Friday, February 23, 2018

BELMONTE TOP QUALIFYING P0SITON

Jason Belmonte to Try for 10th Major Title From
Top Qualifying Position in Barbasol PBA Players Championship Finals
Belmonte and Bill O’Neill also lead field of 14 doubles teams advancing to
Friday’s Roth/Holman Doubles Championship Baker qualifying rounds

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Feb. 22, 2018) – After earning top qualifier honors for the Barbasol PBA Players Championship stepladder finals Thursday, defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia is just one match win away from capturing a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title.

After Thursday’s sixth round, the four-time PBA Player of the Year finished with a 7,337 30-game pinfall total to earn the top qualifying berth for Sunday’s live Players Championship stepladder finals which will be televised by ESPN at 1:30 p.m. ET from Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.

A win in the title match would move Belmonte into a tie with Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for most career major victories.

At 34, Belmonte would become the youngest by far to win 10 majors with Anthony winning his 10th major at age 46, and Weber, who won his 10th at age 50.

In the second major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, Belmonte, a 16-time tour winner whose major titles include the 2011 and 2017 Players Championships, led after every round and set a new average mark for highest qualifying average to make a stepladder final in a major averaging 244.57 for his 30 games.

“Today I was as focused as I could be which enabled me to put my foot on the pedal and continue to throw the best shots I could possibly throw,” Belmonte said. “If I didn’t strike, I wanted to make every spare. I didn’t want to take anything for granted.

“I’m in the best position I can be in to win,” he added. “Now I just need to continue to do the same thing I’ve done all week for one game and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
In the PBA Tournament of Champions, Belmonte made a run at his 10th major title but finished fourth in the finals at AMF Riviera Lanes in Fairlawn, Ohio on Feb. 11.

While Belmonte sits in the coveted top position for the finals, four challengers will be battling for the opportunity to meet him in the championship match.

Qualifying second for the finals and making his second consecutive television appearance after his runner-up finish in last week’s Go Bowling! PBA60 Anniversary Classic, was four-time Tour winner Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash. Kent finished 278 pins behind Belmonte with a 7,059 pinfall.

Making his first television appearance and qualifying third for the finals was Kris Prather of Milton, Fla., who finished with a 6,995 pinfall for 30 games. Patrick Girard of Canada made his first TV finals appearance in 13 years and third overall to take the fourth qualifying position finishing with a 6,924 pinfall.

Two-time PBA Tour winner Tom Smallwood of Saginaw, Mich., who began the tournament in 93rd after the first round battled all the way back to earn the fifth and final TV finals position with a 6,903 pinfall. The 2009 PBA World Championship winner doubled in the 10th frame of the final game of qualifying to make it into the finals.

The Players Championship qualifying rounds also determined 14 doubles team that will advance to Friday’s Mark Roth/Marshall Holman Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com final two Baker format qualifying rounds. After Friday’s rounds the top five doubles teams will be determined for the taped ESPN telecast that will follow the Players Championship finals at 5 p.m. Fans will also be able to catch the doubles final live on ESPN3.

Belmonte and Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., also dominated the Doubles Championship after six rounds finishing with a combined 14,235 30-game total. The pair will lead the 14 doubles teams that advanced to Friday’s final two Baker format qualifying rounds.

BARBASOL PBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, Columbus, Ohio, Thursday

Sixth Round Standings (after 30 games. Top five players advance to live ESPN stepladder finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET)
1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 7,337.
2, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 7,059.
3, Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 6,995.
4, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,924.
5, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 6,903.

Other cashers
6, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 6,898, $8,000.
7, Stuart Williams, England, 6,890, $7,000.
8, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 6,875, $6,000.
9, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 6,853, $5,500.
10, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 6,847, $5,000.
11, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 6,833, $4,500.
12, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 6,832, $4,200.
13, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 6,823, $4,000.
14, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 6,793, $3,600.
15, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 6,791, $3,400.
16, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 6,783, $3,200.
17, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 6,760, $3,000.
18, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 6,743, $2,800.
19, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 6,737, $2,600.
20, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,726, $2,400.
21, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 6,719, $2,300.
22, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 6,715, $2,200.
23, Richie Teece, England, 6,709, $2,100.
24, Dom Barrett, England, 6,697, $2,000.
25, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 6,691, $1,900.
26, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 6,690, $1,800.
27, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 6,684, $1,700.
28, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 6,672, $1,600.
29, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 6,667, $1,550.
30, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 6,663, $1,500.

