Belmonte wins ESPY for Best Bowler

Jason Belmonte last week won his second Best Bowler ESPY Award. Belmonte, who received his award at ESPN’s ceremony in Los Angeles, also won the ESPY in 2011.

Belmonte this season won his third USBC Masters in a row and won his second consecutive PBA Tournament of Champions title for his fifth career major. He now has 12 career wins. Belmonte beat out PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III and Mike Fagan for the ESPY.

Scotch doubles results – A total of 23 teams rolled in the annual Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club Scotch Doubles tournament Sunday in Atwater. More than $500 was awarded to five teams. The winning duo, Sydney and Noelle Westbrook of Modesto, rolled a 1,112 total and earned $71 each. The Atwater team of Rikki Cascia and George Souza placed second with a score of 1,097 for $63 each. Julie Flowers and Curtis Horne missed second place by one pin with a 1,096 for $55 each. There was a tie for fourth between Marnie Hamilton and Tiffany Barroso of Dos Palos, and Mickey and Phyllis Wallbaum of Newman at 1,085. Each won $42. Brenda Perry and Gary Taylor rolled 10 strikes in a row, which is hard to do in scotch doubles, on the way to a 286.

Women’s 500 Club Behind the Curtain – Our Merced/Atwater Women’s 500 Club will be host to a Behind the Curtain tournament for all members of the United States Bowling Congress. The tournament is open to men and women, and you do not have to be a member of the 500 Club.

Singapore’s Tan takes PWBA Lubbock Open – Newcomer Jazreel Tan won on her first try in the Professional Women’s Bowling Association. Tan defeated Stefanie Johnson of Grand Prairie, Texas, 257-246 to win $10,000.

Tan, 25, led the event though 12 games of qualifying and 16 games of round-robin match play over two days. Tan stepped up in the final frame and delivered two strikes to seal the deal.

Johnson downed Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, N.Y., 233-159 and then 2011 USBC Queens champion Missy Parkin of Laguna Hills 213-158 on her way to the championship match. Johnson earned $5,000, Parkin finished third for the second consecutive week and pocketed $3,500, and McEwan earned $3,000 for fourth place.

Tan was a four-time first-team All-American at Wichita State from 2009 to 2013 and three-time Collegiate Bowler of the Year.

Senior no-tap at Yosemite – Yosemite Lanes in Modesto is holding its monthly senior 9-pin no-tap, open to all USBC seniors, Friday at 1 p.m. There are separate divisions for high game and series for men and women. The cost is $13.

Bowling loses a good friend – I know all of you have heard the expression “soccer mom.” We bowlers had our own bowler mom in Margaret Docherty, who passed away July 13 at 87 years old.

When I walked into Bellevue Bowl, she was always sitting by the desk and would smile and say, “Hi” or “How you doing?”

Before the automatic scorekeepers, she earned coffee money by keeping score. Marge, as she was known, and her late husband, Doc, bowled and traveled the U.S. and other countries for more than 20 years while he served in the U.S. Army and Air Force.

A visitation is scheduled for Thursday from 5-7 p.m. at Wilson Family Funeral Chapel in Atwater. Marge will be laid to rest in a private service at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Santa Nella. The date for a celebration of life will be announced soon.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Belmonte wins ESPY for Best Bowler."