Australia's Jason Belmonte (pictured left) has been the man to beat by a wide margin this week at the 2013 Lipton Bowling's U.S. Open, but along with the top seed for match play, his success also earned him a target on his back.

The two-hander's opponents struck early often during the first block of round-robin matches Thursday night at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl and out-averaged him 231-202, while cutting his lead from 449 pins to 172.

Belmonte went 3-5 in the opening round and leads with an 8688 total for 38 games, which includes 30 bonus pins for each win.

Pete Weber (left) of St. Ann, Mo., and Wes Malott (right) of Pflugerville, Texas, each posted 7-1 records and sit second and third, respectively, with 8516 and 8499.

Team USA member Marshall Kent of Yakima, Wash., is fourth with 8309. England's Stuart Williamsis mere 38 pins off the pace for the stepladder finals in fifth place with 8.261.

Defending champion Kelly Kulick (left) of Union, N.J., and two-time U.S Women's Open winner Liz Johnson (right) of Cheektowaga, N.Y., have split time at the top of the women's leaderboard all week, but after eight games of match play, Kulick is out front with an 8221 total.

Johnson is second with 8157, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., is third with 8033 and United States Bowling Congress Hall of Famer Leanne Hulsenberg of Roseville, Calif., is fourth with 7839.

Just outside the box looking in are Josie Earnest of Vandalia, Ill. (7835) and Shannon Pluhowsky of Dayton, Ohio (7828) in fifth and sixth place.

"The more they breakdown, the more they come to me, so knowing I've found something at the end of the last few blocks makes me feel good about finishing strong," said Kulick, who is looking for her fourth U.S. Women's Open crown.

"Now, it's just about making the moves quicker and avoiding splits. The 30 bonus pins each game are so important. I just want to keep grinding and taking advantage of the pairs that will give me 240 but still get to 190-200 on the pairs that are tougher."

Belmonte, a seven-time Professional Bowlers Association Tour titlist, notched his first major win at the 2013 USBC Masters and was the runner-up at this year's PBA World Championship and Barbasol Tournament of Champions. He's looking to become the 11th player in PBA history to win two majors in the same season.

While his first match-play block was a struggle, Belmonte sees it more as motivation than defeat.

"My shot focus tonight was all over the place, while it's something I've been really good at the last couple of days," Belmonte said. "I'm just going to prepare better for tomorrow. I will get a good night's rest and come in more focused and disciplined."

Weber, who is the defending champion at the U.S. Open after winning the event for a record fifth time, also won the Tournament of Champions earlier this season. He is tied with the late Earl Anthony for the most major victories with 10, but he never has won two in the same year.

Match play will continue Friday with two more eight-game rounds at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. EDT, after which, the top four bowlers in each division will advance to the TV finals.

The combined events have a prize fund of more than $400,000 and will culminate with the live two-hour ESPN telecast on Saturday at noon EDT.

The men's and women's champions will face off in a special Battle of the Sexes match to crown the ultimate U.S. Open winner. The special match will be broadcast live on ESPN immediately following the men's and women's finals.

The 2013 Lipton Bowling's U.S. Open started with nearly 400 of the best men and women bowlers in the world, competing side by side (in separate events) at three Columbus-area bowling centers - Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl, Columbus Western Bowl and Holiday Lanes.

It took an average of 207.57 to make match play on the men's side and 195.23 to make the cut in the women's division.

For more information on the U.S. Open, visit BowlingsUSOpen.com. Live streaming of qualifying and match play are being provided by the PBA's Xtra Frame service.

 

Related Articles

Jason Belmonte, Liz Johnson lead qualifying at U.S. Open
Kulick, Belmonte still on top at 2013 Bowling's U.S. Open through two rounds of competition
Jason Belmonte, Kelly Kulick lead at 2013 U.S. Open after first round of qualifying
Pete Weber, Kelly Kulick gear up for U.S. Open title defense
Bowling's first-ever U.S. Open "Battle of the Sexes" to make sports history
Bowling Industry unites to host Men's and Women's Bowling's U.S. Open
2013 World Bowling Tour Schedule & Champions

 

2013 Lipton Bowling's U.S. Open - Men's Division after Match Play Round One

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 38-game total.

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3-5-0, 8,688
2, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 7-1-0, 8,516
3, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 7-1-0, 8,499
4, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 6-2-0, 8,309
5, Stuart Williams, England, 4-4-0, 8,261
6, Mike Fagan, Fort Worth, Texas, 5-3-0, 8,212
7, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 6-2-0, 8,200
8, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 5-3-0, 8,168
9, Adam Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2-6-0, 8,116
10, Ryan Ciminelli, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 3-5-0, 8,114
11, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 4-4-0, 8,070
12, Jesse Buss, Belvidere, Ill., 6-2-0, 8,058
13, Brian LeClair, Albany, N.Y., 3-5-0, 8,030
14, E.J. Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 3-5-0, 8,029
15, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 3-5-0, 8,004
16, Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 2-6-0, 7,998
17, Brett Wolfe, Tempe, Ariz., 3-5-0, 7,982
18, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 4-4-0, 7,975
18, Michael Snell, Plattsmouth, Neb., 5-3-0, 7,975
20, Martin Larsen, Sweden, 3-5-0, 7,965
21, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 4-4-0, 7,940
22, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 3-5-0, 7,936
23, Mika Koivuniemi, Hartland, MI, 3-5-0, 7,887
24, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2-6-0, 7,882

