A. J. Johnson (bowler)

Last updated

AJ Johnson
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
BornSeptember 3, 1992 (1992-09-03) (age 31)
Oswego, Illinois
Years active2015–present
Bowling Information
Affiliation PBA
Rookie year2015
Dominant handRight (power stroker delivery)
Wins1 PBA Tour
10 PBA Regional Tour
1 KPBA Tour
Sponsors MOTIV Bowling, Turbo grips
Medal record
Men's bowling
Representing Flag of the United States.svg United States
World Bowling Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Las Vegas Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Las Vegas All Events
PABCON Men's Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Lima Team
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Lima All Events
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Lima Singles
IBF Super World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Dubai Trios
PANAM Bowling Champion of Champions
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Rio de Janeiro Doubles
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Rio de Janeiro Singles
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Rio de Janeiro All-Events

Adam "A. J." Johnson (born September 3, 1992) [1] is an American professional bowler from Oswego, Illinois. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2015. [2] He won his first PBA Tour title in 2023. He has also been a multi-year member of Team USA, and is on the 2024 team. [3]

Contents

Johnson is a member of the MOTIV Bowling pro staff. He is also sponsored by Turbo grips. [4]

Amateur career

Johnson bowled collegiately for McKendree University, where he earned first-team All-American and MVP honors in the 2013–14 season. [1] In 2013, he was a member of Junior Team USA. He won the 2013 Junior Gold Championships as a youth bowler for the United States. He has been a five-time member of Team USA. At the 2019 PABCON Championships in Lima, Peru, [2] he won gold in team and all events, and silver in singles. [5] He previously won gold in team and bronze in all events at the 2017 World Bowling Championships. [5]

In 2015, Johnson entered the USBC Masters as an amateur and earned the #1 seed in qualifying, but he would lose the final match to Jason Belmonte. [6] [7]

Johnson was part of the rotating four-person team (with Jakob Butturff, Andrew Anderson and Kristopher Prather) that won the trios gold medal for Team USA at the 2021 International Bowling Federation (IBF) Super World Championships in Dubai. With the final match between USA and South Korea ending in a tie, Johnson was chosen by coach Bryan O'Keefe to roll the tenth frame of a ninth/tenth frame roll-off, which USA won 57–49. [8]

On August 23, 2022, Johnson and partner Kris Prather won gold medals in Doubles at the PanAm Bowling Champion of Champions event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With an eight-game total of 1,921 pins (240.13 average), Johnson topped the men's field for the event. He and Prather were part of a USA sweep in Doubles, as Shannon O'Keefe and Bryanna Coté won Doubles gold in the women's event. [9] Johnson settled for bronze medals in the Singles and All Events categories, finishing third in both behind teammate Prather and Brazil's Bruno Costa. [10]

Professional career

Johnson is a three-time PBA Midwest Region Player of the Year (2017, 2018 and 2020)., [1] and he won the 2019 KPBA SamHo Cup, a Korean PBA event. [2] He has won ten PBA Regional Tour titles. [11] Through his first seven years on the PBA Tour, he had six runner-up finishes, including finishing second while bowling as an amateur at the 2015 USBC Masters major. [4]

In 2021, Johnson teamed with former NFL star Terrell Owens to win Chris Paul's annual CP3 PBA Celebrity Invitational pro-am event. [12] Johnson qualified as the #3 seed for the 2022 U.S. Open finals, but lost his only match to Jason Belmonte. [13]

Based on points earned during the first 13 events of the 2022 PBA Tour season, Johnson qualified as the #10 seed for the PBA Tour Playoffs. After defeating #7 seed Jakob Butturff in the Round of 16 and #15 seed Shawn Maldonado in the quarterfinals, Johnson was eliminated in the semifinals by sixth-seeded Tommy Jones. [14] Despite no titles, Johnson cashed a career-high $92,700 in 2022. [15]

On September 10, 2023, Johnson won his first PBA title at the Storm Lucky Larsen Masters in Helsingborg, Sweden. After knocking off American Anthony Simonsen in the semifinals, AJ topped Swedish standout Jesper Svensson in the finals. [16]

Johnson suffered his seventh career runner-up finish at the 2024 PBA Illinois Classic, losing to top seed Marshall Kent. [17]

Related Research Articles

Diandra Hyman Asbaty is an American bowler who represented Team USA for fifteen years and was United States Amateur Champion in 1999 and 2006. She is also an official youth bowling spokesperson for the United States Bowling Congress (USBC). She competed in the PBA Women's Series from 2007 to 2010, winning two titles in that span. She also won the 2012 USBC Queens major tournament and continues to compete in PWBA tournaments. Asbaty has been elected to the USBC Hall of Fame.

