The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for tenpin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Regional professionals, a small percentage of the bowling membership competes at the national and international level, forming the PBA Tour. (PBA.com lists 67 bowlers that have Tier 1 national touring pro status as of the start of the 2025 season.) Founded in 1958, the PBA Tour has been in continuous operation since the inaugural 1959 season.
Each year, the PBA Tour puts on a series of events for PBA members. Most events are held across the United States, with the PBA co-sponsoring selected international events as part of the World Bowling Tour (WBT). In addition, the PBA Tour has co-hosted the Round1 Japan Cup along with the Japan Professional Bowling Association (JPBA). Also, select American members compete against their European counterparts in the Weber Cup.
In September 2019, the PBA and PBA Tour were purchased by Bowlero Corporation (renamed Lucky Strike Entertainment Corporation in 2024). Tom Clark, who was promoted to PBA Commissioner in late 2011, retained that role even after the acquisition by Bowlero.
Major championships 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. One notable result of this change is that Earl Anthony's long-standing 41 career titles count was increased to 43, as he had won the 1977 and 1984 Masters events. This also retroactively credited Jason Queen as having bowled the 11th perfect game in a televised PBA Tour event, which he accomplished at the 1997 Masters. PBA Hall of Famer Ernie Schlegel became the oldest player to win a PBA Tour major, winning the 1996 ABC Masters at age 53, although the event was not considered a major at the time of his victory. 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 fifth in 2026. 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. With his win in the 2026 event, E. J. Tackett became the first player ever to win a PBA major in four consecutive seasons and, in fact, the only player to win any PBA Tour event four consecutive times.
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 (about $265,000 in 2026 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 in the 1967 Tournament of Champions final round.Thomas, Jason. "Top 10 Moments in T of C History." Article at www.pba.com on August 16, 2010. 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. This event also featured the lowest score ever bowled in a televised PBA event (100, by Tom Daugherty) and the largest pin differential in a PBA final round match, with Koivuniemi defeating Daugherty 299–100 in the semifinal game. 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.Hughes, Nolan (April 26, 2026). Alex Horton Wins 2026 PBA Tournament of Champions. PBA.
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.