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Local man Tackett gets first PBA tour title

EJ Tackett
TAB file photo.

By
STEVE CLARK
After EJ Tackett put to rest any doubts that he could win on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour by winning the PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Southwest Open on Sunday, June 28, he got some rest himself.

“I got done last night and I’ve never been that tired,” says the 22-year-old Huntington native. “We bowled a lot of games. We bowled more games yesterday than we normally do on days like that. It’s normally, like, 12 games; yesterday we bowled 14.

“So, that extra two games, trying to stay focused for that extra couple hours, I didn’t realize how stressful it was until after I was done. My body literally was like, ‘Just go to bed. It’s done.’”

Tackett squared off against Bill O’Neill in the championship game, dispatching the Langhorne, PA, native, 256-213, to capture his first PBA Tour title.

After opening the tilt with three spares, Tackett adjusted his position and proceeded to roll seven strikes in a row to put some space between himself and O’Neill.

That Tackett ended things on a hot streak made for a fitting bookend at the tournament, which was held at South Plains Lanes in Lubbock, TX.

“I started the tournament, I shot 279 the first game, which is something typically I don’t do,” he explains. “Normally I don’t start tournaments very well.

“So, I knew this tournament I had a very good chance just by the first game.”

Tackett was in sixth place after nine qualifying games on the tournament’s first day, Saturday, June 27. He rose to second following six games on Sunday, when the remaining field of 59 bowlers was cut down to 16. Tackett then went 6-2 in modified round robin matches to take first place heading into the stair step finals, which pitted the top four bowlers against each other for the tourney crown.

Getting his first tour win under his belt is a confidence-booster, says Tackett, the 2013 PBA Rookie of the Year.

“I knew I could do it, but I hadn’t done it yet,” he states. “So, it just gives me that much more confidence that I did it. I’ve been here before. I’ve done it. I know I can do it again.”

And next time, maybe he’ll be awake enough to really enjoy it.

“Most people would go out and celebrate,” muses Tackett. “I went and had a beer and had dinner and I’m like, ‘I’m done. I have to go to bed.’ It was 7:30 p.m. I’m done.”