The USBC Masters is a championship ten-pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000. A PBA rule change in 2008 retroactively awarded a PBA title to any Masters winners prior to 1998 who were PBA members at the time of the victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Barnes (bowler)</span> American professional bowler (born 1970)

Chris Barnes is an American professional bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), who currently competes on both the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour. He has also competed internationally as a member of Team USA.

Lynda Barnes is one of the world's leading female tenpin bowlers. She is a former member of the PWBA. Bowling as an amateur, Lynda won the 1998 USBC Queens championship, then known as the WIBC Queens. In 1999, Lynda married Chris Barnes, a leading bowler on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour. The couple's twin sons, Troy and Ryan, were born in May 2002. Lynda is a former member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Belmonte</span> Australian professional ten-pin bowler (born 1983)

Jason Belmonte is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two-handed approach style to deliver his shot. He has won 31 PBA titles, including a record 15 major championships; he is only one of eight bowlers in PBA tour history to achieve 30 wins, making him the only 30-time winner in PBA Tour history who is not currently a member of the PBA Hall of Fame.

Kelly Kulick is an American professional bowler, bowling coach and sportscaster. She has won ten professional women's bowling titles, one PBA Tour title and a professional mixed doubles title. Kulick is the first woman ever to win a regular Professional Bowlers Association tour title and the only woman to win a major PBA Tour tournament. She is a 16-time member of Team USA. Kulick is currently a pro staff member for Storm Bowling, Vise grips and High 5 gear. In 2019, Kulick was inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame, Superior Performance category.

The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for ten-pin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association. Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour. Founded in 1958, the PBA Tour has been in continuous operation since the inaugural 1959 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Johnson (bowler)</span> American ten-pin bowler

Elizabeth Ann Johnson is an American professional bowler. She first became known as an 11-time winner on the Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour, which included the first of her six U.S. Women's Open titles in 1996, before that organization suspended operations in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Rash</span> American ten-pin bowler (born 1982)

Sean Rash is an American ten-pin bowler who is considered one of the top players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He currently owns 17 PBA Tour titles, including two major championships, and was the 2011–12 PBA Player of the Year. Rash has rolled two of his 30 career PBA perfect 300 games on television, making him the first player in history with multiple perfect games in the TV finals of a PBA Tour event. Canadian François Lavoie and American Chris Via, and Australian Jason Belmonte have since joined Rash in this exclusive club. Rash has also been on the losing end of four televised 300 games, more than any other player. Sean owns ten PBA Regional Tour titles.

Shannon O'Keefe is an American professional bowler and bowling coach now living in Jacksonville, Alabama. She has competed in the United States and internationally, and is currently the head coach at Jacksonville State University. She is an 18-time member of Team USA (2005–2022) and an eight-time World Champion. She also won the 54th QubicaAMF World Cup in 2018 in Las Vegas. Shannon also won the 2019 Doubles gold medal at the Pan American Games in Peru.

William O'Neill is a right-handed professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour in North America. A resident of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, his nickname on tour is "The Real Deal". O'Neill has won 14 PBA Tour titles, including three major championships at the 2009–10 U.S. Open and the 2020 and 2024 PBA Players Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Troup</span> American professional bowler (born 1991)

Kyle Troup is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Taylorsville, North Carolina, now residing in Mt. Washington, Kentucky. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. Troup says he needed two hands when learning to throw the ball as a young child, calling himself self-taught in that regard.

