Simonsen Retains Lead While Belmonte Makes Run in PBA Tournament of Champions After First Round of Match Play

by Jerry Schneider  |  Thursday, February 06, 7:56 PM

FAIRLAWN, Ohio – Despite a 4-4 record, seven-time PBA Tour titlist Anthony Simonsen was able to retain his lead in the PBA Tournament of Champions after the first round of match play at AMF Riviera Lanes Thursday but defending champion and fellow two-hander Jason Belmonte made a run to finish the day in eighth.

After earning top qualifier honors earlier in the day to lead 24 players advancing to match play, Simonsen ended the day with a 5,869 26-game pinfall total including 30 bonus pins for each match win. He won matches with games of 226, 235, 238 and 213 and lost with games of 202, 182, 207 and 235.

“It seemed like the lanes just played difficult in general and adjusting pair to pair was tricky,” said the 23-year-old Simonsen. “I felt like I had the pocket under control but it seemed like if I wasn’t striking I was getting splits which made it hard to keep any momentum going.”

Simonsen became the youngest player to win two majors when he defeated Belmonte 232-212 in the title match of the 2019 PBA Players Championship at age 22. He won the 2016 USBC Masters at age 19 to become the youngest to win a major.

In pursuit of a record fourth Tournament of Champions title, Belmonte narrowly made it into match play taking the 24th and final spot by just one pin earlier in the day. After losing his first two matches with games of 197 and 191, he won the next six matches with games of 232, 214, 255, 222, 242 and 247 posting a 6-2 record and finishing the day with a 5,733 pinfall.

It was reminiscent of 2018, when Belmonte took the last match play spot with a seven-pin cushion and proceeded to make a steady climb through the standings to qualify third for the stepladder finals finishing fourth after losing the second stepladder match to eventual winner Matt O’Grady 229-225.

“You just have to remember that once qualifying ends you’re not even halfway through the tournament so there’s time to make a move,” said the five-time and reigning PBA Player of the Year. “I started using a urethane ball to start the round but that wasn’t working so we tried some things and a couple different balls. Fortunately, I found one that I felt comfortable with and started striking.”

Belmonte’s win in the 2019 Tournament of Champions was his 10th major title which tied Pete Weber and Earl Anthony for first on the all-time list. He won the PBA World Championship for his 11th major win a few weeks later to take sole possession of first on the all-time majors win list.

Rounding out the top five after Thursday’s first match play round were Andrew Anderson, 5,861 (6-2); Bill O’Neill, 5,850 (6-2); Tom Daugherty, 5,786 (4-4) and Dom Barrett, 5,763 (6-1-1).

After the final two rounds of match play Friday at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET, the top five will be determined for Sunday’s stepladder finals which will be televised live at 5 p.m. ET on FOX. The winner will earn a $100,000 first prize and a $1 million bonus will be paid if the winner bowls a 300 game in the title match.

Friday’s match play rounds will be streamed live by FloBowling which is also livestreaming the finals to international subscribers.



PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

(a 2020 Go Bowling PBA Tour Tier 1 event)

AMF Riviera Lanes, Fairlawn, Ohio, Thursday

Fourth Round Standings (Includes total pinfall for 26 games including match play bonus pins. All 24 players return for the second round of match play Friday morning at 11 a.m. ET)



1, Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 4-4, 5,869.
2, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 6-2, 5,861.
3, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 6-2, 5,850.
4, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 4-4, 5,786.
5, Dom Barrett, England, 6-1-1, 5,763.
6, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 4-4, 5,751.
7, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 5-3, 5,735.
8, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 6-2, 5,733.
9, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 4-4, 5,727.
10, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 5-3, 5,721.
11, Stuart Williams, England, 4-4, 5,715.
12, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3-5, 5,705.
13, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 4-4, 5,697.
14, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3-5, 5,696.
15, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 2-6, 5,685.
16, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 3-5, 5,660.
17, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 4-4, 5,640.
18, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 5-3, 5,627.
19, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 5-3, 5,597.
20, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2-6, 5,564.
21, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 5-3, 5,558.
22, Richard Teece, England, 3-4-1, 5,513.
23, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2-6, 5,465.
24, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 0-8, 5,188.

