By BILL SNIER
FAIRLAWN — The story lines for the 2026 Professional Bowlers Association Tour have featured rookies and first-time champions over its first nine events.
Why should the 61st PBA Tournament of Champions, the Tour’s premier event, be any different?
This week at famed AMF Riviera Lanes, home of 37 of the TOC events since its debut, rookies again made their presence known, with still another hoping to land his first Tour title during Sunday’s 4 p.m. stepladder finals (live, The CW).
But it’s a blend of experience and newcomers that formed an interesting top five following Friday’s completion of the 42-game event over three days:
- Top seed Zach Wilkins (10,259 total pinfall), a 29-year-old Canadian two-handed right-hander now living in Kansas City, Mo., who won his first PBA Tour title last week during the Roth-Holman Doubles in Portland, Maine, with partner AJ Chapman;
- No. 2 seed Alexander Horton (10,166), a 22-year-old Douglassville, Pa., two-handed righty who was making just his seventh career PBA Tour start as a rookie after reaching the main field by just two pins out of Tuesday’s pre-tournament qualifier (PTQ);
- No. 3 seed Andrew Anderson (10,118), a 30-year-old Chesterfield, Mich., right-hander and 2018 PBA Player of the Year with six career titles, including one major;
- No. 4 seed Brandon Bonta (10,072), a 23-year-old Wichita, Kan., right-hander, who took the Tour by storm in his rookie and season debut by rolling a 300 against defending player of the year EJ Tackett to win the PBA Players Championship; and
- No. 5 Jason Belmonte (10,003), the 42-year-old Australian two-handed righty who owns 32 career titles, including 15 majors, but has been winless in singles events since winning the TOC at Riviera in 2023.
But Belmonte, who actually led the field going into Friday’s final eight-game match-play block, had to fight his way into the field after dropping to sixth prior to the final position round game, No. 42 overall.
“I’m very happy to have survived considering I was sixth going into the position round,” said Belmonte, whose only TV appearance this season was the USA vs. World team match where he served as the World’s captain.
“But everything I tried (Friday night) was just a little off, a little wrong, a little too much, not enough, too quick … I felt like I never had a chance to bowl very free. But the last game was probably the most free I could feel. I caught a couple of hits and was just happy to get there.”
Bowling Santtu Tahvanainen in the position round, Belmonte started with three strikes en route to a 259-196 win to earn the final spot by 72 pins. It came after the four-time TOC champion lost his last four matches with no game over 222.
“Anytime you make the show, you have the opportunity to still win,” said Belmonte, who also had to climb the ladder to win his last TOC title in 2023.
“In terms of motivation, that doesn’t really fluctuate. I’m constantly motivated to win as many titles as I can. Sunday, my job is to go out there and throw the ball at what I’m looking at. I just want to come out there as free and comfortable as possible.”
He will face PBA Rookie of the Year frontrunner Bonta in the opening match.
Bonta has cashed in five of his eight events this season coming off his opening win. Another major win also would put him front and center for a potential PBA Player of the Year honor in a year where there have been nine different champions for the nine events.
“I’d say you’re lying if you told me this would happen. That would be extremely high expectations for the first year on Tour,” Bonta said. “But reality is pretty freaking special.”
Without that opening win, Bonta wouldn’t have been able to bowl at all at Riviera, since he has no regional titles to qualify even for the PTQ. Instead, he was never out of the top five all week, finishing as the 18-game qualifying leader by averaging 236 and making the top five.
“The longer formats (of the majors) are not huge scoring fests and fortunately, I’ve been able to match up with the patterns and fortunately been able to make some great shots. It’s giving me the motivation that I can do it,” Bonta said. “If you don’t believe that, you shouldn’t be out here.
“That pride in yourself that you can be the best in the world was helped me so far. To be the best, you have to beat the best.”
ANDERSON HAS HOF DREAMS
The winner of that match will face Anderson, who is seeking his second major title which would put him squarely into PBA Hall of Fame consideration.
“I haven’t been bowling my best this year. I’ve been battling the thumb and wrist (injuries) and haven’t been consistent,” said Anderson, who has cashed in five of 10 events this season, with one previous top-five at the U.S. Open. “But just walking in here gave me a good vibe. From the rip, I’ve done some of my best bowling in months.”
Anderson’s goal was to get to the No. 2 seed, but admittedly felt “defeated” when things didn’t go his way.
“I’m really tired right now, both physically and emotionally. Match play is such an emotional roller-coaster and I let it all out tonight,” Anderson said. “I threw some shots with the wrong ball and was trying to make it work and it took its toll. But I’m thrilled to give myself another opportunity.
“The hall of fame is why I show up at majors. They mean a little more to me. But it’s one step at a time and there are a lot of matches ahead.”
HORTON REACHES UNEXPECTED
That’s particularly true in the case of another rookie, Horton, whose lone goal this week was to advance out of the PTQ to have enough points to reach priority status for the 2026 PBA Tour.
“It’s just amazing … something I never expected would happen,” said Horton, whose lone regional title came in the PBA East Region RPI. “I just wanted to try to get more reps in the main field, but to have a chance on TV is just amazing.”
