Davis and Pacheco Gain Ground in World Title Race in Round 1 in Jacksonville

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis did not wait long to strike.

Davis, riding for the first time since sustaining a left thigh injury during his victory in Omaha, Nebraska, on May 2, returned to competition Saturday night with a second-place finish in Round 1 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Davis converted on Experiment 626 for 88.25 points during Round 1 of the Bad Boy Mowers Invitational, presented by Union Home Mortgage. The No. 3-ranked bull rider gained 17.5 points on world leader Jose Vitor Leme after Walks Far bucked off the defending World Champion in 7.41 seconds inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena.

 
“Well, the first day is always a big deal because those guys aren’t going to falter too much,” Davis told CBS Sports Network’s Kate Harrison. “You have to start it off with a bang and hope they are going to follow it up. So we are going to have to see how it goes.

“That bull felt really good. Ricky (West) told me right before I got on him that he was just a good one and I would like him. I had never seen him before today, and I like him.”

Davis now trails Leme by 286.5 points in the world standings heading into Championship Sunday. The 27-year-old has drawn Amy’s Pet for Round 2

Fans can watch the conclusion of Jacksonville on CBS Sports Network and RidePass beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco put forth a gritty effort to finish Round 1 in fourth place and also inch closer to Leme in the world title race. Pacheco rode Dirty Sancho, his third bull of the night following two re-rides, for 87.75 points.

Pacheco picked up 15.5 world points to cut the deficit between himself and Leme to only 23 points.

Pacheco takes on Chinese Cigar in Round 2.

The only other rider inside the Top 10 of the world standings with a qualified ride on Saturday night was No. 5 Dener Barbosa (85.5 points on Havoc).

Professional Bull Riders – PBR BAD BOY MOWERS INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY UNION HOME MORTGAGE
Jacksonville, FL, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. João Henrique Lucas, 88.75-0-0-88.75-28 Points.
2. Cooper Davis, 88.25-0-0-88.25-17.5 Points.
(tie). Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 88.25-0-0-88.25-17.5 Points.
4. Kaique Pacheco, 87.75-0-0-87.75-15.5 Points.
(tie). Ezekiel Mitchell, 87.75-0-0-87.75-15.5 Points.
6. Caic Cassio Carvalho, 87-0-0-87.00-14 Points.
7. Mason Taylor, 86.25-0-0-86.25-13 Points.
8. Taylor Toves, 85.75-0-0-85.75-11.5 Points.
(tie). Matt Triplett, 85.75-0-0-85.75-11.5 Points.
10. Dener Barbosa, 85.5-0-0-85.50-10 Points.
11. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 85.25-0-0-85.25-9 Points.
12. Michael Lane, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
13. Kyle Jones, 84.75-0-0-84.75-8 Points.
14. Marco Eguchi, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
15. Boudreaux Campbell, 82.75-0-0-82.75-8 Points.
16. Dakota Louis, 82-0-0-82.00-8 Points.
Jose Vitor Leme, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Joe Hostetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Logan Biever, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Skender, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00
Alecio Ferreira da Costa, 0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Byler, 0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0.00

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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