Failed to cash
31, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 6,658.
32, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 6,640.
33, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 6,634.
34, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 6,626.
35, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 6,621.
36, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 6,616.
37 (tie), Daniel Fransson, Sweden, and Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 6,614.
39, Matt O'Grady, Rahway, N.J., 6,602.
40, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 6,597.
41, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 6,581.
42, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 6,574.
43, Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 6,571.
44, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 6,558.
45 (tie), Andres Gomez, Colombia, and Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 6,535.
47, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 6,511.
48, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6,510.
49, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 6,509.
50, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 6,508.
51, Rhino Page, Orlando, 6,504.
52, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 6,495.
53, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 6,494.
54, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 6,483.
55 (tie), Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., and Sam Cooley, Australia, 6,482.
57, Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 6,480.
58, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 6,479.
59, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 6,475.
60, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 6,468.
61, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 6,448.
62, Ray Teece, England, 6,439.
63, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 6,435.
64, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 6,433.
65, Kyle Cook, Centerville, Ohio, 6,431.
66, Francois Louw, South Africa, 6,429.
67, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 6,427.
68, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 6,423.
69, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 6,419.
70, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 6,404.
71, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 6,397.
72, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 6,385.
73, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 6,380.
74, Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, 6,374.
75 (tie), Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., and Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn., 6,372.
77, Michael Schlabach, Goshen, Ind., 6,361.
78, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 6,349.
79, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 6,333.
80, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 6,307.
81, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 6,288.
82, Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 6,285.
83, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 6,277.
84, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 6,271.
85, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 6,254.
86, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 6,241.
87, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 6,240.
88, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 6,218.
89, Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 6,204.
90, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 6,199.
91, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 6,191.
92, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 6,183.
93, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 6,175.
94 (tie), Andrew Cain, Phoenix, and Robert Mushtare, Carthage, N.Y., 6,172.
96, Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 6,170.
97, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 6,146.
98, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 6,128.
99, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 6,105.
100, Napatra Buspanikonkul, Thailand, 6,104.
101, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 6,099.
102, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz., 6,094.
103, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill., 6,089.
104, Timothy Steria, Watertown, N.Y., 6,078, $100.
105, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 6,070.
106, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 6,059.
107, Graham Fach, Canada, 6,054.
108, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 6,008.
109, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 6,000.
110, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y., 5,958.
111, Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 5,957.
112, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 5,898.
113, CJ Kirchner, Herrin, Ill., 5,740.
114, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 5,611.
115, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 5,595.
116, Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., 5,534.
117, Matthew Ward, Fort Mohave, Ariz., 5,061.
118, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, withdrew.
119, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., withdrew
120, Eric Cottrell, Grove City, Ohio, withdrew.

300 games – Sean Rash, Brad Angelo, Tim Steria

MARK ROTH/MARSHALL HOLMAN PBA DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP
Presented by BowlerX.com

Sixth Round Standings (after 30 games; top 14 teams advance to Baker format qualifying Friday)
1, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa./Jason Belmonte, Australia, 14,235.
2, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind./Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 13,743.
3, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio/Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 13,653.
4, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas/Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 13,543.
5, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla./Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 13,520.
6, Patrick Girard, Canada/Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 13,505.
7, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas/Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 13,445.
8, Darren Tang, San Francisco/Michael Tang, San Francisco, 13,429.
9, Dom Barrett, England/Osku Palermaa, Finland, 13,369.
10, Francois Lavoie, Canada/Stuart Williams, England, 13,358.
11, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo./Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 13,349.
12, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas/Sam Cooley, Australia, 13,329.
13, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio/Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 13,276.
14, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas/Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 13,268.

Failed to advance
15, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y./Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 13,245.
16, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y./Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 13,240.
17, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa./Matt O'Grady, Rahway, N.J., 13,218.
18, Daniel Fransson, Sweden/Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 13,188.
19, Arturo Quintero, Mexico/Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 13,169.
20, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo./Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 13,149.
21, Ray Teece, England/Richie Teece, England, 13,148.
22, Jesper Svensson, Sweden/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 13,116.
23, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa/Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 13,108.
24, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich./Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 13,102.
25, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas/Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 13,048.
26, Shota Kawazoe, Japan/Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 13,039.
27, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky./Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 12,992.
28, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill./Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 12,986.
29, Andres Gomez, Colombia/Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 12,968.
30, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y./Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 12,934.
31, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, IL/Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 12,908.
32, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y./Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 12,833.
33, Markus Jansson, Sweden/Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 12,828.
34, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan./Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 12,795.
35, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla./Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 12,782.
36, Rhino Page, Orlando/Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 12,781.
37, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C./Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 12,735.
38, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia/Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 12,734.
39, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill./Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 12,660.
40, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich./Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 12,645.
41, Andrew Cain, Phoenix/Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 12,576.
42, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y./Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 12,516.
43, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C./Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 12,478.
44, Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn. /Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 12,477.
45, Christopher Sloan, Ireland/Francois Louw, South Africa, 12,429.
46, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio/Graham Fach, Canada, 12,342.
47, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla./Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 12,332.
48, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich./Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 12,138.
49, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz./Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 12,051.
50, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C./Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 11,770.

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