Call him Ishmael or just unlucky, as the only Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Major to have eluded him so far the US Open is Jason Belmonte's white whale, the Moby Dick among a glittering story of big-stage scalps.
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For some, among them some of the best judges worldwide, the elusive crown still stands between Belmonte and the greatest-of-all-time tag too, despite the Orange two-hander becoming the most successful Major winner in history earlier this year.
Belmonte did so by winning the Tournament of Champions and World Championship crowns, his 10th and 11th Major wins, he drew level with Pete Weber and Earl Anthony's mark with the former win and then surpassed it with the latter.
He missed the first cut last year and finished 46th but Belmonte's had chances to win the US Open in the past, falling at the final hurdle in 2013's championship match against Wes Malott and finishing third the year before that.
"It's a tricky psychological thing to not constantly think about the US Open being the one I haven't won," Belmonte told BOWL.com before the this year's tournament at Charlotte, which he led through one round of qualifying.
"I believe I have the ability and that sometime in my career I'll win it. I know this won't be my last one, so there's no added pressure there. I'm hoping that someday the stars align, but I'm not looking at this as a must-win.
"I'll certainly give it my all, and if I execute to the best of my ability, there's no reason I can't be in contention."
At time of publication Belmonte had slipped to sixth through three rounds but with just eight qualifying games for him to be bowl on Monday evening, Australian time, he was expected to roll his way to the first round of the top 24 match-play stage directly afterward.
The final Major of the season, the US Open also represents the last chance for Belmonte to stake his claim for another Player of the Year crown, he's already won three and leads the tour in points after his stellar start to 2019, which also included another two tour titles.
Jakob Butturff looks Belmonte's biggest competition for that gong, the 25-year-old has won the Masters and two other tour titles this year.
After the final round of US Open qualifying and the first round of match-play, the top 24 will play-off in 16 more games of match-play before the step-ladder finals later this week.
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Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
