Tommy Jones (bowler)

Tommy Jones (born November 2, 1978) is an American professional bowler currently on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour (Professional Bowlers Association).^[1]

Jones, who is right-handed, is one of the most competitive pros on the tour today. He has won almost $1.2 million in PBA prize money during his nine full seasons on tour, including over $800,000 since the 2004–05 season. Jones won the PBA Rookie of the Year Award for the 2001–02 season, and the PBA Player of the Year Award following the 2005–06 season. Jones' style is often described as that of a cranker due to his high backswing and rev rate, although some coaches (such as John Jowdy) describe him as a power stroker due to his smooth slide-step and release.

Jones is a current resident of Simpsonville, South Carolina.^[2] He is married to Nikki Jones, and has one daughter from a previous marriage.

PBA career history

Jones joined the PBA in 2000. He currently owns 14 PBA Tour titles.^[1]

He won his first 12 titles in just 20 TV Finals appearances.

2005–06 season

The 2005–06 season was his best to date, as he cashed in 20 of 21 events, made match play in 19 events, made the TV finals six times, won four titles, and posted a career-best $301,700 in earnings.^[3] He won his first career major in this season, at the 63rd U.S. Open.

In 2005 Jones stopped Liz Johnson in her efforts to become the first female to win a national PBA tour event. After Johnson defeated Wes Malott in the semifinals of the 2005 Banquet Open, she came up short against Jones in the final, 219–192.^[4][5]

In this season he had a 15-game TV match win streak snapped, falling one short of the all-time record set by Jim Pencak. Upon winning the 2005–06 Player of the Year award, Jones joined Mike Aulby as the only players to win both the PBA Player of the Year and PBA Rookie of the Year awards. Chris Barnes would later also earn this distinction when he was named PBA Player of the Year for the 2007–08 season.^[1]

2006–07 season

In 2006–07, Jones captured two more titles, including his second major at the H&R Block Tournament of Champions.^[1]

2007–08 season

With his win in the 2008 ConstructionJobs.com Championship, Jones joined Mika Koivuniemi as the only two bowlers to win a title on all five of the PBA's primary oil patterns (Shark, Chameleon, Cheetah, Scorpion and Viper).^[6]

2008–09 season

The 2008–09 PBA season was the first since 2004–05 where Jones did not earn a title, although he did cash in 20 of the 21 events he participated in.^[1]

2009–10 season

He had seven top-10 finishes 2009–10, and won his 13th title in the 2010 Dydo Japan Cup, the final title event of the season.^[7]

2010–11 season

In an abbreviated PBA season, he had four top ten finishes in 12 events, including a third-place finish at the U.S. Open.

2011–12 season

Jones won $45,000 in the PBA All-in Showdown at the 2011 World Series of Bowling, an optional, non-title event that required a $5,000 buy-in.

2012–13 season

Jones won the WBT International Bowling Championship in Inazawa, Japan on January 19, 2013. WBT titles are now counted as PBA Tour titles, so Jones was credited with his 14th PBA title.

Additional PBA accomplishments

• Jones was ranked 30th on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years."^[8]
• He is the most successful bowler ever on television with 35–12 record.^[1]
• Jones currently owns 14 career PBA Tour titles, including the 63rd U.S. Open (2006) and the 2007 H&R Block Tournament of Champions.^[1]
• He holds the record for shortest time span between 1st and 10th career titles (2 years, 6 months, 7 days), beating Dick Weber's mark by just four days.
• Eclipsed $1,000,000 (U.S.) in total career PBA earnings late in the 2007–08 season, with total earnings now at $1,194,315.
• Through the end of the 2010–11 season, he has accumulated 23 perfect 300 games in PBA events. For three years in a row (2007-2009), Jones bowled a perfect game at the Weber Cup, repeating the feat in the 2013 Weber Cup.

Career PBA Tour titles

Major titles are in boldface.

• 2004 Dydo Japan Cup (Yokohama, Japan)^[9]
• 2004 Denver Open (Lakewood, Colorado)^[10]
• 2005 Cambridge Credit Classic (West Babylon, New York)^[11]
• 2005 Banquet Open (Grand Rapids, Michigan)^[12]
• 2005 Dydo Japan Cup (Tokyo, Japan)^[9]
• 2005 Tulsa Championship (Owasso, Oklahoma)^[12]
• 2006 Bayer Atlanta Classic (Norcross, Georgia)^[13]
• 2006 63rd U.S. Open (North Brunswick, New Jersey)^[1]
• 2006 Ace Hardware Championship (Wickliffe, Ohio)^[14]
• 2007 H&R Block Tournament of Champions (Uncasville, Connecticut)
• 2008 ConstructionJobs.com Championship (Reno, Nevada)^[6]
• 2008 GEICO Classic (West Babylon, New York)^[15]
• 2010 Dydo Japan Cup (Tokyo, Japan)
• 2013 WBT International Bowling Championship (Inazawa, Japan)

References