It was Bonta’s opening win that inspired Horton to join the Tour, cashing in his last two events, both in 16th place. His lone TV appearance came during the 2023 PBA Collegiate Invitational, when his Indiana Tech team faced off against Bonta’s Wichita State squad.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what it’s like to be under the lights again,” Horton said. “I just want to make the best shots that I can and I’ll live with the results.
“Experience is the most important thing to me right now. Being a rookie out here is so much different than anything I’ve ever seen.”
BACK ON TOP
Wilkins knows what’s it’s like to earn that first PBA title. He did so just last week, and then continued his run into the TOC.
“I don’t even know if there are words to describe this. You go from the ultimate high of highs in winning your first title, then immediately jump into the car and have to come bowl all these qualifying games,” Wilkins said.
“I’ve never had to experience that. I can wholeheartedly say that the first 10 minutes of warmups I was nervous.”
But Wilkins also never fell out of the top five all week, sitting fifth after the opening round of match play, second after the second eight games and then earning the No. 1 seed by 93 pins over Horton after losing his final position round match. He was second to Bonta during qualifying.
“After a win, you want to perform well just to show it wasn’t luck,” said Wilkins, whose doubles partner AJ Chapman cheered him on after he failed to make the cut. “I think my performance showed that … that I think I finally belong out here after a long journey of doubt and second-guessing.
“This is really what I want to do for a living. I want to soak this all in, but there is a lot of work yet to be done.”
And the work continues before a packed house at AMF Riviera Lanes on famed lanes 27 and 28 on Sunday.
NOTEBOOK
ANDERSON’S DAY: It was not a good start to the night block for Anderson. After leaving his bowling equipment behind Lanes 3 and 4 following the morning block, he came back to find that the main ball he had used throughout the TOC was missing from his bag. “I was hot … still am. We went on the hunt, looked on the cameras and we had no clue,” Anderson said. “We came back and turned on the random pair next to it and it came back. Apparently someone threw it down that lane and it was in the back.” Anderson admitted he was frustrated for the initial nearly two games of the night block. “Ironically, I threw that ball for maybe just one game for the first time the entire tournament. Maybe someone was telling me I didn’t need it,” Anderson said. After losing his initial match Friday night with a 192, Anderson won four of his final five, falling 264-245 to Bonta in the position round, but holding his No. 3 seed position. In addition, Anderson was supposed to attend a friend’s wedding in Michigan on Saturday. No word on if he made the trip or not — but he was thinking of just taking the day to relax in hopes of winning his second major.
MENTORS: Horton, who bowled last week’s Roth-Holman Doubles with one of Bonta’s road roommates, C.J. Petrin, considers PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III as a “father figure” in his life. “He took me under his wing and I’m with his kids all the time. He let me pick his brain about bowling and the Tour,” said Horton, who also received guidance from PBA Hall of Famer Wes Malott while in college in :Fort Wayne, Ind. “They have helped me get to where I am.” One or both of the hall of famers may be in attendance Sunday for the finals.
TRIP HOME: Prior to the TOC, Belmonte returned home to Australia for two weeks to see family and friends, including celebrating his son Hugo’s birthday. “It was really difficult to come back. I was just trying to decompress in a season of one, two or three near misses. It was definitely building,” Belmonte said. “The first session and the last session of the tournament I definitely felt more free and I think going home was a contributing factor. Those 10-pins and 7-10s didn’t fry me out as much as the other guys.”
NOTEBOOK: Horton compiled the top match-play record in the field, going 17-7 overall. Wilkins and Anderson were both 15-8-1. Anthony Simonsen, who finished seventh and missed the cut by 132 pins, had the second-best mark of 16-8. … EJ Tackett, the four-time player of the year who was seeking his second TOC to become only the second player to earn the PBA Triple Crown twice (Pete Weber holds that distinction) never got higher than sixth on Friday and finshed eighth overall, missing the cut by 133 pins with a 13-11 match-play mark. The only 300s during the tournament came from Jason Sterner, Chris Via and Anderson, the latter two during match play. … Belmonte was part of unprecedented 17-player stepladder the last time he won the TOC in 2023. He was the No. 6 seed and had to win a pair of matches on Saturday against Anderson and Kyle Troup before running the ladder Sunday for the title. … Saturday is an off day for the players at Riviera, with Sunday’s 4 p.m. show sold out. … This will mark the final broadcast on The CW for the tour, with the CBS Sports Network picking up coverage the rest of the way beginning with the PBA World Series of Bowling in Minnesota. All early rounds will remain on BowlTV. … A packed house witnessed the final round Friday night, with all of the bleachers filled and lots of standing room fans. …. High schools dominated attendance Thursday morning, with teams involved in PBA clinics with players Monday sporting team shirts with the name of their teach pros on them. … This will not be the final PBA appearance of the year at AMF Riviera. The center will host the PBA50 Akron Classic from July 11 to 14 for the senior players following a week in Columbus for the PBA60 World Series of Bowling from July 2 to 8 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
See the final standings here:
https://www.leaguepals.com/league-info?id=69320bcc8ba2fdb0125045fe