31st May, Singapore: Cherie Tan of Singapore and Hussain Al-Suwaidi of UAE won their first major title as they emerged Women's and Men's Open Masters champions of the 41st Singapore International Open which ended Saturday evening.

The victory by Cherie Tan was not smooth sailing at all when she was forced into a sudden-death decider after losing the first game, 193-211 to second seed and challenger, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia.

But the 19-year-old, who topped the second block after leading in the first block on Friday, rebounded with a 224-179 winning match to claim her first-ever major international title and picked up the top prize of S$5,000.

"I didn't want to go through the agony of another defeat like last year so I kept pushing myself," said the delighted Cherie. "The feeling is great and I feel so happy to win my first major international title.

Zandra again settled for second despite ousting third-seed, Wang Yu-Ling of Chinese Taipei and another Singapore challenger, Shayna Ng, 224-179-201 in the second women's stepladder match. Shayna's fine run came to an end after she had defeated fourth-seed, Sharon Koh of Malaysia and sixth-seed, Diandra Asbaty, 210-175-187 in the first match.

Meanwhile, the men's title continued to elude Singapore's Remy Ong as the third-seed battled it out in the second match with two UAE finalists, Hussain Al-Suwaidi and winner of the first match, Shaker Al-Hassan.

Ong had a great start with four strikes-in-a-row but two open frames in the fifth and sixth and another in the eighth put him out of contention. There was nothing between the two Emeratis and the match looked like going to Shaker when he only need at least a 7-pin count in his final frame to take the match.

But luck was not in his favour when he struck 6 pins and then cound not spare the frame handling the match to his fellow compatriot by one pin, 243-244 and Ong scored 189. Hussain went on to clinch the title by

winning the first match against topseed, Adrian Ang of Malaysia, 279-195 and the deciding title match, 236-200.

"I must consider myself very lucky because I thought I had missed the stepladder when I shot a low fifth game in the second block," said the 28-year-old Hussain. "Luckily I sht two high games of 259 and 268 to make the stepladder.

"In the match against Shaker (Al-Hassan), all he needed was a good pin count in the final frame and when he only managed 6 pins and then couldn't spare it, I knew it must be my best chance to win.

The newly-crowned champion took home a whoppng S$25,000 for his victory while Adrian settled for S$10,000. Ong won S$5,000 for finishing third. Shaker finished fourth after he took the first match knocking out Qatar's Bandar Al-Shafi and Thaland's Annop Arromsaranon, 224-209-193.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

30th May, Singapore: Last year's second runnerup, Cherie Tan Shi Hua of Singapore snatched pole in the Women's Open first block Masters of the 41st Singapore International Open by just 1 pin on Friday evening at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber.

This year's Canon 31st Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan set the pace with a 232 and 213 opening two games with Malaysia's Choy Poh Lai second and 26 pins adrift. But two poor games from Jazreel saw the 19-year-old youngster dropping out of contention while defending champion, Zatil Iman surged to the front at the halfway mark with Cherie Tan just 6 pins behind.

A 203 and 214 from Cherie gave the Singaporean the lead but only 1 single pin ahead of teammate, Shayna Ng in second and the rest closely bunched up. World Bowlers Writers' Bowler of the Year, Diandra Asbaty looked set to end the block in pole but allowed Cherie to snatch the lead with a final game of 213.

Cherie ended the 8-game block with 1670, just 1 pin ahead of a recovering Zatil Iman in second with 1669 while 2005 Singapore Open champion, Hung Shu-Chun stormed home to clinch third spot with 1666.

"I was bowling well in the first half but when we moved to the left part of the centre, it was a lot oilier," said the surprised leader, Cherie. "Luckily I changed my equipment for the last two games and was able to maintain my score.

"My scores weren't very high today and I think I've to hit more higher games if I want to remain in front and a bigger gap than just 1 pin. Diandra Asbaty dropped to fourth with 1656 followed by Shayna Ng of Singapore and Liza del Rosario of the Philippines fifth and sixth positions.

"I'm glad I was able to be consistent today and not land low games," said Diandra, who is also here in Singapore to conduct a two-day bowling clinic. "Tomorrow is more important and I'll give my best especially with such great Singapore crowd behind me.

