EJ Tackett, right, holds up his trophy after winning the PBA Family Ford of Bluffton/EZ Bowl Central Open. Tackett, a Bluffton resident, bowled a 257 in Sunday’s title match to top Joe Bailey, who scored a 234. Tackett is pictured with his father and EZ Bowl owner Ed Tackett. A total of 56 bowlers came to EZ Bowl to compete in the open. (Photo by Josh Burris)

Professional bowler and Bluffton resident EJ Tackett is having another great season in the Professional Bowlers Association.

If Tackett keeps up his current pace, he will be the favorite to win the Player of the Year, his second (2016).

Currently, he holds the No. 1 spot in the overall standings with 65,860 points. The competition behind him looks to be a three-way race between Anthony Simonsen — 4,000 points behind — and six-time Player of the Year winner Jason Belmonte — 8,450 points behind. Belmonte has won the last two.

So far this season, Tackett has racked up three PBA standard titles, the PBA Shawnee Classic, the PBA Jackson Classic, and the PBA Cheetah Championship, to go along with two major titles, the U.S. Open and the PBA World Championship. The two major titles make it four total in his career.

The next scheduled event in the PBA Tour is the PBA Skill Ball Challenge at the Thunderbowl in Allen Park, Mich, on July 22 and 23.

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