Third Round Standings (after 18 games. Top 24 players advanced to first round of match play)

1, Anthony Simonsen, Little Elm, Texas, 4,011.
2, Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, 3,954.
3, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 3,951.
4, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 3,932.
5, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 3,922.
6, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 3,908.
7, Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 3,904.
8, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 3,898.
9, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,885.
10, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 3,870.
11, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 3,864.
12, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 3,848.
13, Stuart Williams, England, 3,831.
14, Richard Teece, England, 3,825.
15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 3,823.
16, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 3,822.
17, Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 3,819.
18, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 3,785.
19, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 3,784.
20, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 3,782.
21, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 3,776.
22, Dom Barrett, England, 3,766.
23, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 3,764.
24, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,753.

Failed to advance:
25, Jon Van Hees, Charlestown, R.I., 3,752, $2,500.
26, Tom Hess, Granger, Iowa, 3,721.
27, DJ Archer, Spring, Texas, 3,715.
28, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 3,710.
29, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 3,696.
30, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 3,692.
31, Darren Tang, Las Vegas, 3,689.
32, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,686.
33, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 3,674.
34, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 3,663.
35, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 3,653.
36, (tie) Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., and Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 3,644.
38, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,624.
39, Rhino Page, Spokane, Wash., 3,616.
40, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 3,614.
41, Chris Collins, Myrlte Beach, S.C., 3,606.
41, Francois Lavoie, Canada, 3,606.
43, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 3,591.
44, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 3,573.
45, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 3,550.
46, (tie) Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., and Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 3,535.
48, Jason Sterner, Rochester, N.Y., 3,511.
49, Matt Sanders, Evansville, Ind., 3,502.
50, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 3,495.
51, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 3,484.
52, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 3,482.
53, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 3,481.
54, Anthony Pepe, Long Island City, N.Y., 3,473.
55, Matt O'Grady, Rahway, N.J., 3,466.
56, Ryan Ciminelli, Lancaster, S.C., 3,454.
57, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 3,404.
58, Graham Fach, Canada, 3,338.
59, Carmen Salvino, Schaumburg, Ill., 2,714.

Weber Crushes Belmonte in PBA Tournament of Champions Finals

Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, wrote another chapter in bowling history Sunday when he defeated Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte, 224-179, to win the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis, IN.

The victory made Weber the first player to complete the PBA Triple Crown for a second time and tied bowling legend Earl Anthony for most major PBA titles with 10.

Weber, who was considered one of the professional tour’s power players when he won his first PBA Tournament of Champions with his unique high back swing back in 1978, is now 50 – the oldest player ever to win the TOC – and affectionately called “Gramps” by his younger opponents.

He won his second TOC title to go along with five U.S. Open titles and two PBA World Championships. He also owns a PBA Touring Players Championship for his other major. His win Sunday was his 37th, tying him for third place on the PBA all-time titles list with Norm Duke, behind Walter Ray Williams Jr. (47) and Anthony (43).

“I don’t know what it is,” Weber said. “I get up for the majors, but there’s one eluding me and the Weber family – the USBC Masters. I really want that one, and I’m not done yet. I’m not slowing down. I have no plans to retire.”

Weber won Sunday with three doubles, four spares and help from Belmonte, who left the 4-10 split three times – failing to convert it twice.

“I woke up today and said my dream would be to bowl Pete and win by a pin,” Belmonte said. “I got half of it right. I bowled Pete, but I lost by 60.

“Pete is the most talented bowler the world has ever seen, and may ever see,” Belmonte added. “To bowl him in the finals and see him break records like he has broken is really special. If I could achieve half of what he has done by the time my career is over, I’ll be ecstatic.”

Belmonte eliminated defending champion Sean Rash of Montgomery, IL, 229-171, in the semifinal match. Belmonte started with five strikes while Rash threw only one strike in his first six frames. When Belmonte left the 1-2-4-6-10 in the eighth frame and failed to convert, he gave Rash a glimmer of hope, but Rash was unable to close the gap.

