Norm Duke said he would win again. On Sunday, he delivered.

The 54-year-old bowling legend took down the sport’s best current player, Jason Belmonte, 237-219, to win the 2019 PBA Indianapolis Open for his 39^th career title.

It had been more than eight years since Duke won a singles title on the PBA Tour, but he told FloBowling at the start of the season he would find his way back to the winner’s circle again.

And what an emotional trip it was.

Results: PBA Indianapolis Open Stepladder Finals

It was evident early this was going to be an emotional finals for Duke, who teared up in an interview with Kimberly Pressler before the show even started.

Duke managed to keep his emotions in check, however, especially in the title bout with Belmonte, who had earned the top seed for the third consecutive week.

Out of the gates, Duke started with three strikes before going a pinch high and leaving and converting a 4-9 split in the fourth frame. He rattled off three more strikes before a stone eight pin left him stunned in the eighth frame.

Belmonte, meanwhile, struck on every shot on the right lane conditioned with the 38-foot Mike Aulby pattern but struggled to carry on the left lane, which had the 45-foot Dick Weber pattern.

In the final frame, Belmonte could have struck out to force Duke to toss a strike to win, but he went high and left the 3-10 split. He converted the spare, but Duke just needed good count on his first shot in the 10^th to win and he delivered.

“He’s the very best in the world right now and for me to standing right here on the approach with a victory against him? I’ll never forget it as long as I live,” Duke told Pressler after the match. “There’s a lot of people who have a hand in things like this that allow us to go out and dedicate so much to the cause, and I’m just so thankful to them.”

Duke survived a tough semifinal challenge from Wes Malott, 214-195, to advance into the title match.

Leading most of the match and having only missed the pocket once, Duke got a clutch double in the final frame. However, he left a 10 pin on his final shot to leave an opening for Malott.

Malott needed three strikes in the final frame to secure a one-pin victory but instead left a 10 pin on his first shot to finish in third place.

In a match marred by seven splits between the two players, Malott survived a low-scoring game against Tom Daugherty, 174-170, in the second match of the stepladder.

Malott at one point had three open frames in a row and trailed much of the match but struck out in the ninth and 10th frames to put the pressure on Daugherty.

Needing a double a good count to win in the final frame, Daugherty left a weak 10 pin on his first shot to lose.

Malott took down the lone lefty in the stepladder, Rhino Page, 242-192, in the opening match.

Malott got off to a shaky start, leaving the 2-8-10 split for an open in the first frame, but then rattled off seven consecutive strikes to take control of the match.

Page struck in the sixth and seventh frames and trailed by 44 pins entering the eighth frame, when he left and missed a 2-4-7-8 to seal his fate.  

The PBA Tour next heads to Arkansas for the 2019 PBA Jonesboro Open, which begins with qualifying live on FloBowling on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Central.