KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Delivering a perfect 2-for-2 effort Saturday evening in front of a raucous crowd in Knoxville, Tennessee, Brandon Davis (Cabot, Arkansas) won the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Knoxville Invitational inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
Davis first put points on the board in Round 1, tying for the second-best score when he dominated Matthew (Generations Pro Rodeo, Inc.) for 85.5 points.
The surging Arkansas native was then tasked with Oreo (Dustin Denning Bucking Bulls/Burnt Chimney Bucking Bulls) in the championship round. In a perfect pairing, Davis matched the animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to the whistle, marked a Knoxville Invitational-best 88 points to clinch the event win.
The golden finish garnered Davis 125.5 points as he chases his first Velocity Tour Championship this May.
As the only other rider to cover both of his draws, Chase Dougherty (Decatur, Texas) was second, garnering 79.5 Velocity Global points.
Dougherty rode Fuerte (Lightning Livestock, Inc.) for 83 points in Round 1 before going the distance atop Guess Eyes Right (Rocking F Bucking Bulls/Chase Foutch) for a matching 83 points in the final round.
Josh Frost (Randlett, Utah) parlayed a Round 1 win into a third-place finish.
The Utah sensation earned the podium effort, and an accompanying 64 Velocity Global points, courtesy of an 86-point ride on Lil Larry (Team Wyatt) in the opening round of competition. He was unable to defend his spot atop the leaderboard when he was tossed by Red Man (Generations Pro Rodeo, Inc.) in a quick 2.99 seconds in the final round.
Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) and Casey Coulter (Kirksville, Missouri) rounded out the Top 5, tying for fourth.
Delivering matching 85.5-point scores, Montanha registered his qualified ride in the championship round atop 1 Keytell (Twisted Horns Cattle Co./Hearn), while Coulter posted the marks atop Slick (Team Wyatt) in Round 1.
Montanha left the Volunteer State having earned 37 Velocity Global points, while Coulter collected 36.5 points.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Bangor, Maine, and Dayton, Ohio.
The PBR Kubota Classic at Cross Insurance Center in Maine gets underway on Friday, March 10, at 8 p.m. EST, Saturday, March 11, at 7 p.m. EST, and concludes on Sunday, March 12, at 2 p.m. EST. The Dayton Rumble at Nutter Center in Ohio begins on Saturday, March 11, at 7 p.m. EST.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
PBR Knoxville Invitational
Thompson-Boling Arena – Knoxville, Tennessee
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2- Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Brandon Davis, 85.5-88-173.50-125.5 Points.
2. Chase Dougherty, 83-83-166.00-79.5 Points.
3. Josh Frost, 86-0-86.00-64 Points.
4. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-85.5-85.50-37 Points.
(tie). Casey Coulter, 85.5-0-85.50-36.5 Points.
6. Tyler Manor, 84.5-0-84.50-28 Points.
7. Jake Morinec, 84-0-84.00-20 Points.
(tie). Braden Richardson, 84-0-84.00-20 Points.
9. Guilherme Valleiras, 83-0-83.00-16.5 Points.
10. Zane Cook, 82-0-82.00-13 Points.
11. João Henrique Lucas, 70.5-0-70.50-3 Points.
Grayson Cole, 0-0-0.00
Flavio Zivieri, 0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0.00
Bill Henry, 0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0.00
Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0.00
Elijah Mora, 0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0.00
Justin Ethridge, 0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0.00
Dylan Smith, 0-0-0.00
Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0.00
Brandon Ballard, 0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Herman, 0-0-0.00
Patterson Starcher, 0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0.00
Bennie Shetler, 0-0-0.00
Trent Nugent, 0-0-0.00
Kade Alberty, 0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0.00
For photos from the event, courtesy Andre Silva, click here. For video highlights, courtesy PBR, click here. When sharing photo/b-roll assets on social, please tag @PBR.
