The PBA Tour has five events that have been considered major tournaments over the history of the organization: • The
USBC Masters • The
PBA World Championship • The
PBA Tournament of Champions • The
U.S. Open • The
PBA Players Championship USBC Masters Current defending champion:
David Krol • Originally the American Bowling Congress (ABC) Masters, the first Masters champion was Lee Jouglard with his win in the inaugural 1951 event. After the 2005 merger of the ABC and WIBC, this event was renamed the USBC Masters. • The USBC Masters became an officially sanctioned PBA event in 1998. • Entrants for the USBC Masters can qualify via sanctioned USBC league play and are not required to be PBA members. Winners do, however, have to be full-fledged PBA members to be credited with a PBA title. • In May 2008, the PBA announced that it was revising its all-time records to include ABC Masters wins in the PBA era prior to 1998 as PBA major titles, if the person who earned the title was a PBA member at the time.
Buzz Fazio was previously the oldest player to ever win a Masters title, when he won the 1955 event at age 47. • The televised final round for the 2004 Masters was held at
Miller Park, home of Major League Baseball's
Milwaukee Brewers.
Danny Wiseman won the title in front of over 4,000 fans. •
Walter Ray Williams Jr. won a memorable 2009–10 Masters at age 50, firing a 290 game in the final to defeat
Chris Barnes. The win sealed Williams's record seventh PBA Player of the Year award, making him the oldest POY winner in PBA history. • With victories in both the 2013 and 2014 tournaments, Jason Belmonte became the first person to win back-to-back USBC Masters titles since
Billy Welu in 1964–65. Anthony Simonsen has since repeated this achievement in 2022–23. On February 8, 2015, Belmonte became the first player in history to win three consecutive USBC Masters championships.
Mike Aulby and Simonsen are the only other players to win three Masters titles, but their wins were not in consecutive seasons. •
Jason Belmonte holds the most USBC Masters wins at four (2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017). • Anthony Simonsen won the 2016 USBC Masters, becoming the youngest person (19 years, 39 days) to ever win a PBA major. That distinction previously belonged to
Mike Aulby, who won the 1979 PBA National Championship at age 19 years, 83 days.
PBA World Championship Current defending champion:
E. J. Tackett • Originally the PBA National Championship, this event was renamed the PBA World Championship in 2002–03. • The PBA World Championship is a PBA members-only event. •
Don Carter won the inaugural National Championship in 1960 in
Memphis, TN, defeating Ronnie Gaudern. • Hall of Famer
Wayne Zahn became the first bowler to win this event twice (1966 and 1968), defeating
Nelson Burton Jr. both times. •
Earl Anthony staked his mastery in this event; twice capturing it three straight years (1973–75; 1981–83). His 1983 victory was his 41st title (under PBA rules at the time), a record that would stand until
Walter Ray Williams Jr. broke it in 2006–07. • Fellow Hall of Famer
Mike Aulby won this event in 1979, the first of his 29 PBA titles. Ironically, he had to defeat Anthony to win. • The following year,
Johnny Petraglia won the final of his 14 titles at the
Sterling Heights, MI event. Petraglia became the second bowler to win bowling's original "Triple Crown" with this victory (after
Billy Hardwick). • A memorable 1994 PBA National featured brothers
David Traber and
Dale Traber squaring off in the final match, with David emerging victorious. • With his runner-up finish in the February 2008 event,
Ryan Shafer set a record with his fourth runner-up finish in a PBA major event without a victory. Overall, Shafer has made the TV finals in a PBA major event 16 times and has yet to win. • The event moved from late season to become the season-opening tournament in 2008–09, meaning there were two World Championships during calendar year 2008. • With his victory in the November 2008 World Championship, Norm Duke became the first PBA bowler to win three consecutive majors. • The event was moved again for the 2009–10 season. In a split-format, the qualifying for the championship was held at the inaugural
PBA World Series of Bowling in early September 2009, and the TV finals aired live from
Wichita, KS on December 13, 2009. In the feel-good story of the season, recently laid-off auto worker
Tom Smallwood won the 2009 event. •
Earl Anthony holds the most World Championship victories (called the PBA National Championship at the time), winning the tournament an unprecedented six times, which is also the most wins by a player in any single major. The runner-up in PBA World Championship wins is
E. J. Tackett, who won his fourth in 2025. •
Jason Belmonte won the 2019 PBA World Championship for his record-setting 11th career major championship, surpassing Earl Anthony and Pete Weber, who each have ten majors. •
Jason Belmonte won three consecutive PBA World Championships in 2017, 2019, and 2020 (the PBA World Championship was not held in the 2018 calendar year), being the second bowler to accomplish this feat, following Anthony. E. J. Tackett would duplicate the feat with his wins in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
PBA Tournament of Champions Current defending champion:
Alex Horton • The Tournament of Champions has had many sponsors over the years; most notably the
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company from 1962 to 1993. It is the only PBA major tournament that is not open to all PBA members; the starting field only includes a set number of players who won a recent PBA title or (currently) past winners of the TOC event itself. • Hall of Famer
Joe Joseph captured the first Tournament of Champions crown in
1962. The starting field for that event featured all 25 PBA Tour title winners since the organization's inaugural 1959 event. •
Billy Hardwick won the second Tournament of Champions in
1965, besting finalists Dick Weber and Joe Joseph in a two-game set, 484–468–404. This was the first tourney in PBA history to offer a six-figure prize fund, along with a then-record $25,000 first prize ($239,500 in 2023 dollars). Following this season, the Tournament of Champions became an annual event. •
Mike Durbin (1972, 1982, and 1984), and
Jason Couch (1999, 2000, and 2002) each hold three wins in the Tournament of Champions. Jason Couch's victories came in three consecutive Tournament of Champions (the event was not held in 2001).
