh and burn)

Saturday, March 28 — BowlTV
10 a.m. — Winners and Contenders bracket matches (fresh and burn)
2 p.m. — Winners and Contenders bracket matches (fresh)

Sunday, March 29 — The CW
4 p.m. — Finals