The women will continue their second block at 1.00am on Saturday, May 31 and the top 6 at the end of another 8 games will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

30th May, Singapore: Two-time national champion, Adrian Ang Hsien Loong of Malaysia claimed pole position in the Men's Open first block Masters in the 41st Singapore International Open at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber on Friday afternoon.

Adrian Ang was in sizzling form when he literally lead from start to finish in the 8-game masters finals for a total of 1846 and averaging an awesome 230. Two massive games of 265 and 279 in the second and fifth game allowed the 19-year-old youngster to end the block 93 pins ahead of his nearest rival.

The Malaysian had lines of 223, 265, 206, 235, 279, 223, 211 and 204 to lead a field of 42 finalists. UAE's Hussain Al-Suwaidi did well to finish second with 1753 while Singapore's strong title contender and last year's second runnerup, Remy Ong in third with 1728.

"I was more confident after I hit a 265 in the second game especially in

this strong field," said the 19-year-old Adrian Ang. "I kept telling myself to make sure I make good shots as the lanes are quite tough here and has very little room for mistakes.

"The lanes are tougher than I thought and throughout the 8 games, I really didn't have any massive games," said the 2006 World Championship two gold medalist, Remy Ong. "I tried to catch up Adrian (Ang) but he was just awesome.

"Hopefully I can make up more grounds tomorrow in the second block to narrow my gap with the leader. The field is quite close and everyone in the top 10 have an equal chance of making the stepladder.

The men will continue their second block at 9.00am on Saturday, May 31 where the top 6 would advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

30th May, Singapore: Malaysian youth, Kang Bo Long and Chinese Taipei's Wang Ting-Wen triumphed in the Boy's and Girl's Youth Masters of the 41st Singapore International Open on Friday morning to deny Singapore youths a home victory.

Twenty-four youths took to the lanes at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber in the first masters finals of the day which saw Travis Tay setting a blistering pace with an opening game of 278 for a 37 pin lead ahead of fellow compatriot, Ng Tiac Pin.

But the lead did not last as Ng had two back-to-back 241 and 244 games to snatch the front running by 3 pins. Ng kept up his hot pace to reel in 210 and 203 in the third and fourth and stretching the lead to 56 pins after the fourth game.

Malaysian national youth rookie, Kang Bo Long then shot 198 and a massive game of 288 in the fifth and sixth games to take over the lead followed by top qualifier, Eugene Low trailing in second.

With a 40 pin cushion, the 22-year-old proshop supervisor at Diaman Bowl in Johor Bahru kept a consistent pace to end the 10-game final with 2120 to land his first youth title on his first international outing in Malaysian colours.

Kang, who won last year's Pahang International Open in the men's division finished 38 pins to deny Singapore a home victory. Eugene Low settled for second with 2082 while another Malaysian, Muhammad Fazrin Khairul Faizi storming home to snatch third spot with 2075.

Pace-setter, Ng Tiac Pin fizzled out to take fourth spot with 2063 followed by Thailand Open champion, Ernie Cheng Hsing-Chao of Chinese Taipei fifth on 2057.

Meanwhile, 2006 Asian Schools Masters gold medalist, Wang Ting-Wen cruised to a comfortable victory in the Youth Girl's Masters denying again a Singapore home victory when the Taiwanese totaled 2104.

Wang had taken an early lead but shared the lead with Singapore's Denise Chan after the second game. The duo traded the lead for the next two games but it was the Taiwanese spinner who was more consistent throughout to end the finals 106 pins ahead of Denise.

Denise settled for second with 1998 followed by last year's Youth Girl's champion, Gina Lim third on 1968. Geraldine Ng and Ong She-Na finished with less than 10 pins seperating the top 5 with 1967 and 1956 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

29th May, Singapore: Taipei women made an impressive showing on the final day of qualifying in the 41st Singapore International Open with five of them making the finals and Hsieh Chia-Li taking over the lead.

The lead of the overseas pool in the Women's Open Masters has been held by Malaysian, Zandra Aziela since Day 2 but on the final day of qualifying and pressure mounting, Hsieh Chia-Li put in a superb performance to snatch the lead with a total of 932 with lines of 225, 245, 246 and 216.

At the same time, four of Hsieh's fellow compatriot, Hung Shu-Chun and Wang Ting-Wen making the finals in seventh and tenth while Hsiao Su-Ling and Wang Yu-Ling also qualified fourth and seventh in the mixed pool.

