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PBA Hubbard Open champion set to return
Marion tattoo artist
looks to leave mark
at Bell-Wick again
As proprietor of the Tattoo Lodge, Kelly Jordon leaves his mark on many.
Last March, as a 40-year-old PBA regional member, Jordon left his mark at Bell-Wick Bowl when he won the East/Central PBA Hubbard Open. Since, the now-41-year-old tattoo artist who resides in the central Ohio town of Marion — north of Columbus — ended up bowling in 12 events and made the finals in half of those. He finished sixth in points in the Central region.
“I had a pretty decent year,” Jordon said of his 2015 season that started off at Bell-Wick, where the Hubbard Open was his first regional victory.
“Everybody wants to win titles and get that champion’s banner that follows you [and have it hanging] whenever you bowl in the Central Region,” Jordon said. “That’s kind of cool. I guess, once you win, from there on out, if you don’t win it’s kind of a letdown. You set goals, then, if you win, all you can do [to be satisfied] is win again. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.”
After Hubbard, Jordon placed third in Fisher, Ind.; fourth in Kokomo, Ind.; and fifth in Wapakoneta.
“It started off great,” he said, “then there were some patterns I didn’t bowl well on, but, actually, of the six finals I made, each had a different pattern. It wasn’t like I did poorly on any of them. I was knocking at the door again, but it didn’t happen.”
Actually, Jordon bowled in a PBA Central Region event in January, but it was a doubles tournament, not a singles tournament like Bell-Wick.
“It’s a regular senior-doubles,” Jordon said of the event in Cuyahoga Falls for one senior member over 50 and one regular member under 50. Kelly bowled with his over-50 brother.
“‘We were there and gave it a shot,” said Jordon, who is considering bowling in a national tour event.
“I haven’t bowled any national events yet, but I might do one of the Xtra Frame ones later this year in Delaware,” he said. “I have my own business, so it’s really hard for me. A lot of the national formats are week-long”
Has Jordon’s defending-champ status put a lot of pressure on him?
“I guess you could call it that,” he said. “I won one time and I’d like to perform well again there. That’s one of the largest regionals and it has a pretty stacked field with talent, so it’s definitely not going to be an easy task. All I can do is my best, hopefully make the cut and go from there.”
Jordon, who hasn’t made any radical changes in his mechanics, plans to approach the Bell-Wick’s wooden lanes with an open mind.
“There’s a lot of adjustments you make when facing the different patterns,” he said. “Sometimes you have to change your release a little bit or match up your equipment. All you can do is bowl and play what they give you. The ball doesn’t lie; you just throw shots and make adjustments.”
Jordon used mostly Storm and Roto Grip equipment last year, but said he’s with 900Global now.
“Last year, I was independent and wasn’t under contract, but now I have a regional staff contract with 900Global, so I’ll be throwing their equipment for the year,” said Jordon, who will arrive at the alleys on Friday for a practice session and at least one pro-am and the clinic for kids.
“All the companies look for different things,” Jordon said of the promotional side of his sport. “Any time you can add a win to a resume, it helps your case. I’m ready to start the season and I’m looking forward to coming back. It was a great tournament and my first time in that bowling alley. I really liked it. It’s hard not to like it when you win.”