There was one very familiar thing and one decidedly abnormal thing about Tuesday’s first round of the 2021 U.S. Open at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno.
In 2018, Butturff earned the top seed of the U.S. Open over No. 2 Kris Prather by 522 pins, before losing the title match to Dom Barrett. That was a near repeat of 2017, when Butturff earned the top seed by a record 617 pins, but then lost the title match to Rhino Page.
On Tuesday, the powerful lefty with the quirky...