International twin-grip players Jason Belmonte (pictured left) of Australia and Osku Palermaa (right) of Finland took the top two spots after qualifying in the Professional Bowlers Association Chameleon Open Sunday at South Point Bowling Center.

Belmonte and Palermaa, the only players to have won a PBA Tour title using a two-handed delivery, will advance to the Chameleon Open televised finals which will be taped by ESPN at 3 p.m. on Nov. 18.

After 14 games of qualifying in the second tournament of the PBA World Series of Bowling, Belmonte, whose PBA title came in the 2009 Bowling Foundation Long Island Open, led with a 3,308 pinfall total (236.2 average).

"I was bowling scared yesterday, like I was afraid to make errors which caused more errors," said Belmonte of his disappointing 75th place performance in yesterday's Bayer Viper Open. "I was too cautious and I had to make sure to come out more aggressive today.

"Today was a new day and generally I had more confidence. Any time I got into a lull or I was cruising I just kept reminding myself not to bowl scared—just grab the ball and get it. This is a huge confidence builder for the rest of the tournament."

Also advancing to the Chameleon TV finals were four-time PBA Tour champion Sean Rash (left) in third, with a 3,267 total, and Ildemaro Ruiz (right) of Venezuela in fourth with 3,183 pins. It will be the second consecutive TV finals for both players who also qualified in the same positions for the Bayer Viper Open finals.

With Rash and Belmonte in the Chameleon finals, a re-match is possible from their emotional "bottlegate" confrontation during the GEICO PBA Team Shootout in June in Chicago. Both players will also go head-to-head in the World Bowling Tour finals which is also part of the World Series of Bowling lineup.

The Chameleon Championship is the second leg in the PBA World Championship. In addition to competing for a spot in the Chameleon Open finals, all World Series of Bowling competitors will bowl two more eight-game qualifying rounds in the PBA's Scorpion and Shark tournaments over the next two days to qualify for the eight-game PBA World Championship cashers round.

Rash leads the field of 204 players with 3931 total or an average of 245.69 and hold a comfortable 180-pin lead over Ruiz, who is second with 3751. England's Dominic Barrett (left) and Stuart Williams (right) sit in third and fourth place with 3720 and 3713.

Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., is fifth with 3708. With Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland (3703), Belmonte (3675) and Patrick Girard, Canada (3662) in sixth to eighth place, the international bowlers man six out of the top 8 qualifying spots.

The top 16 players after 40 games will advance to the World Championship ESPN-taped divisional finals scheduled for Nov. 19 starting at 10:30 a.m.

 

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PBA Chameleon Open

Standings after 14 games; top 4 advance to ESPN finals.

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,308
2, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 3,292
3, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,267
4, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,183

Did not advance (after 14 games)
5, Brian Valenta, Lockport, Ill., 3,172, $2,500
6, John Furey, East Windsor, N.J., 3,164, $2,400
7, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 3,162, $2,300
8, Lee Vanderhoef, Greenville, S.C., 3,160, $2,200
9, Antonio Medina, Louisville, Ky., 3,122, $$2,150
10, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 3,121, $2,100
11, Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind., 3,113, $2,050
12, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,108, $2,000
13, Patrick Girard, Canada, 3,098, $1,950
14, Josh Blanchard, Gilbert, Ariz., 3,065, $1,900
15, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3,044, $1,850
16, Dennis Eklund, Sweden, 2,970, $1,800