The five Taiwanese will surely give their opponents a run for their money in the race for the women's crown especially Hung Shu-Chun, who won the women's crown in 2005. There were no significant changes in the women's local pool with Cherie Tan still in front with 935.

The cut off for the women stood at 812 held by Filipina Kim Lao. Missing from the field is Indonesia's Putty Armein, who only arrive yesterday. Putty is seventh in the reserves pool.

No big movers was also seen in the Men's Open division. Qatar has four in the finals with Abdulla Al-Qattan at the top of the leaderboard followed by Saeed Al-Hajri in fourth, perfect gamer, Mansour Al-Awami in fifth and Bandar Al-Shafi 13th.

Malaysia is also well represented with eight in the finals. World Ranking Masters runnerup, Zulmazran Zulkifli finished second to lead teammates, Adrian Ang third, Alex Liew sixth, Daniel Lim seventh, Zaid Izlan ninth and Mohd Noer Said tenth.

Singapore's challenge is headed by Eugene Low, Shaun Ng and Jack Wong as the top three in the local pool. World champion, Remy Ong will be attempting to break the jinx by capturing the Singapore Open title on home turf.

The final squad will be 11.00pm this evening and is already running an hour late. Bowlers who failed to make the cut could have a last chance by bowling in the Desperado Squad expected to start at 1.00am tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

29th May, Singapore: Loke Chor of National Service Resorts and Country Club and Enseilia Goh of Singapore Sports School took their maiden victory when they triumphed in the Boy's and Girl's Under-16 Masters finals of the 41st Singapore International Open.

Keith Saw Hui Xun open accounts with a 217 opening game, 8 pins ahead of Jonathan Ng. But it was Brandon Lau's 205 and 247 in his first two games that saw the youngster surging into the lead.

Brandon kept a hot pace and was 19 pins ahead of Shaun at the halfway mark with Loke Chor lurking closing behind the duo. As Jonathan moved to the front, Loke was 32 pins adrift after the fifth game.

Loke then stepped into top gear with 202, 212 and 203 in his last three game to end the 8-game finals with 1576 and 33 pins ahead of Howard Saw, who finished second with 1543. Pace-setter, Shaun Ng settled for third with 1528.

The 15-year-old Loke, who has been bowling since he was 11, also won this year's Novice Bowling secondary school division boys title but the win to day is much sweeter to the youngster.

In the Girl's Under-16 division, Enseilia Goh also clinched her first-ever victory when she amassed a total of 1532. The 14-year-old Singapore Sports School student took over the lead after the fourth game and went on to cruise to an comfortable 50 pins victory.

Lynette Ho, who had set a cracking pace from the start of the 8-game finals, settled for second with 1482 while Calista Tan stormed home to snatch third place from another pace-setter, Ilma Nurjannah with a total of 1466.

"I would have been happy with a podium finish but to win is even more fantastic," said Enseilia after receiving the champion's trophy from Mr B.C. Cheah, Vice President of MTBC and Director of Malaysian National squad.

"My best performance was finishing 24 pins behind the third-placed in my previous finals and I'm so pleased with the results. I need to train more before I can compete in other bigger tournaments like next week's 2nd Under-18 Singapore Sports Schools meet.

Meanwhile, C.S. Ng won the Men's Graded B Masters title with a total of 1621 followed by Tan Hock Beng and Johnny Lee second and third with 1617 and 1614 respectively. The Women's Graded B division crown went to youngster, Ong Ying Xin with a total of 1469.

Yeo Ching Yee settled for second with 1422 as Valerie Chan and Julie Png tied for third place with a total of 1411. There will be seven qualifying squads left today and if any Men's Open bowlers who have not made the finals will have a final chance to join the finalists in the one-game Desperado Squad after the last squad.

Photos by Terence Yaw for SBF.

28th May, Singapore: Sinai International Open runnerup Mansour Al-Awami of Qatar, stole the limelight on the penultimate day of qualifying to shoot the first perfect game of the 41st Singapore International Open at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber.

Mansour, who was eighth overnight with 881, took to the lanes at the 5.30pm squad with a 222 opening game. The 31-year-old from Doha then reeled off 221, 207 before hitting the tournament's first perfect game with 300.

Mansour's 300 in the final game gave the Qatari a 950 total to move up to fifth and secured a spot in the masters finals. His fellow compatriot, Abdulla Al-Qattan remained in pole with 968 ahead of World Ranking Masters runnerup, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia second on 967.

