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{{Short description|American ten-pin bowler}}

factoids

| birth_place = Austin, Texas, U.S.| years_active = 2014–present| nickname = Simo| spouse = | nationality = AmericanProfessional Bowlers Association>PBABowling form>two-hand delivery)PBA Tour (5 majors)7 PBA Regional Tour1 European Bowling Tour>EBTStorm Products>Roto Grip, Vise Grips|300games=7|rookieyear=2014|height=5 ft 9 inches (175 cm)}} Anthony Walter Simonsen (born January 6, 1997) is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He has been a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2014. Simonsen became known in bowling fan circles early in the (PBA Bowling Tour: 2016 season|2016 season), when he earned the distinction as the youngest player in history to win a PBA major championship (USBC Masters). He is now the youngest player in history to own five major PBA Tour titles. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. At age 25, Simonsen eclipsed $1 million in career PBA earnings during the 2022 season.WEB,weblink 2022 GUARANTEED RATE PBA TOUR SEASON IN REVIEW, Goodger, Jef, pba.com, September 1, 2022, September 6, 2022, Simonsen has also bowled internationally as a multi-year member of Team USA.Simonsen is a pro staff member for Roto Grip bowling balls and Vise Grips finger inserts.WEB,weblink PBA Profile, Anthony Simonsen, PBA.com, January 11, 2017, A native of Little Elm, Texas, Simonsen resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Early life

Simonsen grew up in Mesquite, Texas and, as the son of regular league-bowling parents, he took up the game at an early age. By age 12, he was beating some of the nation's best collegiate bowlers in tournaments, like Wichita State University alum Kris Prather. Said Prather, "I'm bowling next to this kid who's two-handed...he's striking like every single shot and walking around like he owns the building. I wish I had that kind of confidence when I was that age." By age 15, Simonsen had dropped out of school and was working the night shift at Plano Super Bowl in Plano, Texas. He began bowling in professional tournaments by age 16, his entry fees staked by some fellow bowlers in exchange for a percentage of the teenager's earnings.WEB,weblink Meet the Gen Z Hothead Burning Up Pro Bowling, Harris, Zach, rollingstone.com, January 19, 2024, February 19, 2023,

Amateur accomplishments

As an 18-year-old, Simonsen captured a win in doubles (with partner Mark Sleeper, Jr.) at the 2015 USBC Open Championships.WEB,weblink Young Simonsen Making Name for Himself, Cannizzaro, Matt, Bowl.com, November 4, 2015, January 11, 2017, Simonsen first earned a spot on Team USA in 2016. He and his Team USA teammates won the 2019 Weber Cup over Team Europe. Simonsen participated in 11 of the 32 matches, going 5–1 in singles, 1–2 in doubles, and 1–1 in team.WEB,weblink PBA Spare Shots: American PBA Stars Successfully Defend Weber Cup, Tie Series at 10-10, Vint, Bill, PBA.com, June 21, 2019, June 24, 2019, June 24, 2019,weblink dead, In the 2020 Weber Cup, Simonsen and Team USA again defeated Team Europe, 23–18.WEB,weblink USA CLINCH THIRD CONSECUTIVE BETVICTOR WEBER CUP, WeberCup.com, October 21, 2020, October 22, 2020, Overall in the event, Simonsen participated in 12 of 41 matches, going 4–1 in singles, 1–4 in doubles, and 1–1 in team. In his third singles match against England's Dom Barrett, Simonsen rolled a 300 game.WEB,weblink WEBER CUP 2020 - SCHEDULE, WeberCup.com, October 21, 2020, October 22, 2020, Simonsen also competed in the 2021 Weber Cup. In the USA's 17–18 loss to Team Europe, Simonsen participated in 12 of 35 matches, going 4–3 in singles, 2–0 in doubles, and 0–3 in team.WEB,weblink WEBER CUP - 2021, webercup.com, October 18, 2021,

PBA career

Simonsen became a PBA member in 2013 at age 16. This followed some success on the PBA regional circuit, where he won two Regional tournaments as a non-member. Simonsen has won 14 PBA Tour titles (with five majors) and seven PBA Regional titles. He has rolled 7 career 300 games in PBA competition (through 2019). He also has one European Bowling Tour (EBT) title to his credit, earned at the 2018 Storm Irish Open.WEB, 2013-12-02, Anthony Simonsen {{!, PBA |url=https://www.pba.com/players/anthony-simonsen |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=www.pba.com |language=en}}

2015 season

In his first full season on the PBA Tour, Simonsen made the cash-line cut in seven of 16 tournaments, and qualified for match play five times.