Did not advance (after 8 games)
17, (tie) Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 1,826, and Craig Auerbach, Sunrise, Fla., 1,826, $1,275
19, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 1,825, $1,200
20, (tie) Stuart Williams, England, 1,824, and Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 1,824, $1,135
22, Chris Cundiff, Lake Station, Ind., 1,822, $1,100
23, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 1,817, $1,090
24, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 1,816, $1,080
25, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 1,814, $1,070
26, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 1,812, $1,060
27, Matthew O'Grady, South Amboy, N.J., 1,810, $1,050
28, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 1,804, $1,040
29, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Ocala, Fla., 1,799, $1,030
30, Dom Barrett, England, 1,797, $1,020
31, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 1,795, $1,010
32, David Haynes, Las Vegas, 1,794, $1,000
33, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 1,791
34, Jack Jurek, Lackawanna, N.Y., 1,785
35, Jon Brandon, Santa Clarita, Calif., 1,784
36, Chuck Tillson, Rohnert Park, Calif., 1,781
37, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 1,773
38, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 1,771
39, Ron Mohr, Eagle River, Alaska, 1,770
40, (tie) Ray Eddy III, Saginaw, Mich., and Matt Freiberg, Somerset, N.J., 1,769
42, Scott Norton, Costa Mesa, Calif., 1,768
43, Rhino Page, Dade City, Fla., 1,766
44, Fawaz Abdullah, Bahrain, 1,765
45, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 1,762
46, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 1,761
47, Eddie Graham, Centerville, Ohio, 1,760
48, Juhani Tonteri, Finland, 1,758
49, Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J., 1,757
50, Lonnie Waliczek, Wichita, Kan., 1,756
51, Paola Gomez, Colombia, 1,754
52, (tie) Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., and Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., 1,753
54, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 1,751
55, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,750
56, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 1,749
57, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 1,747
58, Lennie Boresch Jr., Kenosha, Wis., 1,746
59, Mathias Ã…rup, Sweden, 1,744
60, Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 1,741
61, (tie) John DeBenedetta Jr., Las Vegas, and Jake Peters, Decatur, Ill., 1,737
63, (tie) Jesse Buss, Wichita, Kan., and Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 1,734
65, Bryon Smith, Roseburg, Ore., 1,731
66, (tie) Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Essex, Md., and PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif., 1,728
68, Mike Scroggins, Amarillo, Texas, 1,727
69, Kerry Painter, Henderson, Nev., 1,726
70, (tie) Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., Jason Poli, West Des Moines, Iowa, and Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 1,722
73, Richard Horsley, Morrisville, N.C., 1,717
74, (tie) Stevie Weber, Chalmette, La., and D.J. Archer, Mineral Wells, Texas, 1,715
76, Wu Siu Hong, Hong Kong, 1,711
77, Billy Rogers, Dallas, 1,709
78, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 1,707
79, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 1,705
80, (tie) Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., and Soo Park Jong, South Korea, 1,704
82, Frank Guccione, Castle Rock, Colo., 1,703
83, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 1,702
84, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 1,700
85, Patrick Allen, Baltimore, 1,696
86, (tie) Brian Kretzer, Dayton, Ohio, and Chris Hayden, Las Vegas, 1,692
88, David Beres, Waukesha, Wis., 1,690
89, Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 1,684
90, Ernest Lukacs Jr., Manville, N.J., 1,682
91, Andy Mortensen, Tulsa, Okla., 1,680
92, Dave Wodka, Henderson, Nev., 1,679
93, Steve Jaros, Yorkville, Ill., 1,675
94, (tie) Jason Couch, Clermont, Fla., and Paul Moor, England, 1,674
96, Noel Vazquez, Sacramento, Calif., 1,671
97, Dennis Horan Jr., Temecula, Calif., 1,665
98, Matthew Thornton, Montgomery, Ill., 1,663
99, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 1,660
100, Joe Paluszek, Bensalem, Pa., 1,655
101, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 1,652
102, James Wallace, Hicksville, N.Y., 1,650
103, Zack Hattori, Las Vegas, 1,649
104, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa., 1,646
105, (tie) Isaac Amkie Amkie, Mexico, 1,645 and Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 1,645
107, Joshua McBride, Wichita, Kan., 1,644
108, Jaime Gonzalez, Colombia, 1,639
109, Rocio Restrepo, Colombia, 1,638
110, Mike Wolfe, New Albany, Ind., 1,636
