Triplett Takes Round 3 Win in New York to Build Momentum for Chicago
By: Justin Felisko
NEW YORK CITY – A lucky charm from the 2019 PBR World Finals has made its way into 2020 alongside Matt Triplett.
Triplett brought a white golf ball with him to Las Vegas last year as a way to keep his mind at ease ahead of the largest event on the PBR calendar, and decided after finishing runner-up to event winner Jess Lockwood at the Finals to keep that same ball in his bag for the start of the 2020 season.
“I just had something to keep me intrigued, and I called it my lucky golf ball,” Triplett said with a laugh. “I had it at the Velocity Finals, and I brought it over to the World Finals, and it worked out. It is just a white golf ball. I usually play with it, and I took it out of my golf bag and thought it would be fun to call it my lucky golf ball.”
On Sunday, Triplett earned his first round win of the 2020 season by riding Test Me for 88.75 points in Round 3 of the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat.
“That bull is solid,” Triplett said. “He came out there and blew real hard and just got around the right. That is everything you want in a bull up and down. He was really fast and it worked out great.”
Triplett began New York with 79.75 points on The Don.
He later bucked off Losing My Religion in 5.92 seconds in the championship round – the same bull that downed him in 6.19 seconds in the 15/15 Bucking Battle.
The 28-year-old finished 2-for-5 in New York in both events, and he leaves the Big Apple ranked 17th in the world.
The Unleash The Beast heads to Chicago next weekend with the Chicago Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. Fans can catch the action on CBS Sports Network (11 p.m. ET) and RidePass (8:45 p.m. ET) on Saturday night.
Rounding out the Top 5 in Round 3 was Colten Jesse (88.25 points on Lester Gillis), Cooper Davis (87.75 points on Twinkle Toes), Jess Lockwood (86.75 points on JC’s Gangster) and Fabiano Vieira (86.75 points on Stunt Man Ray).
Triplett previously won the Kearney, Nebraska, Touring Pro Division event last month.
Now, of course, the golf ball is not the reason why Triplett won that event or finished the season-opening PBR Major in 10th place.
Instead, Triplett is using the golf ball as a reminder, and a way to keep things simple in 2020.
Triplett used to bounce a golf ball like a basketball back in high school before hitting the court. It was a way to work on his hand-eye coordination, while also keeping his mind at ease.
“I would use it (in high school) to work on my hand eye coordination,” Triplett said. “It is just something to do. It is something that can help keep my mind off stuff. If you can get luck off a golf ball you might as well take it.
“It is fun to bounce it up and down and keep my mind off things. I can focus on the golf ball and keep it simple and not overthink things.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
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