Two-handed world champion bowler Jason Belmonte has returned to Australia to sit out the coronavirus pandemic after another headline season on the PBA Tour in the United States.
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Due to a logjam of Australians trying to return home because of the global shutdown, Belmonte - who is widely regarded as the sport's No.1 player - sent his family ahead of him back to Sydney via Los Angeles from Las Vegas. He flew from San Francisco.
When they met up in Sydney, they drove nearly four hours to their home in Orange in central western New South Wales, where they spent two weeks in quarantine in line with government directions.
The family finished that quarantine over the weekend, all happily clear of the virus.
"It was a really weird situation, what we were hearing while in the US was that they were going to close the borders," Belmonte told Associated Press on Monday.
"I was in the middle of a tournament, my concentration was wobbling. But when they said they were closing up the borders, I figured this was getting really serious."
That tournament was the PBA World Championship in Las Vegas, which finished on March 15. At it Belmonte scored his second major victory of the PBA Tour season and 13th of his career.
Belmonte, who is famous for his distinctive two-handed delivery from the right side, pocketed a cool $US150,000 ($A249,553) for his troubles.
A dominant season on the PBA Tour in 2019 earned Belmonte his fifth PBA player of the year title, which was followed by player of the decade honours. There are no official rankings in pro bowling, but Belmonte is often described as the sport's No.1 player.
Australian Associated Press
