PBA champion Jakob Butturff dead at 32, tour mourns ‘one-of-a-kind’ star

Jakob Butturff, an eight-time PBA Tour champion known for a distinctive left-handed corkscrew release, died unexpectedly Friday at age 32, the Professional Bowlers Association announced on its website.

The organization did not disclose a cause of death. PBA Commissioner Tom Clark called Mr. Butturff “one of the most unique players in PBA history” in the tour’s statement, adding that he “rode a wave of strikes into becoming a top player in the sport.”

Mr. Butturff’s breakout came during the 2016 season, when he won his first two PBA Tour titles and set a PBA Regional Tour record with nine regional wins in a single year, earning him West Region and Northwest Region Player of the Year honors. He went on to collect 27 PBA Regional Tour titles and repeated as Northwest Region Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018.

His signature win came at the 2019 USBC Masters, his lone major championship, part of a season in which he finished runner-up in Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year voting. He was a seven-time member of Team USA, won the 2017 QubicaAMF World Cup and bowled the 28th televised 300 game in PBA history during the 2020 PBA Tour Finals.

Fellow bowlers flooded social media with tributes following news of his death. Four-time PBA Player of the Year E.J. Tackett wrote that the loss was “nothing short of soul crushing,” while Jason Belmonte, one of the sport’s most decorated champions, said the PBA “has lost one of its kindest.”

Bowling outlet 11thframe.com noted that with eight PBA Tour titles and one major, Mr. Butturff fell short of the traditional Hall of Fame standard — 10 Tour titles, or five including two majors — by one major championship or two additional regular titles. The outlet also recalled his 2015 breakthrough win at the New Mexico Open, where he said at the time, “It kind of was my breakthrough.”

Mr. Butturff was born and raised in Las Vegas and also lived in Phoenix and Binghamton, N.Y.

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