2016 season

(File:20160821-Anthony-Simonsen.jpg|thumb|Simonsen at a 2016 tournament (age 19))Simonsen's first PBA Tour title came on December 18, 2015, at the Mark Roth/Marshall Holman PBA Doubles Championship, where he teamed with Connor Pickford. (This was considered a 2016 season title.) The victory made Simonsen the second-youngest winner of a standard PBA Tour event, at {{Age in years, months and days|1997|1|6|2015|12|18}}. He was only two days older than Norm Duke when Duke won the 1983 PBA Cleveland Open.Simonsen made history on February 14, 2016, when he won his first PBA Tour singles title and first major at the USBC Masters in Indianapolis. This win made Anthony the youngest player ever, at age 19 years and 39 days, to win a PBA major title. PBA Hall of Famer Mike Aulby had held this distinction since (PBA Bowling Tour: 1979 Season|1979), when he won the PBA National Championship at age 19 years, 83 days.WEB,weblink SIMONSEN MAKES HISTORY WITH WIN AT 2016 USBC MASTERS, Cannizzaro, Matt, pba.com, February 14, 2016, November 11, 2020, Simonsen qualified for two more televised finals in major tournaments during 2016, finishing fourth at the U.S. Open in November and fifth at the PBA World Championship in December. He appeared in the championship round (the final stage of a tournament) seven times this season.

2017 season

On February 26, 2017, Simonsen won the World Bowling Tour (WBT) Men's Finals in Las Vegas, NV, cashing $20,000. The finals included the top three points earners from 2015 and 2016 WBT events. While presented by the PBA, this event does not award a PBA title.WEB,weblink Anthony Simonsen, Danielle McEwan Win World Bowling Tour Men's, Women's Finals, Vint, Bill, pba.com, February 26, 2017, February 27, 2017, Simonsen captured his third PBA title on May 29, 2017, at the PBA Xtra Frame Wilmington Open.WEB,weblink Anthony Texas Two-Hander Anthony Simonsen Wins Third Career Title in PBA Xtra Frame Wilmington Open, Vint, Bill, pba.com, May 29, 2017, May 30, 2017, As one of the top eight money leaders from the start of the 2015 season through the 2017 USBC Masters, Simonsen was invited to participate in the inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals in May, 2017. He placed eighth in the event.WEB,weblink Indiana's EJ Tackett Wins Inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals for Third 2017 Title, Bill, Vint, pba.com, June 27, 2017, July 5, 2017, September 3, 2019,weblink dead,

2018 season

Simonsen finished runner-up to Sweden's Jenny Wegner in the 2018 Brunswick Euro Challenge, held in Munich, Germany. Simonsen won a scratch victory of 213–211 in the final match, but because Wegner accepted the eight pins per game handicap offered to female competitors, Simonsen lost the match and a PBA title by an official score of 219–213.WEB,weblink Handicap Pins Help Sweden's Jenny Wegner win Brunswick Euro Challenge over Anthony Simonsen, Bill, Vint, pba.com, March 18, 2018, March 19, 2018, On August 19, Simonsen won his fourth PBA title at the Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic in Middletown, Delaware.WEB,weblink Anthony Simonsen Gets Creative, Wins Fourth PBA Title in PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic, Bill, Vint, pba.com, August 19, 2018, August 20, 2018, Simonsen gained some attention with this latest victory when he used a "backup ball" (a right-hander putting reverse rotation on the ball so it hooks like a left-hander's shot, or vice versa) during both match play and one of the finals matches after the right side of the lane had become difficult to play. While USBC and PBA rules do not allow a bowler to switch to his or her opposite hand for any sanctioned shot during a given season, Simonsen's technique was legal. He still used a dominant right hand, but rotated the ball in the opposite direction versus his conventional shot.On October 16, Simonsen won his fifth PBA Tour title at the FloBowling PBA Wolf Open in Owasso, Oklahoma. Having qualified as the #1 seed, he won his lone championship round match over Andrew Anderson.WEB,weblink Anthony Simonsen Wins FloBowling PBA Wolf Open for Second Go Bowling! PBA Tour Title of the Season, Jerry, Schneider, website, October 16, 2018, October 17, 2018, October 17, 2018,weblink dead, With the win, Simonsen joined Jesper Svensson as the only players in history to have five PBA Tour titles by age 21.WEB,weblink PBA Fall Swing Returns to Detroit's Historic Thunderbowl Lanes September 4–11, Vint, Bill, PBA.com, August 23, 2016, August 24, 2016, August 26, 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160826195917weblink">weblink dead,

