Jason Belmonte

Jason Belmonte (born 29 July 1983) is an Australian professional ten-pin bowler.

He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events.

He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two-handed approach style to deliver his shot.

He has won 31 PBA titles (seventh most all-time), including a record 15 major championships; he is only one of eight bowlers in PBA tour history to achieve 30 wins, making him the only 30-time winner in PBA Tour history who is not currently a member of the PBA Hall of Fame (he has yet to meet the 20 years on Tour requirement).

He is one of two bowlers in PBA history to have won the Super Slam, winning all five PBA major titles (the other being Mike Aulby).

He is the all-time leader in both USBC Masters and PBA Tournament of Champions titles, winning each event four times.

He is also the only three-time winner of the PBA Players Championship.

Jason Belmonte was born on 29 July 1983 in Orange, New South Wales, Australia.

His father Aldo opened the Orange Ten Pin Bowl when Jason was a toddler.

As a result, Jason started rolling a ball at 18 months old.

He also won the World Tenpin Masters championship in 2007.

Interviewed in 2009, he commented: "The only problem for me though was as an 18-month-old baby boy lifting a nine- to 10-pound (4–4.5 kg) bowling ball ... it was a little hard, so like all babies I pushed the ball with two hands."

In doing so he developed a two-handed style which he uses today, placing only two fingers and no thumb in the ball to produce more revolutions.

He reports having tried one-handed bowling when he was 7, but concluded that it "sucked".

When Belmonte first joined the PBA, he focused on power (thinking "let’s break some pins").

After studying other professionals who "had the ability to make the ball dance", he simplified his delivery: decreasing his rev rate, ball speed, and approach speed; eliminating a "kangaroo hop"; and releasing from a more stable position.

As a result, his accuracy in hitting the pocket improved while he continued to strike with 20% lower rev rate.

In 2022, his parents' bowling centre installed a ball tracking system that records ball path, speed, and rev rate, Belmonte saying "it's scarily accurate".

As of 2023, Belmonte travels with about 15 bowling balls of various construction.

Noting Belmonte's recognition within the bowling industry and controversy over his two-handed style which some have called cheating, GQ magazine said in 2023 that Belmonte had become both an elder statesman at 39 and a polarizing figure.

He remarked on his sometime loneliness—also spending six months of the year away from family—but said "there’s an abundance of love there" as well.

Belmonte has won one European Bowling Tour title, the Brunswick Euro Challenge, held in Greece.

On the PBA Tour, Belmonte owns 31 titles (7th on the PBA's all-time list), including his first title at the Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic (2009), and three titles in the 2011–12 season (GEICO Shark Open, World Series of Bowling Chameleon Open, and the Pepsi PBA Elite Players Championship).

In September 2010, he defeated American Sean Rash in the finals to earn the 2010 Korea Cup title.

(Belmonte would be retroactively awarded a major title for the 2011 Elite Players Championship, making the USBC Masters his second major.) He captured his third major at the 2014 Barbasol Tournament of Champions, again defeating Malott in the title match.

After making the televised finals in five of six PBA majors without winning, he defeated Wes Malott to capture his first PBA major title: the 2012–13 USBC Masters.

On 8 February 2015, Belmonte became the first bowler to win three consecutive USBC Masters tournaments after defeating No. 1 seeded AJ Johnson.

On 15 February 2015, he defeated No. 1 seed Rhino Page to capture his second consecutive Barbasol Tournament of Champions title, and his second major title in two weeks.

After winning three major titles in 2017, including an unprecedented fourth USBC Masters, Belmonte stood in second place on the all-time PBA majors list with nine, behind only Earl Anthony and Pete Weber, who both have ten.

Belmonte has been named PBA Player of the Year seven times, tying the record previously set by Walter Ray Williams Jr.. Belmonte accumulated $1 million (USD) in career PBA earnings faster than any player in history (131 tournaments), surpassed the $1.5 million mark PBA earnings during the 2019 season, and eclipsed $2 million in PBA earnings during the 2022 season.

Belmonte has at least 27 career 300 games in PBA Tour events through 2023, including the PBA's 21st nationally televised 300 in 2012, as well as the 34th nationally televised 300 over ten years later in 2022.

He rolled another televised 300 game in the 2023 PBA Tour Finals to become the only player in PBA history with three televised perfect games.

His accolades have him ranked on several lists as one of the greatest bowlers of all time, if not the greatest.

Belmonte is perhaps the most well-marketed bowler of all time, owing in part to his popularization of two-handed bowling.

He is a member of the Storm, 3G Shoes and Vise Grips pro staffs.

Storm has collaborated with Belmonte to develop the "Signature" line of bowling balls, which bear the Belmo nickname and silhouette logo.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for significant service to tenpin bowling at the elite level.

He won the first major of 2019, the PBA Tournament of Champions, to tie the record with ten majors.

One month later, Belmonte won the 2019 PBA World Championship, making him the all-time major titles leader.

In February 2020, Belmonte won the U.S. Open to claim the "super slam" (a title in all five PBA majors), the second in PBA history after Mike Aulby.