Defending champion Jason Belmonte of Australia began work on winning a record-tying 10th Professional Bowlers Association major title by averaging 249 after the first two rounds in the Barbasol PBA Players Championship Tuesday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl in Columbus, Ohio.

In the second major of the 2018 Go Bowling! PBA Tour season, the four-time PBA Player of the Year (picture right and above), who is also trying for his third Players Championship title, leads the 120-player field with a 2,494 10-game pinfall total.

The two-handed player bowled a 1,274 five-game pinfall in Tuesday’s first round with games of 243, 255, 229, 300 and 247 and followed with a 1,220 pinfall in the second round on games of 213, 257, 247, 224 and 279.

“I’m leading right now but that’s not my goal at this point,” said the 34-year-old Belmonte, a 16-time Tour winner. “The scoring pace is pretty high and because of that nothing is guaranteed. You can shoot 210 or 220 and lose 50 or 60 pins. Thankfully, I was making good guesses on the adjustments and ball choices I needed to make today.”

With a win, Belmonte, who won the Players Championship in 2011 and 2017, would join Pete Weber and Earl Anthony who are tied for most PBA major titles.

Belmonte holds a 97-pin lead over PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke (left) of Clermont, Fla. in second, who finished with a 2,397 pinfall. Duke, the 53-year-old winner of seven PBA majors, bowled 1,215 for five games in the first round and 1,182 in the second.

Competition continues with two five-game qualifying rounds Wednesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET. After Thursday’s sixth qualifying round (30 games), the field will be cut to the top five players for the live ESPN finals Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET.

The qualifying rounds of the Players Championship will also determine the standings for the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship presented by BowlerX.com.

After Thursday’s final qualifying round, the top 14 doubles team will advance to two Baker format qualifying rounds on Friday which will determine the top five doubles teams for the taped ESPN telecast that will follow the Players Championship finals at 5 p.m. Fans will be able to catch the doubles final via livestream on ESPN3.

Belmonte, along with doubles partner eight-time PBA Tour winner Bill O’Neill (right) of Langhorne, Pa., also lead the Doubles Championship standings with a 4,873 combined 10-game pinfall total.

They hold a 133-pin lead over Duke and his partner 10-time Tour winner Wes Malott (left) of Pflugerville, Texas, who combined 4,740.

Defending champions Kyle Troup of Taylorsville, N.C., and Jesper Svensson of Sweden (right, l-r) were further 83 pins back in third place with 4,657.

All qualifying rounds for the Players Championship and Doubles Championship are streamed live on PBA’s online bowling channel Xtra Frame. For subscription and schedule information click here.

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2018 PBA Tour Schedule & Champions

Barbasol PBA Players Championship – Second Round Standings

Players with position, hometown and 10-game total

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 2,494
2, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 2,397
3, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 2,379
4, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 2,374
5, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 2,373
6, Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 2,361
7, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio, 2,348
8, (tie) Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, and
Patrick Girard, Canada, 2,343
10, Stuart Williams, England, 2,340
11, Cameron Weier, Tacoma, Wash., 2,334
12, Daniel Fransson, Sweden, 2,325
13, Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 2,297
14, Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 2,294
15, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 2,293
16, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan., 2,290
17, Richie Teece, England, 2,289
18, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla., 2,284
19, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 2,283
20, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa, 2,278
21, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 2,275
22, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 2,274
23, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 2,268
24, Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 2,267
25, Dom Barrett, England, 2,266
26, Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 2,265
27, Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 2,261
28, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 2,256
29, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 2,255
30, (tie) Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y., and
Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 2,253
32, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind., 2,248
33, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 2,242
34, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 2,236
35, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky., 2,226
36, Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn., 2,223
37, Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 2,221
38, Shota Kawazoe, Japan, 2,218
39, (tie) Osku Palermaa, Finland,
Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, and
Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 2,206
42, Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, 2,202
43, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 2,200
44, Matt O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 2,197
45, Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 2,194
46, Trey Ford III, Bartlesville, Okla., 2,191
47, Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 2,183
48, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 2,180
49, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz., 2,179
50, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 2,176
51, Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 2,169
52, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 2,168
53, Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 2,167
54, Rhino Page, Orlando, 2,165
55, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 2,156
56, (tie) David Haynes, Las Vegas, and
Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 2,154
58, (tie) Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., and
Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 2,153
60, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo., 2,152
61, Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 2,142
62, Markus Jansson, Sweden, 2,139
63, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C., 2,138
64, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 2,136
65, Sandra Gongora, Mexico, 2,129
66, (tie) Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore., and
Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 2,127
68, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill., 2,125
69, Arturo Quintero, Mexico, 2,124
70, Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 2,123
71, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 2,119
72, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 2,116
73, (tie) Michael Schlabach, Goshen, Ind.,
Napatra Buspanikonkul, Thailand, and
Francois Lavoie, Canada, 2,115
76, Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 2,113
77, Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 2,112
78, Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 2,107
79, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill., 2,104
80, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C., 2,101
81, Francois Louw, South Africa, 2,099
82, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio, 2,097
83, Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 2,096
84, Sam Cooley, Australia, 2,094
85, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 2,089
86, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y., 2,083
87, Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 2,082
88, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C., 2,078
89, (tie) Ray Teece, England, and
Graham Fach, Canada, 2,076
91, Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 2,075
92, (tie) Kyle Cook, Centerville, Ohio, and
Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas, 2,074
94, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico, 2,060
95, Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 2,057
96, Kyle Bigelow, Troy, Ohio, 2,056
97, (tie) Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, and
Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 2,049
99, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 2,048
100, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 2,043
101, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia, 2,037
102, Andrew Cain, Phoenix, 2,029
103, (tie) Cristian Azcona, Puerto Rico, and
Christopher Sloan, Ireland, 2,027
105, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y., 2,023
106, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y., 2,019
107, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 2,011
108, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 2,005
109, Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 1,988
110, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla., 1,981
111, Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 1,970
112, Robert Mushtare, Carthage, N.Y., 1,963
113, Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 1,938
114, Tristan Butler, Fort Wayne, Ind., 1,911
115, Timothy Steria, Watertown, N.Y., 1,908
116, CJ Kirchner, Herrin, Ill., 1,888
117, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich., 1,887
118, Myles Duty, Modesto, Calif., 1,827
119, Matthew Ward, Fort Mohave, Ariz., 1,713
120, Eric Cottrell, Grove City, Ohio, 1,647