In the second match, Rash followed a first-frame spare with five strikes to build a 34-pin lead over Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, SC, after Jones left and failed to convert the 3-4-6-7-10 split in his second frame. Despite striking on eight of his last nine shots, Jones was unable to overcome his early mistake against Rash’s error-free game.

Jones started the stepladder finals with a 217-189 victory over Finland’s two-handed star, Osku Palermaa. Jones had a double in the second and third frames which gave him the lead and Palermaa, unable to double the entire game, couldn’t catch up.

The PBA Tour’s winter season ends next Sunday (April 7) when the finals of the Elias Cup, the concluding event of the inaugural PBA League season, airs on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET. The New York City WTT KingPins, owned by women’s sports legend Billie Jean King, is the top-qualifying team for the finals. Other finalists include the Motown Muscle, owned by former Pittsburgh Steelers star Jerome Bettis; the BROOKLYN STyLES, owned by Grey’s Anatomy actor Jesse Williams, and the Dallas Strikers, owned by former NFL great Terrell Owens.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Sunday

Final Standings

1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., $50,000.

2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, $25,000.

3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., $15,000.

4, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., $12,000.

5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, $10,000.

Stepladder Results

Match One: Jones def. Palermaa, 217-189.

Match Two: Rash def. Jones, 247-233.

Semifinal Match: Belmonte def. Rash, 229-171.

Championship: Weber def. Belmonte, 224-179.

Pete Weber Tops Matchplay of Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions

Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, defeated Australian two-handed star Jason Belmonte in their final match Friday night, 226-183, to claim the top qualifying position for Sunday’s Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions stepladder finals at Woodland Bowl.

The 50-year-old Weber, who is trying for a record-tying 10th major title and a chance to complete the PBA’s Triple Crown for an unprecedented second time, traded leads with Belmonte throughout Friday’s competition before reclaiming the lead in the final game. Weber averaged 236.71 and won 15 of his 24 matches to finish with a 48-game total of 11,812 pins, topping Belmonte by 46 pins for first place.

Weber, who ranks fourth on the all-time PBA Tour titles list with 36, can tie the late Earl Anthony for most PBA major titles if he wins Sunday’s title match. Weber has won the U.S. Open a record five times and the PBA World Championship twice; those events are the other two legs in the PBA Triple Crown.

“When we’re done Sunday, I’ll talk about those things,” Weber said. “I thought I was pulling away from everyone, but all of a sudden, here comes Belmo. I would have been content with second, but I’m happy I only have to bowl one game Sunday.”

Weber credited his older brother Rich for identifying a minor fix in his timing, which made a big difference in the way he has bowled the past two months.

“(Rich) watches me bowl a lot and he never says anything if I’m bowling well,” Weber said. “He hasn’t said anything to me in a couple of months, so I must be doing things right.”

Belmonte, who won his sixth career title and first major title in the United States Bowling Congress Masters in February, had a 14-9-1 match play record and posted a 11,766 pinfall total.

Reigning PBA Player of the Year and defending Tournament of Champions winner Sean Rash of Montgomery, IL, qualified third with 11,661 pins. Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, SC, advanced from 12th place at the start of play Friday to qualify fourth, 25 pins ahead of Finland’s Osku Palermaa. Palermaa defeated Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, PA, in their final match, 198-194, to hold onto the fifth berth in Sunday’s finals.

The Tournament of Champions finals will air live on ESPN Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. First prize is $50,000.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Friday

Final Match Play Standings (after 48 games, including match play bonus pins; top five advance to ESPN stepladder finals Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET)

1, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 15-9, 11,812.
2, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 14-9-1, 11,766.
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 15-9, 11,661.
4, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 16-7-1, 11,500.
5, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 12-11-1, 11,475.
6, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 14-10, 11,437, $8,000.
7, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 15-9, 11,320, $7,000.
8, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 13-9-2, 11,269, $6,500.
9, Stuart Williams, England, 13-11, 11,217, $6,000.
10, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 12-11-1, 11,204, $5,500.
11, Dom Barrett, England, 12-12, 11,180, $5,000.
12, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 12-12, 11,149, $4,800.
13, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 12-12, 11,116, $4,600.
14, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 11-13, 11,013, $4,400.
15, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 8-16, 10,998, $4,200.
16, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 13-11, 10,991, $4,000.
17, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 10-14, 10,977, $3,900.
18, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 10-14, 10,932, $3,800.
19, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 9-15, 10,856, $3,700.
20, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 12-12, 10,825, $3,600.
21, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 9-15, 10,778, $3,500.
22, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 9-14-1, 10,764, $3,400.
23, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 10-14, 10,694, $3,300.
24, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 8-15-1, 10,515, $3,200.

