Bowling World Newspaper July/August 2021

6 www.bowlingworld.com - July/August 2021 SERVING THE BOWLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1967 Wesley Low Jr. Presented With Solid Aluminum 900 Trophy Made By MOTIV® At Junior Gold MOT I V® s t a f f e r , Wesley Low Jr., made history by rolling a per- fect USBC-approved 900 series on Sunday, July 19, 2020 at the 44th Annual Ponderosa Singles Classic at Glenfair Lanes in Glen- dale, Arizona. Shortly afterward, the team at MOTIV® be- gan working on plans for a special trophy to be presented to Wesley. ―Not only was this accomplishment a first for Wesley, but his 900 series was also the first ever with a MOTIV® bowling ball so it was very special for our entire company‖, said Scott Hewitt, Vice President of Sales and Mar- keting at MOTIV® Bowling . The impressive solid aluminum 900 trophy was designed, cut, en- graved, and polished by the family of employees at MOTIV® so it truly is a special work of art. The presentation of the trophy was made to Wesley Low Jr. at the Junior Gold Championships in Indian- apolis on Saturday, July 10th. ―It was a really fun presentation because Wesley had no idea that we were awarding him with the MOTIV® 900 trophy‖, said Hewitt. ―We had a crowd of people in the MOTIV® booth and everyone was cheering for him. It was super cool…a great way to crown Wesley‘s impressive achievement since he is a Junior Gold super star‖. And speaking of achievements, Wesley Low Jr. has an impressive list. At the age of 15, he won his first PBA® regional event. He won Junior Gold in 2013 and went on to win the all-events gold medal at the 2014 World Bowling Youth Championships. Then, in 2017, won Junior Gold again. After finishing college, Wesley decided to make 2020 his rookie season on the PBA® Tour and mid-year rolled his perfect 900 series. "To join a short list of people in bowling's history is quite the honor and something I never thought that I could accomplish during my life- time", Wesley said. "To achieve this perfection and share it with my MOTIV family is something I will remember forever." For more information about MOTIV® Bowling, please visit: www.motivbowling.com. IBMA Male Bowler Of The Year & Male Bowler Of The Decade Jason Belmonte Jason Belmonte was the runaway winner for IBMA Male Bowler of the Year and Bowler of the Decade, known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for using the two handed approach style to deliver his shot. He has won 25 PBA titles, making him one of only 11 players in history with at least 25 PBA Tour wins.[2] His PBA Tour victories include a record 13 major championships, four of these in the USBC Masters, which is also a record. He is one of two bowlers in PBA history to have won the Super Slam, winning all five PBA major titles (the other being Mike Aulby). He has been named PBA Player of the Year six times. Belmonte ac- cumulated $1 million (USD) in career PBA earnings faster than any player in history (131 tournaments), and surpassed the $1.5 million mark PBA earnings during the 2019 season. Belmonte has 25 career 300 games in PBA Tour events through 2020, including the PBA's 21st nationally televised 300 in 2012. IBMA Female Bowler Of The Decade Liz Johnson Since the rebirth of the PWBA in 2015, Johnson has won eleven more PWBA Tour titles, including five more majors, for a total of 25 titles. This includes 22 titles on the PWBA Tour and three more major titles she won during the Tour's hiatus, which have retroactively been counted as PWBA titles. She won four additional professional titles during the PWBA Tour's hiatus, be- coming a member of the Professional Bowl- ers Association (PBA) and the PBA Women's Series. Johnson was elected to the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Hall of Fame in December 2014, and was officially inducted on April 29, 2015. At the 2005 PBA Banquet Open, Johnson became the first woman to defeat a man in a televised PBA Tour event, winning the semifinal match over Wes Malott. On November 18, 2017. Johnson became the second female bowler (after Kelly Kulick who won the 2010 PBA Tour- nament of Champions) to win a national PBA Tour title. The third woman to defeat a man in a televised championship bowling match (the first was Lynda Barnes at the 2008 Clash of Champions, an event not hosted by the PBA Tour) and the first to win a non-major (standard) PBA Tour title. The International Bowling Media Association - IBMA