Australians at the 2026 USBC Masters – and how they’ve fared across the season so far
By Tenpin Bowling Australia
The 2026 USBC Masters wrapped up at the Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Michigan this weekend with three Australians in the field – Jason Belmonte, Sam Cooley, and rising star Blake Walsh. Here’s a look at how each of them went, along with a snapshot of their campaigns across the 2026 PBA Tour season to date.
Jason Belmonte
The record four-time Masters champion arrived in Allen Park looking like a genuine threat for a fifth title. After two rounds of qualifying, Belmonte sat outside the cut, though he was within 35 pins of advancing – close enough to leave his fate in his own hands heading into the final qualifying session.
He came through when it counted. Belmonte finished eighth in the B Squad qualifying block finishing with a 15-game total of 3,402, good enough to enter matchplay and set up a run at a record fifth title on a stage he has owned like no other.
Belmonte averaged more than 262 across his six match play games and went undefeated on Day 1 of the bracket, defeating Manuel Otalora 785-585 and Kyle Troup 789-667. Going into Saturday as one of 16 players remaining in the winners bracket, he faced Matt Russo in Round 3 and edged the American by 16 pins. Belmonte ultimately fell to Eric Jones in round 4, who went on to reach the stepladder finals as the number two seed. Belmonte’s run ended in the contender’s bracket with the title eventually claimed by Boog Krol.
It was a gutsy campaign nonetheless – Belmo qualifying from a shaky start and posting some of the highest averages in may play before the bracket caught up with him where he finished in 9th place – his best performance of the year thus far.
2026 PBA Tour Season:
Belmonte started the season with a jetlag affected 37th place finish at the PBA Players Championship – five spots out of the money, an opening-week result he candidly noted is a recurring pattern after the long trip from Australia.
He more than made up for it the following week at the PBA Peter Weber Missouri Classic, leading qualifying and entering match play as the number one seed, only to be upset by rookie Hayden Stippich in the Round of 16 to finish in 9th place.
At the US Open, Belmonte registered a top-10 finish by ending the event in 8th place including a 300 perfect game bowled in the second round of matchplay.
He then posted another set of solid showings at the PBA Illinois Classic and PBA Indiana Classic – finishing 21st in Illinois and 18th in Indiana before a strong Masters run to cap the first half of the season.
Jason currently sits in 9th place on the 2026 PBA Tour rankings after five events.
- Points – 5,650
- Money – $19,300
- Events – 5
- Average – 224.8
- Games – 163
- Cashes – 4
Sam Cooley
The Shellharbour Tenpin Bowl product finished in 133rd place at the USBC Masters finishing with a 15-game total of 3,182.
The 34-year-old began the season strongly finishing 12th at the season opening PBA Players Championship. He backed it up with another money win at the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic finishing in 26th place.
Sam then scraped into the cutline finishing 24th in qualifying at the US Open before finishing 23rd overall.
A 56th at the PBA Illinois Classic and 66th at the PBA Indiana Classic was the final events before the USBC Masters.
Sam currently sits in 29th place on the 2026 PBA Tour rankings.
- Points – 3,580
- Money – $13,910
- Events – 5
- Average – 216.8
- Games – 160
- Cashes – 3
Blake Walsh
Walsh was arguable the most eye-catching Australian story of the Masters week. He finished eighth overall in qualifying with a 15-game total of 3,402, placing him among the top seeds entering the bracket – a remarkable result for a young bowler entering the PBA Tour.
His match play campaign was competitive. Wash was drawn against Michael Martell in the contender’s bracket on Saturday after dropping into the elimination side. He kept his run alive before falling to Matt Sanders 696-693 in a narrow three-game match – just three pins separating him from continuing. Sanders went on to finish as the number 4 seed in the stepladder finals.
For a young bowler on a major stage, that’s a performance to be proud of and a sign of real potential on the PBA circuit.
Blake began his PBA journey this year with his first appearance at the US Open Play To Qualify (PTQ) – finishing 13th place out of 108 PTQ bowlers and making the cut to compete in qualifying for his first PBA event. Blake finished outside the cut after three stages of qualifying (32 games) finishing in 61st place.
USBC Masters Champion 2026
David Krol was crowned the 2026 USBC Masters champion climbing the stepladder with victory against Matt Sanders, Jesper Svensson, Eric Jones, and defeating number one seed EJ Tackett in the final.
What’s Next?
The 2026 PBA Tour continues with USA vs The World on 4 April – captained by EJ Tackett and Jason Belmonte respectively, representing the top American and international players of the past 25 seasons – before the Tournament of Champions in late April and the PBA World Series of Bowling in May.
To keep tabs on how Belmonte, Cooley, Walsh and all Australian bowlers are performing on the international stage, visit our Aussies Abroad page, which will be updated throughout the season but includes links for further information on each bowler.
Credit to the PBA and Mount Mercy University for the photos used.
