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Australia’s Jason Belmonte Retains Lead in Barbasol PBA Players Championship

Heading Into Final Two Qualifying Rounds

Belmonte and O’Neill extend lead in Roth/Holman Doubles Championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Feb. 21, 2018) – Australian Jason Belmonte took another step closer in his journey to win a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title averaging 244 after four rounds to retain his lead inthe Barbasol PBA Players Championship Wednesday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.

In Wednesday’s third round, the two-hander who owns 2017 and 2011 Players Championships titles among his nine major wins, posted a 1,173 five-game pinfall total and followed up with 1,217 in the fourth round later in the day to bring his overall four-round pinfall total for 20 games to 4,884.

Belmonte posted games of 243, 236, 223, 224 and 247 in the third round and 278, 238, 279, 204 and 218 in the fourth round. The four-time PBA Player of the Year holds a 67-pin lead over four-time tour winner and last week’s Go Bowling! PBA 60th Anniversary Classic runner-up Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash, in second with 4,817.

Belmonte, a 16-time tour winner, is one major victory behind Pete Weber and Earl Anthony who lead the all-time majors list with 10 wins.

Finishing the day in third was Kristopher Prather of Plainfield, Ill., who started the day in 27th but rocketed to third finishing with 4,725. He bowled games of games of258, 198, 279, 278 and 266 in Wednesday’s fourth round to help him move into the top five.

Rounding out the top five were one-time tour winners Stuart Williams and Richie Teece, both of England, with 4,686 and 4,667, respectively.

PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke, a 38-time Tour titlist and winner of seven majors, who was second after Tuesday’s second round dropped to 17th with a 4,511 pinfall for fourrounds. The Players Championship is the only major missing from the 53-year-old’s resume.

Competition continues with two five-game qualifying rounds Thursday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. After Thursday’s sixth qualifying round (30 games), the field will be cut to the top five players for the live ESPN finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

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

Belmonte, and doubles partner eight-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., also retained their lead in the Doubles Championship standings with a combined 9,489 20-game pinfall total. They hold a 265-pin lead over Kent and EJ Tackett of Huntington, Ind. in second with 9,224.

Rounding out the top five doubles teams were Prather and Brandon Novak of Chillicothe, Ohio in third with 9,156; Duke and Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas, 9,142, and Canadians Patrick Girard and Zach Wilkens with 9,033.

All qualifying rounds for the Players Championship and Doubles Championship are streamed live on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. For subscription and schedule information visit www.xtraframe.tv.

BARBASOL PBA PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl, Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday

Fourth Round Standings (after 20 games)