2019 season

On February 17, 2019, Simonsen won his sixth PBA Tour title and second major at the 2019 PBA Players Championship in Columbus, Ohio. As the #2 seed in the stepladder finals, he defeated Kyle Troup in the semi-final match 259–202, then upset #1 seed Jason Belmonte (going for a record 11th major) in the final match 232–212 to claim the title. Simonsen's victory made him the youngest player (22) in PBA history to win two major championships. The previous record holder, Billy Hardwick, won his second major championship at age 23.WEB,weblink Simonsen Takes Down Belmo To Win Players Championship, Wiseman, Lucas, FloBowling.com, February 17, 2019, February 17, 2019, With two majors and at least five titles overall, Simonsen is also the youngest player in history to become title-eligible for the PBA Hall of Fame.WEB,weblink PBA Spare Shots: FloBowling Debuts Anthony Simonsen Documentary "Leave It Behind", Vint, Bill, PBA.com, September 6, 2019, September 6, 2019, Simonsen qualified as the #4 seed for the inaugural PBA Tour Playoffs. He made it to the Final Four on June 1, but lost in the semifinal to eventual champion Kristopher Prather.WEB,weblink Dark Horse Kris Prather, Veteran Bill O’Neill Advance to PBA Playoffs Championship Match Sunday on FOX, Vint, Bill, pba.com, 1 June 2019, 2 June 2019, On August 29, Simonsen won his seventh PBA Tour title in exciting fashion at the PBA Bear Open in Aurora, Illinois. After the final match against E. J. Tackett finished in a 267–267 tie, both Simonsen and Tackett recorded strikes on the first ball of sudden-death roll-off. Simonsen then struck on the second ball of sudden death, while Tackett rolled a 9-count, giving Anthony his second title of the 2019 season.WEB,weblink Simonsen Beats Tackett in Roll-off to Win PBA Bear Open For Seventh Career Go Bowling! PBA Tour Title, Schneider, Jerry, pba.com, 29 August 2019, 30 August 2019, Overall in 2019, Simonsen made eight championship round appearances and cashed $171,340, both career highs. Simonsen won an additional $100,000 in the Bowlero Elite Series event on September 13, 2019, which is not counted in his PBA earnings.WEB,weblink Anthony Simonsen Wins $100K Top Prize in Bowlero Elite Series, bowlersjournal.com, Vint, Bill, 13 September 2019, 8 December 2020,

2020 season

Simonsen qualified as the #1 seed for the finals of the 2020 U.S. Open, but lost the championship match to Jason Belmonte, 226–201.WEB,weblink Australia's Jason Belmonte Wins U.S. Open, Becomes Second Bowler to Complete PBA "Super Slam", Vint, Bill, pba.com, 23 February 2020, 5 March 2020, In the PBA World Championship finals on March 15, he again finished runner-up to Belmonte.WEB,weblink Belmonte Beats Simonsen to Win Third Consecutive PBA World Championship Title, Schneider, Jerry, pba.com, 15 March 2020, 20 March 2020, Based on 2020 points, Simonsen qualified as the #4 seed for the season-ending PBA Tour Playoffs. He made it all the way to the championship match, only to suffer another runner-up finish, this time to Bill O'Neill.WEB,weblink BILL O'NEILL WINS PBA PLAYOFFS FOR 13TH TITLE, pba.com, 8 November 2020, 9 November 2020, Despite the 2020 season being shortened by COVID-19, Simonsen posted a new career high in earnings with $227,130.WEB,weblink Jason Belmonte Tops 2020 PBA Tour Earnings With Nearly $300k, Wiseman, Lucas, flobowling.com, 20 November 2020, 2 February 2021,

