No. 6 Jakob Butturff

Career Titles: 7 (1 major)
Age: 25
2019 Earnings: $235,780 (rank: 2)
2019 Points: 30,245 (rank: 2)
2019 Peak Ranking: 1
2019 Low Ranking: 9

2019 Season

The runner-up in Player of the Year voting, Butturff simply had the misfortune of having his career-best season during another guy’s slightly better season. Butturff won three titles, including the USBC Masters for his first major, landed second in both earnings and points, plus enjoyed a four-week stretch as our top-ranked player early in the season, so his preseason ranking of sixth here admittedly feels low. Still, Butturff faltered a bit in the back half of the season while others rose. Failing to qualify for the ATX Invite and having to withdraw from the U.S. Open were both surprises but nothing he can’t overcome. Winning the PBA Clash – a non-title exhibition that banked him a quick $50,000 – proves that.

2020 Outlook

Had a couple matches gone the other way (Butturff lost to Jason Belmonte in both the DHC Invitational and World Championship title matches), it’s almost certain Butturff would be the 2019 Player of the Year. The season begins in Arlington, Texas, where Butturff finished second in 2019, then moves to Oklahoma, where Butturff won. His confidence should be high and, when combined with his renewed focus on fitness, we may see an even more dominant Butturff than we have in the past couple years, which would be terrifying for the rest of the field. Butturff will once again be in the mix for the Player of the Year award.

Preseason PBA Power Rankings

1. Revealed Jan. 8
2. Revealed Jan. 7
3. Revealed Jan. 6
4. Revealed Jan. 5
5. Revealed Jan. 4
6. Jakob Butturff
7. Dom Barrett
8. Kyle Sherman
9. Kris Prather
10. AJ Johnson
11. Kyle Troup
12. Marshall Kent
13. Tom Daugherty
14. Chris Barnes
15. Dick Allen
16. Jesper Svensson
17. Tommy Jones
18. Norm Duke
19. Francois Lavoie
20. Jason Sterner