Jason Belmonte
Jason Belmonte AM (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).
Belmonte during the 2019 PBA World Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname | Belmo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 29 July 1983 Orange, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2000–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Kimberly Shapter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Ten-pin bowling | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | PBA, WBT | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turned pro | 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World finals | 1 European Bowling Tour 1 World Tenpin Masters 1 WBT 1 AMF World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National finals | 31 PBA Tour (15 majors) 7x PBA Player of the Year | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Belmonte 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.
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 popularisation 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.