Australia’s two-handed star wins third PBA George Young Memorial High Average Award

CHICAGO (Jan. 9, 2018) – Australia’s Jason Belmonte put an exclamation mark on another sensational year in Professional Bowlers Association competition by sweeping the PBA Tour’s two most defining statistical categories for 2017 – official earnings and scoring average, which included a record scoring pace.

Belmonte concluded his 2017 season with a victory in the PBA World Championship in Reno, Nev., to become the first player in PBA history to win three major championships in a single season. The finishing touches to his four-title season included a Tour-best $238,912 in total earnings, and a third George Young Memorial High Average Award after posting a record 229.39 average for 380 games bowled.

Belmonte, who previously won George Young High Average Awards for the 2012-13 and 2014 seasons, broke his own scoring record of 228.81 set during the 2012-13 season. He won the average contest by 2.5 pins-per-game over fellow two-handed competitor Jesper Svensson of Sweden, who scored at a 226.88 pace for 308 games in 2017. Svensson was the 2016 George Young Award winner with a 226.07 average.

Belmonte, who also led the PBA in earnings in 2012-13 and 2014, finished that race more than $7,000 ahead of runner-up E.J. Tackett of Huntington, Ind., who took $220,708 to the  bank last season.

For complete lists of PBA earnings and average leaders for 2017, as well as other stats and records, visit pba.com (https://www.pba.com/SeasonStats/TotalWinnings/95).