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Mike Jakubowski | PR/Media Relations
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Jason Belmonte Brings Two-Handed Style to Bowl Outdoors in New York City
PBA’s Australian Sensation brings media tour and U.S. Open preview match to Manhattan

NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 25, 2009) – From New York to Los Angeles, Jason Belmonte of Orange, Australia has been turning heads with his unique two-handed bowling style. Belmonte continues his media blitz across the U.S.A. into New York City on Saturday March 28 as the Australian bowler will bring his dynamic two-handed approach to an outdoor set and go bowling in the heart of Manhattan.

Belmonte will take on the PBA Tour’s current Player of the Year points leader Wes Malott of Pflugerville, Texas in a match to preview the upcoming Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open on the outdoor lane provided by Storm Bowling Products, Inc. The event is free and open to the public from 7 a.m. to noon Eastern at the Fox Plaza, 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City.

With his season-opening appearance on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour at the PBA World Championship in October, the two-handed Aussie sensation lapped the field in qualifying then finished in 10th place, launching a media blitz for pro bowling.

A cover story profiling Belmonte graced the front page of the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 5 and he has since been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Boston Globe, ESPN.com and ESPN the Magazine in addition to appearances on ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today program. Belmonte will be featured in an upcoming edition of ESPN’s TV magazine E-60 and will make an appearance on Saturday from 7-10 a.m. Eastern on Fox & Friends, the top-rated cable morning show on the Fox News Network.

In a busy February tour across the United States, Belmonte added a 15th place finish at the Denny’s Dick Weber Open in Fountain Valley Calif., earned a 12th place check at the GEICO Plastic Ball Championship in Wheat Ridge, Colo. and an 11th place finish at the Etonic Marathon Open in Indianapolis.

“I am very excited about the American media being generated by my first year on the PBA Tour”, said Belmonte. “With Wes Malott stirring up conversations on ESPN’s Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption plus my involvement, professional bowling is getting more mainstream opportunities and we are creating a buzz.

“There is an Australian commercial about shampoo that reminds me of how we are trying to change the perception in bowling – it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.”

As the Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour’s 2008-09 season heads down the homestretch, Belmonte heads the list of competitors bowling Wednesday in the PBA Tour Qualifying Round at the Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic. The PBA Tour comes to AMF Babylon Lanes in West Babylon, N.Y. March 25-29 and will play a pivotal role in the season points race and Player of the Year honors.

The Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour’s regular season concludes next week at the 66th Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open March 29 to April 5 at Brunswick Zone Carolier in North Brunswick, N.J.


About the PBA
The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) features the best bowlers in the world competing in National, Regional and Senior Tour events and will award over $4.3 million in prize money during the 2008-09 Lumber Liquidators PBA National Tour. The organization has more than 4,000 members spanning 13 countries, and nearly one million viewers tune-in to watch the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour every Sunday on ESPN throughout the season. PBA sponsors include Bayer, Brunswick, CLR, Denny's, Etonic, Flomax, GEICO, Go RVing, H&R Block, Lumber Liquidators, Motel 6, Pepsi-Cola and the USBC, among others. For more information on the PBA, log on to www.pba.com. This season marks the 50th Anniversary of the PBA Tour.