Looking for his first Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour singles title, Michael Fagan (pictured left) of Patchogue, N.Y., earned the No. 1 qualifying position for Sunday's live ESPN-televised stepladder finals of the Bowling Foundation Long Island Classic at AMF Babylon Lanes.

As a result of earning the No. 2 qualifying position, Australian two-handed bowling sensation Jason Belmonte will make his PBA Tour television debut in Sunday's finals scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. (Read more about the two-handed style here)

After Friday's Round of 16, the 28-year-old Fagan, who won his second title on the European Bowling Tour at the Brunswick Euro Challenge in France two weeks ago, had a 7,624 overall pinfall and a 12-6 match play record, 53 pins ahead of Belmonte who finished with a 7,571 pinfall and field-best 14-4 record. Belmonte had the tournament lead going into the final position round match against Fagan but lost the match to Fagan, 212-185.

"I knew I was going have to do something special to compete with Jason but I was able to pull it out in the position round," Fagan said. "I had the support of a lot of friends and family here tonight and was happy to give them a good show."

Belmonte (right), who has won several major international titles and is in his first year on the PBA Tour, has garnered much media attention this season and will make an appearance with PBA Player of the Year contender Wes Malott Saturday morning from 7-10 a.m. Eastern on Fox & Friends, the top-rated cable morning show on the Fox News Network.

"It's nice to have the media attention and pressure finally turn into a reward," said the 25 year-old Belmonte, whose hometown is Orange, Australia. "For America to see me bowl live has been my goal. I will let them their own assessment of what I can do.

"The hardest thing about the stepladder will be sitting there watching the other guys get a feel for the lanes," Belmonte added.

Fagan's top finishes this year have been second and fourth place which both came in February.

Belmonte had 11th, 12th and 15th place finishes in February and posted a 10th place finish in the PBA World Championship which opened the season last October.

Rounding out the stepladder field will be No. 3 qualifier, Bill O'Neill, Southampton, Pa.; No. 4 qualifier, Ritchie Allen, Columbia, S.C., and No. 5 qualifier, Robert Smith of Columbus, Ohio.

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Round of 16 Results

Players with position, hometown and 32-game total. The top 5 advance to the stepladder finals.

Pos	Player	Hometown	Games	Pins	Ave.	W-L-T	Bonus	Total
1.	Michael Fagan	Patchogue, N.Y.	32	7264	227.00	12-6-0	360	7624
2.	Jason Belmonte	Orange, NSW,Australia	32	7151	223.47	14-4-0	420	7571
3.	Bill O'Neill	Southampton, Pa.	32	7148	223.38	10-8-0	300	7448
4.	Ritchie Allen	Columbia, S.C.	32	7143	223.22	10-8-0	300	7443
5.	Robert Smith	Columbus, Ohio	32	7101	221.91	10-8-0	300	7401
6.	Ryan Shafer	Horseheads, N.Y.	32	7007	218.97	13-5-0	390	7397
7.	Walter Ray Williams Jr.	Ocala, Fla.	32	6989	218.41	11-7-0	330	7319
8.	Pete Weber	St. Ann, Mo.	32	7046	220.19	9-9-0	270	7316
9.	Chris Barnes	Double Oak, Texas	32	7072	221.00	8-10-0	240	7312
10.	Todd Book	Wapakoneta, Ohio	32	7012	219.13	9-9-0	270	7282
11.	Patrick Allen	Wesley Chapel, Fla.	32	6993	218.53	9-9-0	270	7263
12.	Sean Rash	Wichita, Kan.	32	6972	217.88	9-8-1	285	7257
13.	Wes Malott	Pflugerville, Texas	32	7021	219.41	7-10-1	225	7246
14.	Tommy Jones	Simpsonville, S.C.	32	6919	216.22	8-10-0	240	7159
15.	Parker Bohn III	Jackson, N.J.	32	6914	216.06	8-10-0	240	7154
16.	John Nolen	Waterford, Mich.	32	6834	213.56	9-9-0	270	7104

 

 

Round of 32 Results

Players with position, hometown and 23-game total. The top 16 advance to the Round of 16.

Pos	Player	Hometown	Games	Pins	Ave.	W-L-T	Bonus	Total
1.	Michael Fagan	Patchogue, N.Y.	23	5379	233.87	6-3-0	180	5559
2.	Robert Smith	Columbus, Ohio	23	5217	226.83	7-2-0	210	5427
3.	Chris Barnes	Double Oak, Texas	23	5222	227.04	6-3-0	180	5402
4.	Bill O'Neill	Southampton, Pa.	23	5251	228.30	5-4-0	150	5401
5.	Ryan Shafer	Horseheads, N.Y.	23	5122	222.70	8-1-0	240	5362
6.	Jason Belmonte	Orange, NSW,Australia	23	5128	222.96	7-2-0	210	5338
7.	Wes Malott	Pflugerville, Texas	23	5192	225.74	4-5-0	120	5312
8.	Sean Rash	Wichita, Kan.	23	5099	221.70	7-2-0	210	5309
9.	Patrick Allen	Wesley Chapel, Fla.	23	5166	224.61	4-5-0	120	5286
10.	Todd Book	Wapakoneta, Ohio	23	5070	220.43	5-4-0	150	5220
11.	Parker Bohn III	Jackson, N.J.	23	5069	220.39	5-4-0	150	5219
12.	Walter Ray Williams Jr.	Ocala, Fla.	23	5035	218.91	6-3-0	180	5215
13.	Tommy Jones	Simpsonville, S.C.	23	5087	221.17	4-5-0	120	5207
14.	Pete Weber	St. Ann, Mo.	23	5083	221.00	4-5-0	120	5203
15.	Ritchie Allen	Columbia, S.C.	23	5101	221.78	3-6-0	90	5191
16.	John Nolen	Waterford, Mich.	23	5040	219.13	4-5-0	120	5160
17.	Tom Baker	King, N.C.	23	5006	217.65	5-4-0	150	5156
18.	Edward VanDaniker Jr	Essex, Md.	23	4967	215.96	6-3-0	180	5147
19.	Ken Simard	Greenville, S.C.	23	5037	219.00	3-6-0	90	5127
20.	Jeff Carter	Springfield, Ill.	23	4965	215.87	5-4-0	150	5115
21.	Mika Koivuniemi	Hartland, Mich.	23	4954	215.39	5-4-0	150	5104
22.	Steve Harman	Indianapolis	23	4956	215.48	4-4-1	135	5091
23.	Brian LeClair	Athens, N.Y.	23	4930	214.35	4-5-0	120	5050
24.	Brian Ziesig	Levittown, N.Y.	23	4892	212.70	5-4-0	150	5042
25.	Brian Kretzer	Dayton, Ohio	23	4906	213.30	3-6-0	90	4996
26.	Ronnie Russell	Indianapolis	23	4836	210.26	5-4-0	150	4986
27.	Eugene McCune	Munster, Ind.	23	4924	214.09	2-7-0	60	4984
28.	Dave D'Entremont	Middleburg Heights, Ohio	23	4893	212.74	3-6-0	90	4983
29.	Randy Weiss	Columbia, S.C.	23	4906	213.30	2-7-0	60	4966
30.	Joe Bailey	Pittsburgh	23	4864	211.48	3-6-0	90	4954
31.	Rudy Kasimakis	Baldwyn, Miss.	23	4871	211.78	2-6-1	75	4946
32.	Mike Edwards	Tulsa, Okla.	23	4864	211.48	1-8-0	30	4894