300 games (5) – Patrick Girard, Michael Tang, Jason Belmonte, Trey Ford III, Stuart Williams.

Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship – Second Round Standings

Players with position, hometown and 10-game total

1, Bill O’Neill, Langhorne, Pa./Jason Belmonte, Australia, 4,873
2, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla./Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 4,740
3, Jesper Svensson, Sweden/Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 4,657
4, EJ Tackett, Huntington, Ind./Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 4,621
5, Brandon Novak, Chillicothe, Ohio/Kristopher Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 4,609
6, Jason Sterner, Rockledge, Fla./Scott Newell, Deland, Fla., 4,505
7, Patrick Girard, Canada/Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 4,499
8, Daniel Fransson, Sweden/Kim Bolleby, Thailand, 4,494
9, DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas/Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 4,474
10, Dom Barrett, England/Osku Palermaa, Finland, 4,472
11, Anthony Pepe, Elmhurst, N.Y./Liz Johnson, Palatine, Ill., 4,459
12, Francois Lavoie, Canada/Stuart Williams, England, 4,455
13, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa./Matt O’Grady, Rahway, N.J., 4,453
14, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo./Yannaphon Larpapharat, Thailand, 4,448
15, AJ Chapman, Manchester, Iowa/Mitch Hupe, Towanda, Kan., 4,445
16, Dino Castillo, Highland Village, Texas/Tom Daugherty, Riverview, Fla., 4,435
17, (tie) Shota Kawazoe, Japan/Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, and

Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas/Connor Pickford, Charlotte, N.C., 4,420
19, Brad Miller, Maryland Heights, Mo./Kyle Sherman, O’Fallon, Mo., 4,419
20, AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill./Greg Ostrander, Freehold, N.J., 4,416
21, Devin Bidwell, Wichita, Kan./Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev., 4,413
22, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y./Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 4,411
23, Matthew Ogle, Louisville, Ky./Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 4,394
24, Ray Teece, England/Richie Teece, England, 4,365
25, Darren Tang, San Francisco/Michael Tang, San Francisco, 4,357
26, Andres Gomez, Colombia/Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 4,352
27, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas/Sam Cooley, Australia, 4,349
28, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas/Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 4,333
29, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich./Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 4,329
30, Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y./Tim Foy Jr., Seaford, Del., 4,317
31, Matt Kuba, Chicago Ridge, Ill./Nick Kruml, Downers Grove, Ill., 4,308
32, Markus Jansson, Sweden/Pontus Andersson, Sweden, 4,293
33, Diana Zavjalova, Latvia/Matt Sanders, Indianapolis, 4,290
34, Justin Wyman, Fairport, N.Y./Patrick Dombrowski, Parma, Ohio, 4,284
35, Chris Warren, Grants Pass, Ore./David Haynes, Las Vegas, 4,281
36, Dave Wodka, Clarksville, Tenn. /Wayne Webb, Columbus, Ohio, 4,272
37, Rhino Page, Orlando/Ryan Ciminelli, Clarence, N.Y., 4,261
38, Dick Allen, Columbia, S.C./Zeke Bayt, Westerville, Ohio, 4,250
39, Kevin Kullman, Lockport, Ill./Ryan Lakota, Shorewood, Ill., 4,246
40, Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio/Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 4,242
41, Arturo Quintero, Mexico/Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela, 4,231
42, Chris Via, Springfield, Ohio/Graham Fach, Canada, 4,173
43, Danielle McEwan, Stony Point, N.Y./Tannya Roumimper, Indonesia, 4,165
44, Kyle King, Glendale, Ariz./Russ Oviatt, Chandler, Ariz., 4,149
45, Chris Arcaro, Carolina Beach, N.C./Kristian Rogers, Salisbury, N.C., 4,135
46, Christopher Sloan, Ireland/Francois Louw, South Africa, 4,126
47, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich./Jeff Evans, Supply, N.C., 4,124
48, Jean Perez, Puerto Rico/Tom Hess, Urbandale, Iowa, 4,109
49, Andrew Cain, Phoenix/Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 4,072
50, Dwight Adams, Greensboro, N.C./Gary Faulkner Jr., Memphis, Tenn., 4,039
51, Gabriel Garcia, Port St. Lucie, Fla./Matthew Staninger, Highland, Ind., 3,969
52, Andrew Klingler, Grand Rapids, Mich./Charlie Brown Jr, Grandville, Mich., 3,962