Jason Belmonte surpassed both with his fourth Tournament of Champions title in 2023, having previously won in 2014, 2015 and 2019. •
Jack Biondolillo rolled the PBA's first-ever televised
300 game at the
1967 Tournament of Champions. •
George Pappas became the first bowler to lead a major tournament wire-to-wire (from opening game of qualifying to championship match) when he won the
1979 event. • The
1981 edition saw the only double two-frame roll-off in championship round history, with
Pete Couture finally emerging victorious over Earl Anthony in the second roll-off.
Steve Cook won the championship with a memorable 287 game over Couture, gaining the first ten strikes before leaving the 6–7 split. •
Kelly Kulick's win in
2010 made her the first woman ever to win any event on the PBA Tour that was also open to men. • The
2011 Tournament of Champions featured a $1 million purse and a $250,000 first prize (won by
Mika Koivuniemi over
Tom Smallwood), making it the richest PBA tournament ever. •
Pete Weber's victory in the
2013 event made him the oldest player (50 years, 7 months, 10 days) to win the Tournament of Champions, and the only player to win each event of the PBA's Triple Crown at least twice in a career. •
Jesper Svensson of
Sweden became the youngest Tournament of Champions winner, capturing the title in the 2016 event at age 20 years, 357 days. This distinction previously belonged to
Marshall Holman, who won the 1976 ToC at age 21. • In 2026,
Alex Horton became the fourth rookie and the fourth black bowler to win a major PBA title.
U.S. Open Current defending champion: Patrick Dombrowski • The origins of the U.S. Open pre-date the PBA's founding by more than a decade, starting in the 1940s. Originally associated with the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA) it was known as the BPAA All Star from 1951 to 1970. It was renamed the BPAA United States Open in 1971, and shortened to U.S. Open thereafter. It has been held every year since, except for 1997 and 2014. • Like the USBC Masters, the U.S. Open allows amateur bowlers to participate as well as professionals. However, winners must be full-fledged PBA members to be credited with a PBA title. • The U.S. Open is considered the most difficult of the tournaments bowl in today, due to its long format and demanding oil pattern, which differs from the oil patterns the PBA generally employs. According to PBA.com, the U.S. Open uses a "flat" oil pattern, with equal amounts of oil being applied to every board. (Normal lane conditions feature a "crown" or larger amount of oil over the middle lane boards, to handle the heavier ball traffic.) •
Don Carter dominated the early BPAA All-Star events, winning four times between 1953 and 1958.
Dick Weber also won this tournament four times when it was the BPAA All-Star (1962, 1963, 1965 and 1966). Because Weber's wins were all during the PBA era (after 1959), he was retroactively credited with PBA major titles for all four due to a PBA rule change in 2008. •
Mike Limongello won the first modern-day U.S. Open in
1971, defeating
Teata Semiz. •
Marshall Holman became the first multiple modern-day winner with victories in
1981 and
1985. • The purse for the
1987 event, sponsored by
Seagram Wine Coolers, was a then-record $500,000, with a record $100,000 going to the eventual winner,
Del Ballard Jr. • The final round of the
1995 event, at
Joe Louis Arena in
Detroit, set a bowling attendance record with 7,212 watching
Dave Husted notch the second of his three U.S. Open Crowns. Husted was also the last person to successfully defend a U.S. Open championship, winning again in
1996. •
Pete Weber holds the record for most victories in the U.S. Open, capturing the title five times (1988, 1991, 2004, 2007, and 2012). He is also the only player to win a U.S. Open championship in four different decades. •
Earl Anthony, who is tied with Pete Weber for the second most PBA major titles (10), never captured the U.S. Open despite runner-up finishes in 1973, 1979 and 1980. •
Norm Duke's victory in the 2008 U.S. Open made him the fifth Triple Crown winner (and second "grand slam" winner) in PBA history. • The 2014 event was cancelled due to lack of sponsorship and conflicts with the PBA's schedule. The
2015 tournament was originally cancelled as well, but a deal was struck to keep the tournament on the schedule for 2015, 2016, and 2017. Since 2015, the U.S. Open has been jointly run by the USBC and BPAA. •
Canadian François Lavoie bowled the first televised
300 game ever in a U.S. Open in the semifinal match of the
2016 event. This match was Lavoie's television debut during his rookie season in the PBA. He would go on to win in the title match against
Marshall Kent to capture his first PBA title, helping him win the 2016 PBA Harry Golden Rookie of the Year award. •
Jason Belmonte's 2020 U.S. Open win made him the PBA's second Super Slam, third Grand Slam, and seventh Triple Crown winner. • Should he collect another U.S. Open title, Jason Belmonte would become the second player in PBA history to win two Triple Crowns in his career (winning the World Championship, Tournament of Champions and the U.S. Open at least twice each;
Pete Weber was the first and only player to do so); he would also accomplish an unprecedented double Super Slam title, which has never been done in PBA history.
