Tip from Roommate Helps Tommy Jones Win PBA Jonesboro Open

7/16/2016

JONESBORO, Ark. - Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., a future Professional Bowlers Association hall of famer, used a tip from his roommate and an "old school" technique to win the Downums Waste Services PBA Jonesboro Open presented by Xtra Frame at Jonesboro Bowling Center.

Jones, 37, defeated top qualifier Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., 237-228, to win his 17th PBA Tour title - tying PBA Hall of Famer Carmen Salvino for 20th place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list. Jones also won a $15,000 first prize. After qualifying fourth for the four-man stepladder finals, Jones eliminated Connor Pickford of Charlotte, N.C., in the opening match, 212-163, and Frankie Lavoie of Wichita, Kan., in the semifinal,
247-213, before winning a "carry contest" over Troup in the title match. While Troup pounded the pocket, he couldn't put back-to-back strikes together until the final four frames.

Jones, using a less-reactive urethane bowling ball and a hard, straight-to-the-pocket delivery, doubled in the third and fourth frames, and then put together a late string of four strikes - including his first shot in the 10th - to hold off
Troup.

The deciding factor was the use the urethane ball to manage the demanding lane condition, a suggestion he got from roommate DJ Archer of Friendswood, Texas. "I wouldn't have even tried the
urethane ball if DJ hadn't suggested it," Jones said. "I was just looking for something that would work on these lanes. I just didn't have good ball reaction doing anything else. I bowled 240 against Frankie and I got some pretty fortunate hits in that match. Then I figured urethane is what got me to the title match so I was going to ride it."

The Douwnums Waste Services PBA Jonesboro Open was the third of 10 Xtra Frame PBA Tour events scheduled for 2016. The overall competition points winner for the exclusive Xtra Frame Tour will earn a $10,000 bonus. The next event in the series will be the Xtra Frame PBA Lubbock Sports Open from South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, Texas, June 25-26, where a $20,000 first prize and a PBA Tour title will be at stake.

Article was posted with permission from Stars & Strikes, America's Bowling Newsmagazine. www.starsandstrikesbowling.com