2021 season

After yet another runner-up finish in a major (2021 PBA Tournament of Champions), Simonsen finally broke through with his eighth title in the PBA Tour Finals on June 27. Having secured the #1 seed in Group 2 qualifying, Simonsen topped Kris Prather in his group stepladder final, then defeated Group 1 winner Kyle Troup for the championship.WEB,weblink ANTHONY SIMONSEN WINS PBA TOUR FINALS FOR EIGHTH CAREER PBA TOUR TITLE, Goodger, Jef, pba.com, June 27, 2021, June 28, 2021,

2022 season

On February 6, 2022, Simonsen won his ninth PBA Tour title and third major at the 2022 U.S. Open, held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Qualifying as the #2 seed for the stepladder finals, he defeated Jason Belmonte in the semifinal match and E. J. Tackett in the championship match to claim the victory. The win makes Simonsen the youngest bowler in PBA history (25 years, 31 days) to win three major titles. The previous record holder was PBA Hall of Famer Dave Davis, who won his third major in 1968 at age 25 years, 343 days.WEB,weblink SIMONSEN WINS 2022 U.S. OPEN FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE, Cannizzaro, Matt, PBA.com, February 7, 2022, February 7, 2022, On April 3, Simonsen won his tenth PBA Tour title, fourth major, and second major of the 2022 season, narrowly defeating Hall of Famer Norm Duke in the final match at the USBC Masters, 219-216. Simonsen is now one of nine players in history to win multiple Masters titles, and is the first player to win both the U.S. Open and USBC Masters during the same season since Mike Aulby did so in 1989. At age 25 years, 87 days, Simonsen is also the youngest player in history to claim four PBA major championships.WEB,weblink ANTHONY SIMONSEN WINS SECOND USBC MASTERS TITLE AT 2022 EVENT, Smith, Aaron, PBA.com, April 4, 2022, April 4, 2022, Simonsen is also the fourth-youngest player in history to reach the ten-title plateau, behind Pete Weber (24 years, 247 days), Marshall Holman (24 years, 274 days) and Aulby (25 years, 83 days).

2023 season

On February 24, 2023, Simonsen won his eleventh PBA Tour title at the PBA Wichita Classic. Qualifying as the #1 seed, he defeated Dom Barrett 257–213 in the championship match to claim the victory. Two weeks later, Simonsen qualified as the top seed for the PBA Dave Small's Jackson Classic, but lost the March 9 championship match to E. J. Tackett.WEB,weblink EJ TACKETT WINS THIRD TITLE OF SEASON AT PBA JACKSON CLASSIC, Hughes, Nolan, PBA.com, March 9, 2023, March 10, 2023, On April 2, Simonsen qualified as top seed, then defeated #2 seed Michael Martell 243–222 in the title match to defend his USBC Masters title. During match play for this event, he went undefeated and set a Masters scoring record by averaging 250.4 over 18 games. This included a 300 game and an 845 series in his final three-game match that locked up the #1 seed.WEB,weblink ANTHONY SIMONSEN EXCITED TO BEGIN MATCH PLAY AT THE MASTERS, Hughes, Nolan, PBA.com, March 28, 2024, March 28, 2024, This was Simonsen's twelfth PBA tour title and third Masters title. He became just the fourth player (after Dick Hoover, Billy Welu and Jason Belmonte) to successfully defend a title in this event. Along with Belmonte and Mike Aulby, Simonsen is the one of three players in history to win the Masters at least three times. At age 26 years, 86 days, Simonsen is also the youngest player in history to win five PBA major championships, and is in fact the first player to have five major titles before the age of 30.WEB, Simonsen wins back-to-back USBC Masters, becomes youngest to five major titles {{!, PBA |url=https://www.pba.com/2023/april/simonsen-wins-back-back-usbc-masters-becomes-youngest-five-major-titles |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=www.pba.com |language=en}}On July 30, 2023, Simonsen won the Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles event with partner Danielle McEwan. This gave Simonsen his third title of the 2023 season and 13th title overall. Through the 16 title events of the 2023 season, Simonsen never finished out of the top 10.WEB,weblink ANTHONY SIMONSEN AND DANIELLE MCEWAN COMPLETE COMEBACK TO WIN STORM PBA/PWBA SABC MIXED DOUBLES TITLE, pwba.com, July 30, 2023, July 31, 2023, He finished the season second in points and also second in earnings, with a career-high $347,500.WEB,weblink Professional Bowlers Association Rankings - 2023, pba.com, October 17, 2023, On December 8, 2023, Simonsen finished runner-up to E. J. Tackett for the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award.WEB,weblink EJ TACKETT WINS THE 2023 CHRIS SCHENKEL PBA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD, Hughes, Nolan, pba.com, December 8, 2023, December 11, 2023,