2017 is the 58th season of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. The 2017 schedule includes 24 singles title events, two doubles title events, and one non-title team event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Simonsen</span> American ten-pin bowler

Anthony Walter Simonsen is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014. Simonsen became known in bowling fan circles early in the 2016 season, when he earned the distinction as the youngest player in history to win a PBA major championship. He is now the youngest player in history to own five major PBA Tour titles. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. At age 25, Simonsen eclipsed $1 million in career PBA earnings during the 2022 season. Simonsen has also bowled internationally as a multi-year member of Team USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. J. Tackett</span> Professional ten-pin bowler

Eddie Dean Tackett Jr. is an American professional ten-pin bowler. A member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2012, Tackett has won 23 PBA Tour titles, including five major championships, and is one of nine professional bowlers that have completed the PBA Triple Crown. He was named PBA Player of the Year for the 2016 and 2023 seasons, and was runner-up for the award in 2017 and 2018. Tackett is right-handed and uses a cranker-style delivery. He has been called a "unicorn" in the sport, because of his ability to use a one-handed, thumb-in delivery to achieve RPM rates comparable to most two-handed bowlers.

Andrew Anderson of Holly, Michigan is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler known for winning the 2018 USBC Masters. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team USA. In his second full season on the PBA Tour (2018), Anderson won the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Award.

The 2019 PBA Tour season, the 60th season of play for the U.S. Professional Bowlers Association's ten-pin bowling tour, began in January 2019 with the PBA Hall of Fame Classic in Arlington, Texas. The season schedule had 27 singles title events, two doubles title events, and two non-title team events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakob Butturff</span> American ten-pin bowler (born 1994)

Jakob Butturff is a left-handed American ten-pin bowler from Chandler, Arizona and a member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and in global events as a member of Team USA. He has won eight national PBA Tour titles and 27 PBA Regional Tour titles. Jakob also rolled the 28th of the PBA Tour's 35 televised 300 games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristopher Prather</span> American ten-pin bowler (b. 1992)

Kristopher "Kris" Prather of Plainfield, Illinois is an American professional ten-pin bowler who competes on the PBA Tour. He is known for winning the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs on June 2, 2019 and the PBA Tournament of Champions on February 9, 2020. To date, Prather has won six PBA Tour titles, including two major championships. Prather is also a multi-year and current member of Team USA.

Chris Via is an American professional ten-pin bowler from Springfield, Ohio known for winning the 2021 U.S. Open. Chris uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. He competes in events on the PBA Tour and has also bowled internationally as a multi-year and current member of Team USA.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "TEAM USA MEMBERS - AJ JOHNSON". Bowl.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "AJ Johnson". PBA.com. The Professional Bowlers Tour. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  3. ↑ "TEAM USA - TEAM MEMBERS". bowl.com. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Motiv Team". motivbowling.com. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "World Championships, A Historical Review". European Tenpin Bowling Federation.
  6. ↑ "Collegiate Bowler A.J. Johnson Earns Top Spot for USBC Masters Finals on ESPN". bowl.com. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Jason Belmonte | PBA". www.pba.com. May 2, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  8. ↑ Cannizzaro, Matt (November 15, 2021). "TEAM USA SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS TRIOS TITLE AT IBF SUPER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DUBAI". Bowl.com. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  9. ↑ Kanak, Gene (August 24, 2022). "Team USA sweeps doubles gold at PanAm Champion of Champions". snieronbowling.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  10. ↑ Kanak, Gene (August 26, 2022). "TEAM USA WINS EIGHT MEDALS ON FINAL DAY OF 2022 CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS, QUALIFIES FOR 2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES". bowl.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  11. ↑ Kaufman, Chase (June 2, 2022). "PBA REGIONAL RECAP: AJ JOHNSON TOPS BUTTURFF, EARNS TITLE NO. 10". pba.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  12. ↑ Goodger, Jef (October 17, 2021). "TERRELL OWENS, AJ JOHNSON WIN CP3 PBA CELEBRITY INVITATIONAL". PBA.com. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  13. ↑ Cannizzaro, Matt (February 7, 2022). "SIMONSEN WINS 2022 U.S. OPEN FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE". PBA.com. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  14. ↑ Winters, Jill (May 8, 2022). "TROUP AND JONES SET FOR 2022 KIA PBA PLAYOFFS FINAL". pba.com. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  15. ↑ Goodger, Jef (September 1, 2022). "2022 GUARANTEED RATE PBA TOUR SEASON IN REVIEW". pba.com. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  16. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (September 10, 2023). "AJ JOHNSON CAPTURES ELUSIVE FIRST CAREER TITLE AT STORM LUCKY LARSEN MASTERS". pba.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ Hughes, Nolan (February 10, 2024). "MARSHALL KENT WINS PBA ILLINOIS CLASSIC". pba.com. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.