300 Game: Andres Gomez.


Scott Norton Blisters First Round of the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions

Scott Norton of Mission Viejo, CA, threw back-to-back games of 300 and 296, and averaged 252.25 for eight games to take the first round lead in the Barbasol PBA Tournament of Champions (TOC) lead Wednesday at Woodland Bowl, in Indianapolis, IN.

Norton, who is trying for his third title of the 2012-13 season, and his first major win, said “my pin carry today was ridiculous. It wasn’t a case of the conditions favoring left-handers. It was a matter of, if I hit the 1-2 pocket, I got a strike. It didn’t matter if I was high in the pocket, light or whatever, the pins fell.

“But if you’re going to win out here, you have to have days like that. Lord knows I’ve had enough of the other kind.”

Norton finished the opening round of qualifying with a total of 2,018 pins for a 37-pin lead over the all-time PBA Tour titles leader, Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, FL. Williams, a 47-time titlist, has never won the TOC. If he can win this week, he’ll become the eighth player in PBA history to complete the “Triple Crown” (TOC, U.S. Open and PBA World Championship), and the third ever to complete the “Grand Slam” (Triple Crown plus USBC Masters).

Pete Weber of St. Ann, MO, was in third place with 9,159 pins followed by Osku Palermaa of Finland with a 1,940 total and Dick Allen of Columbia, SC, in fifth place with 1,932 pins.

The 2013 TOC continues with the second of three eight-round qualifying squads today at 5 p.m. ET. After a third eight-game qualifying round Thursday at 10 a.m., the top 24 players based on 24-game pinfall totals will advance to round-robin match play. Match play rounds will be held Thursday at 5 p.m., and Friday at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. After a total of 48 games, the top five players will advance to Sunday’s live ESPN stepladder finals at 2:30 p.m. ET.

All qualifying and match play rounds of the Tournament of Champions (and the PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies Saturday night) will be covered live, exclusively on PBA’s online bowling channel, Xtra Frame. For subscription information, visit pba.com.

BARBASOL PBA TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Woodland Bowl, Indianapolis, Wednesday

Round One (after 8 qualifying games)

1, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 2,018.
2, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,981.
3, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,959.
4, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,940.
5, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,932.
6, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,918.
7, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 1,891.
8, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,884.
9, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,881.
10, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 1,876.
11, Patrick Allen, Wesley Chapel, Fla., 1,875.
12, Mike DeVaney, Hemet, Calif., 1,874.
13 (tie), Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., and Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 1,867.
15, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,847.
16, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,838.
17 (tie), Tom Daugherty, Wesley Chapel, Fla., and Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,837.
19, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,836.
20, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,829.
21 (tie), Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., and Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,820.
23, Dom Barrett, England, 1,812.
24, Doug Kent, Newark, N.Y., 1,811.
25, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 1,808.
26, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,807.
27, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 1,788.
28, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,787.
29, Stuart Williams, England, 1,786.
30, Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 1,783.
31, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,777.
32, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, Mich., 1,774.
33, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 1,771.
34, John Petraglia, Jackson, N.J., 1,770.
35, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,768.
36, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 1,758.
37, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,756.
38, Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, 1,755.
39, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,746.
40, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 1,745.
41, Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., 1,743.
42 (tie), Mark Williams, Beaumont, Texas, and Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,726.
44 (tie), George Branham III, Indianapolis, and Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,712.
46, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,703.
47, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 1,699.
48, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,692.
49, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,673.
50, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 1,654.
51, Bryan Goebel, Shawnee, Kan., 1,645.
52, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,642.
53, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, withdrew, injury.

300 Games: Mike Scroggins, Scott Norton, Scott Newell.