Australia’s Jason Belmonte Extends PBA World Championship Lead Heading Into Match Play

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (March 15, 2019) – Four-time PBA Player of the Year and defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia averaged 237 in Friday’s cashers’ rounds of the PBA World Championship to extend his lead in the fourth event of PBA World Series of Bowling X.

The right-handed two-hander, who is trying for a record 11th major title in the third major tournament of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, bowled games of 289, 235, 257, 194 and 224 in Friday’s first cashers’ round and 225, 268, 232, 236 and 210 in the second round at Thunderbowl Lanes.

Belmonte finished the day with a 9,247 40-game overall pinfall total (231 average) consisting of 10-game qualifying totals from the WSOB Cheetah, Chameleon and Scorpion Championships in addition to the 10 games from the cashers’ rounds.

Bowling on PBA’s 43-foot Earl Anthony lane condition, Belmonte led 16 players who advanced to two eight-game match play rounds Saturday scheduled for 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET.  After match play the top five players will be determined for the live FS1 stepladder finals March 21 at 8 p.m.

Having to deal with an especially tough condition in the last game of the second round, Belmonte went to a backup ball delivery in the sixth frame and went on to throw five of the last six strikes to salvage the 210 game.

“It’s something I’ll do when I feel I have nothing going bowling traditionally from the right and that was the case in the last game,” said Belmonte. “Since the right side was very tricky for me, I made a decision that if I can figure it out quickly – within a frame or two – I have time to save the game.

“I think it’s something every bowler should work on and develop as a tool to find a shot,” Belmonte added.

The 35-year-old Belmonte won the PBA Tournament of Champions in February for his 10th major title to tie PBA Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for first on the career majors list. He was denied an 11th major title when he lost to fellow two-hander Anthony Simonsen in the title match of the Players Championship a week later.

Belmonte holds a commanding 259-pin lead over BJ Moore of Greensburg, Pa., in second with 8,988. Rounding out the top five are two-time Go Bowling! PBA Tour winner Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 8,901; Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 8,852, and 10-time tour winner Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 8,848. O’Neill is the only player to make the match play cuts in the four WSOB tour events.

EJ Tackett of Bluffton, Ind., the 2016 World Championship winner, finished eighth with an 8,733 pinfall. PBA Hall of Famer and three-time World Championship winner Norm Duke of Clermont, Fla., finished 12th with an 8,657 and fellow Hall of Famer 2011 World Championship winner Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, took the 16th and final spot with 8,602.

The World Championship match play rounds will be live-streamed by PBA’s online streaming partner, FloBowling. For subscription information, visit FloBowling.com.

PBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Thunderbowl Lanes, Allen Park, Mich., Friday

Results After Second Cashers’ Round (40-game pinfall totals. Top 16 players advance to Saturday’s match play rounds at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.)

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9,247.
2, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 8,988.
3, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 8,901.
4, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 8,852.
5, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 8,848.
6, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 8,841.
7, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 8,778.
8, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 8,733.
9, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 8,710.
10, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 8,696.
11, Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 8,692.
12, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 8,657.
13, Matthew McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 8,626.
14, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 8,619.
15, Rhino Page, Orlando, 8,615.
16, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 8,602.

Did not advance
17, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 8,597, $5,000.
18, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 8,584, $4,700.
19, Patrick Girard, Canada, 8,555, $4,600.
20, Kurt Pilon, Sterling Heights, Mich., 8,548, $4,400.
21, Darren Tang, Las Vegas, Nev., 8,535, $4,300.
22, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 8,526, $4,200.
23, Dom Barrett, England, 8,523, $4,100.
24, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 8,517, $4,000.
25, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 8,500, $3,900.
26, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 8,492, $3,800.
27, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 8,483, $3,700.
28, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 8,481, $3,600.
29, Sam Cooley, Australia, 8,466, $3,450.
29, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 8,466, $3,450.
31, Anthony Pepe, East Elmhurst, N.Y., 8,447, $3,300.
32, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 8,435, $3,200.
33, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 8,426, $3,100.
34, Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio, 8,424, $3,000.
35, Mykel Holliman, Collierville, Tenn., 8,423, $2,900.
36, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 8,417, $2,800.
37, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 8,393, $2,700.
38, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 8,388, $2,600.
39, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 8,332, $2,500.
40, Nathan Bohr, Austin, Texas, 8,312, $2,400.
41, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 8,303, $2,300.42, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 8,300, $2,200.
43, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 8,257, $2,100.
44, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 8,198, $2,050.
45, DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 8,197, $2,000.