PBR Billings, Round 2: Teen Brady Turgeon posts 90; former world champ Cooper Davis leads
BILLINGS — Knowing he had a re-ride coming after winning a challenged buck-off of his original bull, Brady Turgeon’s eyes lit up when he saw which animal he was going to be tangoing with later on.
Importantly, the teenager from Arizona didn’t let that excitement get to his head during the second round of competition of the Professional Bull Riders Wrangler Invitational Presented by Cooper Tires at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark on Saturday night. Instead, he let it get to his hand as he held on for dear life and put up the top score of Round 2.
Turgeon posted the first 90-point ride of his PBR career by exhuming a poise well beyond his 19 years of age on Tijuana Two-Step, lasting all eight seconds to leave him sitting in third place overall entering the final day of the annual event at the Metra on Sunday.
Having only made his Unleash The Beast series debut March 31 at the PBR’s event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Turgeon is in contention to close an epic past few weeks of bull riding — which has included a Velocity Tour win in Oakland, California, and a top-10 finish this past weekend on the Unleash The Beast stop in Nampa, Idaho — with a high-level finish in Billings.
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Not bad for a cowboy who just recently finished high school — and he’ll have more chances to impress the crowd during Sunday’s rides, which are scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m.
“I rode it out until the very end,” Turgeon said. “I took it, for sure, because that last jump, it had me keeping that hand shut as long as I could to make that whistle.
“I mean, just being here with all the big dogs of the sport and being able to show what I got and what I can do, I mean, I’m living the dream right now. It’s awesome.”
Turgeon’s original ride had him slotted to go against Death Warrant, but he got his matchup with his second bull after his successful challenge, saying he was “stoked” to see Tijuana Two-Step’s name pop up next to his.
And in front of the 6,720 people attending in the Metra’s seats, Turgeon took over the moment and electrified fans in the arena, putting up the high score of the weekend thus far and giving his young career a signature moment.
“I just want to be consistent and do my job, ride my bulls and keep believing in myself on what I can actually accomplish in this sport,” Turgeon said. “I think it’ll be great coming in Sunday, getting that bull ride done and having the confidence going into it. I think I’ll be able to get something done.”
Chase Outlaw gets flown off of Whatever during the Professional Bull Riders Wrangler Invitational Presented by Cooper Tires at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark on Saturday.
Turgeon will have some catching up to do Sunday as two riders — former PBR World Champion Cooper Davis and Brazilian cowboy Lucas Divino — followed up qualified rides during first-round action Friday with another score Saturday.
Davis, a Texan who captured the top prize in the sport in 2016, recorded an 87 on Toasted after notching an 88.75 the previous day, giving him an event-leading aggregate score of 175.75. Divino sits three points back after successfully riding High Country Hitman for an 87 on Saturday to follow up an 85.75-point ride the previous day.
After just six qualified rides in all were recorded Friday, the humans made some leeway Saturday by notching nine scores in total.
Unleash The Beast standings leader Kaique Pacheco closed the night with an 86-point ride of Fajita after coming within a second of a qualified ride in the first round, placing him tied for seventh with Oklahoman cowboy Zane Cook, who picked up his lone score Friday.
Between Turgeon and Pacheco in the standings is a trio of athletes who picked up Saturday scores in Colten Fritzlan (86.75 on Turn Back Jack), Keyshawn Whitehorse (86.5 on Big Worm) and Eli Vastbinder (86.25 on Trump Train).
And though the veterans surrounding him are more than able to make their moves and fire their way to the top of the leaderboard when the final rounds of rides get underway, Turgeon — who noted that he’s been in similar situations before in the Junior World Finals and other rodeos — looked and sounded Saturday night as if this was just another day in the chute.
In looking to make some Metra magic happen, it may make him a dangerous man when the best of the best come to play Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve felt the pressure before, being in the top of the standings and riding the bull to win the deal,” Turgeon said. “It’s just another bull ride to me, honestly.”
Brady Turgeon cracked the 90-point barrier for the first time in his PBR career Saturday at the Metra.
Email Briar Napier at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @BriarNapier
PBR Wrangler Invitational Presented by Cooper Tires
Standings After Round 2
*Denotes aggregate score
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