Missed Cut (after 30 games):
25, Dan MacLelland, Canada, 6,221, $1,250
26, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 6,189, $1,225
27, Dan Higgins Jr., Westerville, Ohio, 6,184, $1,200
28, Amleto Monacelli, Venezuela, 6,177, $1,185
29, Nathan Bohr, Wichita, Kan., 6,172, $1,180
30, Kimmo Lehtonen, Finland, 6,167, $1,175
31, Chad Roberts, Westerville, Ohio, 6,165, $1,170
32, Dom Barrett, England, 6,156, $1,165
33, Bobby Bures, Mentor, Ohio, 6,148, $1,160
34, Michael Haugen Jr., Phoenix, 6,142, $1,153
34, Alejandro Reyna, Costa Rica, 6,142, $1,153
36, Jason Sterner, McDonough, Ga., 6,133, $1,145
37, Kamron Doyle, Brentwood, Tenn., 6,129, $1,140
38, Scott Norton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 6,125, $1,135
39, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 6,122, $1,130
40, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 6,120, $1,125
41, Anthony LaCaze, Melrose Park, Ill., 6,119, $1,120
42, Kip Roberts, Glen Allen, Va., 6,117, $1,115
43, John Szczerbinski, North Tonawanda, N.Y., 6,116, $1,110
44, Craig Nidiffer, Trenton, Mich., 6,108, $1,105
45, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,086, $1,100
46, Joe Ciccone, Buffalo, N.Y., 6,074, $1,095
47, Craig LeMond, Jasper, Ind., 6,065, $1,090
48, Carleton Chambers, Detroit, 6,058, $1,085
49, T.J. Schmidt, Mishawaka, Ind., 6,051, $1,080
50, Todd Book, Russells Point, Ohio, 6,046, $1,075
51, Robert Smith, Las Vegas, 6,040, $1,070
52, A.J. Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 6,037, $1,065
53, Rick Miller, Lincoln, Neb., 6,032, $1,060
54, Alex Aguiar, N. Dartmouth, Mass., 6,029, $1,055
55, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 6,027, $1,050
56, Kevin Andes, Wichita, Kan., 6,025, $1,045
57, Austin Boulds, Wichita, Kan., 6,017, $1,040
58, Steven Smith, San Diego, 6,012, $1,035
59, Eddie VanDaniker Jr., Chatsworth, Calif., 6,002, $1,030
60, Paul Bober, Morton Grove, Ill., 6,001, $1,025
61, Rick Steelsmith, Wichita, Kan., 6,000, $1,020
62, Michael Machuga, Erie, Pa., 5,997, $1,015
63, Aaron Lorincz, Belleville, Mich., 5,993, $1,010
64, Greg Young, Viera, Fla., 5,981, $1,005
65, Miguel Lopez, Wichita, Kan., 5,980, $1,000

Official Results

 

2013 Lipton Bowling's U.S. Open - Women's Division after Match Play Round One

Players with position, hometown, match play record and 38-game total.

1, Kelly Kulick, Union, N.J., 6-2-0, 8,221
2, Liz Johnson, Cheektowaga, N.Y., 6-2-0, 8,157
3, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 4-4-0, 8,033
4, Leanne Hulsenberg, Roseville, Calif., 4-4-0, 7,839
5, Josie Earnest, Vandalia, Ill., 4-4-0, 7,835
6, Shannon Pluhowsky, Dayton, Ohio, 4-4-0, 7,828
7, Clara Guerrero, Colombia, 5-3-0, 7,761
7, Jacqui Reese, Bangor, Pa., 6-2-0, 7,761
9, Diandra Asbaty, Chicago, 6-2-0, 7,746
10, Stefanie Nation, Grand Prairie, Texas, 4-4-0, 7,730
11, Shannon O'Keefe, Arlington, Texas, 4-4-0, 7,716
12, Rocio Restrepo, Colombia, 2-6-0, 7,715
13, Krista Pöllänen, Finland, 5-3-0, 7,684
14, Brenda Padilla, Mansfield, Texas, 3-5-0, 7,652
14, Lynda Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2-6-0, 7,652
16, Jodi Woessner, Oregon, Ohio, 3-5-0, 7,622
17, Kim Yioulos, Rochester, N.Y., 4-4-0, 7,620
18, Sandra Andersson, Sweden, 3-5-0, 7,606
19, Lindsay Boomershine, Brigham City, Utah, 4-4-0, 7,577
20, Kim Kearney, Grand Prairie, Texas, 2-5-1, 7,570
21, Ashly Galante, Palm Harbor, Fla., 3-4-1, 7,528
22, Brittni Hamilton, Webster, N.Y., 4-4-0, 7,522
23, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Keller, Texas, 3-5-0, 7,471
24, Brandi Branka, Momence, Ill., 4-4-0, 7,464

Missed Cut (after 30 games):
25, Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic, 5,846, $1,100
26, Maria Rodriguez, Austin, Texas, 5,812, $1,050
27, Caroline Lagrange, Canada, 5,716, $1,025
28, Tennelle Milligan, Arlington, Texas, 5,668, $1,000

Official Results