2024 season

In the 2024 U.S. Open, Simonsen dominated qualifying, leading his next closest competitor by 221 pins to earn the top seed. However, Simonsen lost his lone TV finals match on February 4 to Kyle Troup, finishing in second place.WEB,weblink KYLE TROUP WINS 2024 U.S. OPEN FOR SECOND CAREER MAJOR, Grubaugh, Donovan, bowl.com, February 5, 2024, February 19, 2023, Simonsen rebounded two weeks later, climbing the ladder from the fifth seed in the TV finals to win the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic. This was Simonsen's 14th PBA Tour title.WEB,weblink ANTHONY SIMONSEN CLIMBS LADDER TO WIN PBA PETE WEBER MISSOURI CLASSIC, Hughes, Nolan, PBA.com, February 18, 2024, February 19, 2023,

PBA Tour Titles

Major tournament titles are in bold type.

1. 2016: PBA Mark Roth-Marshall Holman Doubles Championship (w/Connor Pickford) (Reno, NV)
2. 2016: USBC Masters (Indianapolis, IN)
3. 2017: PBA Xtra Frame Wilmington Open (Wilmington, NC)
4. 2018: PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Open (Middletown, DE)
5. 2018: FloBowling PBA Wolf Open (Owasso, OK)
6. 2019: PBA Players Championship (Columbus, OH)
7. 2019: FloBowling PBA Bear Open (Aurora, IL)
8. 2021: PBA Tour Finals (Allen Park, MI)
9. 2022: U.S. Open (Indianapolis, IN)
10. 2022: USBC Masters (Las Vegas, NV)
11. 2023: PBA Wichita Classic (Wichita, KS)
12. 2023: USBC Masters (Allen Park, MI)
13. 2023 Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles w/Danielle McEwan (Houston, TX)
14. 2024 PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic (Springfield, MO)

Career statistics

Statistics are through the last complete PBA season.WEB, Anthony Simonsen (bowler profile),weblink Professional Bowlers Association, January 11, 2018,weblink January 11, 2018, live, {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"! Season!! Events!! Cashes!! Match Play!! CRA+!! PBA Titles!! Average!! Earnings ($)0026,030143,27783,184124,825171,340227,130188,325274,975347,500Totals >195 >143 >95 >52 >13 >$1,586,586+CRA = Championship Round Appearances

In the media

Simonsen: Leave it Behind

Simonsen is the namesake of the 2019 FloBowling documentary Simonsen: Leave it Behind. The documentary examines Simonsen's childhood grind and path to professionalbowling superstardom. It is available via the FloBowling website and is exclusive to the service's subscribers.

Other

Simonsen was the subject of a Rolling Stone article in January 2024, titled, "Meet the Gen Z Hothead Burning Up Pro Bowling".

References

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