PBA Players Championship Current defending champion:
Brandon Bonta • Unlike the
US Open and
USBC Masters, which allow qualifying amateurs to participate, the PBA Players Championship is open to PBA members only. • The tournament, originally called the PBA Touring Players Championship, was first held in 1983 and would be held every season through 2000. The event would not be held during the 2001 through 2010 seasons. The event, now called the PBA Players Championship, would return as a non-major event in 2011, 2013, and 2015. The Players Championship would return to major status in 2016, and has been held every season since.
Jason Belmonte,
Scott Norton, and
Parker Bohn III were retroactively awarded major titles in 2016 for their wins in 2011, 2013, and 2015, respectively. • PBA Hall of Famer
Steve Cook won the first PBA Touring Players Championship in 1983. •
Mike Aulby's victory in the 1996 PBA Touring Players Championship allowed him to become the first bowler in PBA history to win the PBA career "Super Slam" (all five majors). •
Graham Fach's victory in the 2016 PBA Players Championship made him the first
Canadian bowler to win a PBA Tour title. • With his victory in the 2019 PBA Players Championship,
Anthony Simonsen became the youngest bowler to win two major titles (22 years, 11 days). •
Dave Ferraro (1988 and 1991),
Steve Hoskins (1997 and 1999), Dennis Horan Jr. (1998 and 2000),
Jason Belmonte (2011, 2017, and 2022), and
Bill O'Neill (2020 and 2024) all hold multiple victories in the Players Championship; Belmonte is the only player in PBA history to win this event three times. • The revamped
2021 PBA Players Championship was initially held in five regions around the US, with the five regional winners then competing in the February 21 televised finals.
Kyle Troup won the title and record-tying $250,000 first prize. • Jason Belmonte's 2022 victory made him the first player in PBA history to win four different majors each on three separate occasions (2013-15 Masters; '14, '15, and '19 T.o.C.; '17, '19, and '20 World Championship; '11, '17, and '22 Players Championship). • When Kevin McCune won the 2023 Players Championship, it made the McCune family (with Kevin's father
Eugene McCune and grandfather
Don McCune) the first three-generation family of PBA Tour title holders.
Triple Crown The three "original" major championships (PBA World Championship, Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open) make up the PBA's "Triple Crown." Only nine bowlers in the history of the PBA have won all three jewels of the Triple Crown in their careers (year triple crown achieved in parentheses): •
Billy Hardwick (1969) •
Johnny Petraglia (1980) •
Pete Weber (1989) •
Mike Aulby (1995) •
Norm Duke (2008) •
Chris Barnes (2010) •
Jason Belmonte (2020) •
Dom Barrett (2022) •
E. J. Tackett (2023) Of the nine, Pete Weber is the only player to have won each Triple Crown event at least
twice in his career (five U.S. Opens, two PBA World Championships, and two Tournament of Champions titles). Despite 47 and 43 titles respectively, Walter Ray Williams and Earl Anthony are not Triple Crown winners. As mentioned, Anthony never won the U.S. Open, though he finished runner-up in the event three times. Williams has never won the Tournament of Champions, but he has a runner-up finish there.
Grand slam Mike Aulby,
Norm Duke, and
Jason Belmonte are the three of the nine PBA "Triple Crown" winners who have also won the ABC/USBC Masters, thus giving them the unofficial "grand slam" of pro bowling.
Don Carter is also noted for having won all four possible "majors" during his career (PBA National Championship, BPAA All-Star, World Invitational and ABC Masters), however some of these were not PBA events.
Super slam Mike Aulby and
Jason Belmonte are the only bowlers to have won the PBA "super slam", which includes a win in all four "grand slam" events in addition to a
PBA Players Championship title (known as the Touring Players Championship at the time of Aulby's win).
Threepeats in majors The following players have all won the same major event three consecutive times. •
Earl Anthony: PBA National Championship (1973, 1974, 1975) • Earl Anthony: PBA National Championship (1981, 1982, 1983) •
Jason Couch: PBA Tournament of Champions (1999, 2000, 2002) (not contested in 2001) •
Jason Belmonte: USBC Masters (2013, 2014, 2015) • Jason Belmonte: PBA World Championship (2017, 2019, 2020) (not contested in 2018) •
E. J. Tackett: PBA World Championship (2023, 2024, 2025) ==Qualifying==