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4,884.
2, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 4,817.
3, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 4,725.
4, Stuart Williams, England, 4,686.
5, Richie Teece, England, 4,667.
6, (tie) AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, and Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 4,631.
8, Patrick Girard, Canada, 4,617.
9, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 4,606.
10, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 4,605.
11, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 4,604.
12, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 4,595.
13, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 4,564.
14, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 4,551.
15, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 4,538.
16, Dom Barrett, England, 4,514.
17, (tie) Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, and Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4,511.
19, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 4,491.
20, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 4,490.
21, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 4,482.
22, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 4,475.
23, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 4,472.
24, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 4,471.
25, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 4,469.
26, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 4,468.
27, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 4,459.
28, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 4,449.
29, (tie) Thomas Larsen, Denmark, and Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 4,442.
31, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 4,440.
32, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 4,432.
33, (tie) Osku Palermaa, Finland, and Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 4,431.
35, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 4,429.
36, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., 4,425.
37, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 4,421.
38, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 4,416.
39, (tie) Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, and Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 4,415.
41, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 4,411.
42, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 4,407.
43, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 4,391.
44, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 4,372.
45, Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 4,367.
46, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 4,356.
47, (tie) Matt O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., and Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 4,345.
49, Rhino Page, Orlando, 4,343.
50, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 4,340.
51, Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 4,339.
52, Sam Cooley, Australia, 4,338.
53, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 4,328.
54, Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn., 4,325.
55, Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 4,319.
56, Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 4,314.
57, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 4,313.
58, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 4,299.
59, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 4,287.
60, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 4,274.
61, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 4,271.
62, (tie) Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., and Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 4,264.
64, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 4,261.
65, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 4,259.
66, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 4,256.
67, Kyle Cook, Centerville, Ohio, 4,254.
68, Ray Teece, England, 4,252.
69, Francois Louw, South Africa, 4,251.
70, (tie) Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, and Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 4,243.
72, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 4,237.
73, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 4,236.
74, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 4,229.
75, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 4,227.
76, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 4,223.
77, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 4,219.
78, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 4,217.
79, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 4,196.
80, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 4,193.
81, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 4,185.
82, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 4,182.
83, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz., 4,173.
84, Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 4,167.
85, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 4,162.
86, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 4,154.
87, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 4,145.
88, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 4,143.
89, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 4,141.
90, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 4,137.
91, Michael Schlabach, Goshen, Ind., 4,136.
92, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 4,131.
93, Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 4,129.
94, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 4,121.
95, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 4,118.
96, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 4,117.
97, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 4,110.
98, Robert Mushtare, Carthage, N.Y., 4,100.
99, Graham Fach, Canada, 4,095.
100, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 4,090.
101, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y., 4,068.
102, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 4,045.
103, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 4,023.
104, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 4,014.
105, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill., 4,006.
106, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 4,000.
107, Napatra Buspanikonkul, Thailand, 3,989.
108, Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 3,988.
109, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 3,973.
110, Timothy Steria, Watertown, N.Y., 3,965.
111, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 3,946.
112, Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 3,831.
113, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 3,814.
114, CJ Kirchner, Herrin, Ill., 3,811.
115, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 3,761.
116, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 3,752.
117, Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., 3,661.
118, Matthew Ward, Fort Mohave, Ariz., 3,353.
119, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 2,127.
120, Eric Cottrell, Grove City, Ohio, 2,093.

300 games – Marshall Kent, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Matt Staninger

MARK ROTH/MARSHALL HOLMAN PBA DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIP

Presented by BowlerX.com

Fourth Round Standings (after 20 games)

1, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa./Jason Belmonte, Australia, 9,489.
2, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind./Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 9,224.
3, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio/Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 9,156.
4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla./Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 9,142.
5, Patrick Girard, Canada/Zach Wilkins, Canada, 9,033.
6, Jesper Svensson, Sweden/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 8,980.
7, Darren Tang, San Francisco/Michael Tang, San Francisco, 8,946.
8, Dom Barrett, England/Osku Palermaa, Finland, 8,945.
9, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas/Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 8,921.
10, Ray Teece, England/Richie Teece, England, 8,919.
11, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas/Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 8,911.
12, Francois Lavoie, Canada/Stuart Williams, England, 8,909.
13, Daniel Fransson, Sweden/Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 8,874.
14, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y./Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 8,863.
15, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla./Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 8,854.
16, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas/Sam Cooley, Australia, 8,849.
17, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa./Matt O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 8,820.
18, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo./Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 8,803.
19, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill./Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 8,801.
20, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio/Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 8,799.
21, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa/Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 8,798.
22, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y./Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 8,792.
23, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas/Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 8,780.
24, Arturo Quintero, Mexico/Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 8,768.
25, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo./Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 8,761.
26, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y./Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 8,672.
27, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas/Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 8,659.
28, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich./Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 8,653.
29, Shota Kawazoe, Japan/Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 8,640.
30, Andres Gomez, Colombia/Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 8,627.
31, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, IL/Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 8,619.
32, Rhino Page, Orlando/Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 8,607.
33, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky./Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 8,587.
34, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia/Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 8,558.
35, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y./Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 8,510.
36, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich./Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 8,504.
37, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan./Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 8,500.
38, Markus Jansson, Sweden/Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 8,431.
39, Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn. /Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 8,348.
40, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C./Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 8,346.
41, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill./Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 8,345.
42, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y./Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 8,324.
43, Andrew Cain, Phoenix/Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 8,291.
44, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla./Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 8,270.
45, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C./Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 8,264.
46, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio/Graham Fach, Canada, 8,240.
47, Christopher Sloan, Ireland/Francois Louw, South Africa, 8,239.
48, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz./Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 8,004.
49, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico/Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 7,946.
50, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich./Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 7,935.
51, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C./Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 7,879.

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