111, (tie) Johnathan Bower, Middletown, Pa., and Floyd Raymond, Gaylord, Mich., 1,635
113, (tie) Wayne Garber, Modesto, Calif., and Hameed Taqi, Bahrain, 1,633
115, (tie) Clara Guerrero, Colombia, Martin Paulsson, Sweden, and Joseph Hostetler, Minerva, Ohio, 1,631
118, Robert Piroozshad, Ranch Santa Margarita, Calif., 1,629
119, Tony Campagna Jr., Hendersonville, Tenn., 1,628
120, (tie) John Nolen, Waterford, Mich., and Mike Armstrong Jr., Tucson, Ariz., 1,627
122, Daniel Falconi, Mexico, 1,625
123, Kasey Normandin, Canada, 1,622
124, (tie) Kim Hyun Bum, South Korea, and Manuel Otalora, Colombia, 1,621
126, Paul Gibson, Brunswick, Ohio, 1,620
127, Carlos Cottone, Venezuela, 1,615
128, (tie) Gu Yong-Jin, South Korea, and Cha Ji-Hyun, South Korea, 1,613
130, Mika Koivuniemi, Finland, 1,611
131, Michael Haugen Jr., Carefree, Ariz., 1,603
132, (tie) Jimmy Mortensen, Denmark, and Jeff Toyne, Columbia, S.C., 1,602
134, Rikke Holm Agerbo, Denmark, 1,600
135, Dino Castillo, Carrollton, Texas, 1,599
136, Park Kyung-Shin, South Korea, 1,598
137, Erik Andersin, Sweden, 1,597
138, Will Wells, New Zealand, 1,596
139, (tie) Ricky Schissler, Henderson, Colo., and Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.V., 1,594
141, Yousif Falah, Bahrain, 1,592
142, Adrian Anderson, Roseburg, Ore., 1,589
143, Carl Labayan, Long Beach, Calif., 1,588
144, Mahd Assad, Bahrain, 1,587
145, (tie) Julio Cesar Blancas, Mexico, and Jim Horan, Oakley, Calif., 1,586
147, Krzysztof Olesinski, Poland, 1,582
148, Bubba Harrison, Citrus Heights, Calif., 1,580
149, Kurt Bogner, Longview, Wash., 1,579
150, (tie) Alan Mojado, Pala, Calif., and Tommy Gollick, Oberlin, Pa., 1,577
152, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 1,575
153, Travis Celmer, Wernersville, Pa., 1,566
154, Howard Partell, Las Vegas, 1,563
155, Santiago Garcia, Colombia, 1,558
156, Mohammed Al Swawoosh, Bahrain, 1,557
157, Robert McBride, Plano, Texas, 1,555
158, (tie) Kevin Gallagher, Torrance, Calif., Masoud Saberi, Bahrain, and Adam Miller, Charlotte, N.C., 1,552
161, Jerry Johnson Jr., Las Vegas, 1,550
162, Jaime Monroy, Colombia, 1,548
163, Andre Eubanks, Los Angeles, 1,544
164, Billy Rohde, Marietta, Ga., 1,541
165, (tie) Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore., and William Guszczo, Orland Park, Il., 1,532
167, Jimmy Smith, Puyallup, Wash., 1,525
168, (tie) Brett Spangler, Niles, Ohio, and Michael Ciardulli Jr., Valley Stream, N.Y., 1,522
170, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 1,521
171, Mark Fennell, Seattle, 1,520
172, Andrew Graff, Las Vegas, 1,517
173, Kenneth Bland Jr., Germany, 1,515
174, Darrell Gilbert Jr., Valparaiso, Ind., 1,506
175, Glen Nakagawa, Highland Village, Texas, 1,502
176, Eric Malone, Brewster, N.Y., 1,501
177, Toni Palermaa, Finland, 1,485
178, (tie) Sean Mamlok, San Jose, Calif., and Jason Miller, Portland, Ore., 1,479
180, Adam Monks, San Diego, 1,476
181, Glenn Morgan, Carson City, Nev., 1,475
182, Steve Cook, Granite Bay, Calif., 1,470
183, David Peterson, Plano, Texas, 1,462
184, (tie) Frank Boyer, Lebanon, Pa. and Jorge Tello, Colombia, 1,446
186, Miroslaw Pajak, Poland, 1,444
187, Chad Lusche, Arvada, Colo., 1,442
188, Travis Thomas, Lumberton, N.C., 1,434
189, Rachel Vaughn, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 1,430
190, Chuck Galaviz, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1,422
191, Kevin Prior, Allen, Texas, 1,416
192, Brett Cooper, Fort Worth, Texas, 1,413
193, Chris Helton, Fountain, Colo., 1,405
194, Rickey Smith, Gulf Breeze, Fla., 1,394
195, Don Mathey, Turlock, Calif., 1,391
196, Sam Grihm, Portland, Ore., 1,388
197, David Meadows, Houston, 1,379
198, Steve Ford, Seaside, Ore., 1,365
199, J.T. Jackson, Tarzana, Calif., 1,352
200, Dwight Tincher, Perris, Calif., 1,344
201, Courtney Miller, Charleston, S.C., 1,340
202, Tyler Johnson, Surprise, Ariz., 1,329
203, Mathew Tabor, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1,326
204, Adam James, Redmond, Wash., 1,274

 

PBA World Championship Qualifying Leaders

Top 16 after 16 of 32 games

1, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 3,931
2, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 3,751
3, Dom Barrett, England, 3,720
4, Stuart Williams, England, 3,713
5, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 3,708
6, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 3,703
7, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,675
8, Patrick Girard, Canada, 3,662
9, Danny Wiseman, Baltimore, 3,659
10, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 3,658
11, Tyler Jensen, Ft. Worth, Texas, 3,644
12, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3,643
13, Kurt Pilon, Warren, Mich., 3,628
14, Mike DeVaney, Murrieta, Calif., 3,625
15, Mike Fagan, Dallas, 3,623
16, Mitch Beasley, Clarksville, Tenn., 3,613