Two-time Milo Junior All Stars champion, Adrian Ang also made headway with a superb 954 to take up third spot ahead of Mansour. Another Qatari, Saeed Al-Hajri, who was 11th, also improve with 953 slotting in between his teammate and Adrian.

In the local front, Eugene Low sits securely in pole with 946 with Shaun Ng Qenn improving to slot into second with 941. Jack Wong, Remy Ong and Lee Yu-Wen made up the top 5 with 938, 935 and 932 respectively.

In the women's division, last year's second runnerup, Cherie Tan surged into the front of the local pool with a scintilating 935 to become the overall top scorer. Her teammate, Shayna Ng also made up grounds to finish second with 892.

Overnight leader, Jazreel Tan dropped to third with 891 followed by early leaders, Valerie Teo and Jennifer Tan in fourth and fifth spots. Malaysia's Zandra Aziela remained top in the overseas pool with 902 with last year's runnerup, Sharon Koh second on 896.

World Bowlers Writers' Hall of Famer, Diandra Asbaty of USA finished third with 863 after her second attempt as Chinese Taipei's Hung Shu-Chun and Malaysia's Choy Poh Lai rounded up the top 5.

The qualifying rounds for the Youths Under-16 and Men's Graded B ended at 5.30pm as their Masters finals will take place tomorrow morning. Qualifying for the rest of the division will end probably into the early hours of Friday.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

27th May, Singapore: Two-time national champion, Jazreel Tan staked her claim on the Women's Open Masters title of the 41st Singapore International Open as she stormed into the lead on Monday at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber.

The recently crowned Malaysian Open champion posted 891 in her ninth attempt to lead Singapore's charge in their bid to regain the women's title since ex-national Evelyn Chan last won it in 2003.

The 18-year-old Jazreel, who was sensational when she was crowned the national women champion in 2004 at the age of 15. But she was unable to repeat her amazing feat the following year.

Jazreel almost won the women's Masters gold medal in the 2005 Manila SEA Games but had to settle for the silver after going down to Liza Clutario in the stepladder finals. The Oakland University of Technology student was so near to winning the Masters gold medal when she made her debut in the 2006 World Women's Championship in Mexico.

She rebounded by recapturing the national women's crown in 2007 and then went on to claim her first-ever international title when she triumphed in the Malaysian Open in March this year.

"I just couldn't score well and maintain consistency in my other previous attempts," said Jazreel. "It was a lot better yesterday and I left very little pin 10s. I'll make a few more rounds just to try out other lines so that I can do well in the Masters," added the Singaporen youngster who hvae never made the stepladder finals in the championship.

Ex-national, Valerie Teo remained in secon just 6 pins behind the leader with 2002 World Ranking Masters champion, Jennifer Tan third with 883. Malaysia's Zandra Aziela topped both the overseas and overall table with 902 posted 2 days ago.

While Singapore national youth, Eugene Low continued to top the local pool with 946 followed by veteran, Jack Wong and Remy Ong second and third with 938 and 935 respectively, 2006 Singapore Open champion, Lee Yu-Wen and 2005 national champion, Jason Yeong-Nathan all have a shot in title with good finishes in fourth ans sixth spots.

Qatar's Abdulla Al-Qattan, meanwhile shot the highest 4-game total of 968 to take overall top spot and head the overseas pool. Zulmazran Zulkifli and Daniel Lim also impressed with 967 and 940 to put Malaysia in the fray for the men's crown.

Zulmazran, who bagged the Malaysian Open Masters title in March, also did well to finish second in the 8th World Ranking Masters in Jakarta early

this month while Lim, who lost to Finn Mika Koivuniemi last year, will be looking to go one notch up this time round.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

25th May, Singapore: Malaysian Open runnerup, Zandra Aziela shot a sizzling 4-game total of 902 to take over the lead of the Women's Open Masters qualifying table in the 41st Singapore International Open on Sunday.

Zandra, the 22-year-old national elite squad member who lost to Singaporean Jazreel Tan in the Canon 31st Malaysian Open in March, will be hoping to make amends by nailing the women's crown. Zandra shot 902 to take over the overall lead as well as the overseas pool.

Fellow teammate, Sharon Koh, who lost to compatriot, Zatil Iman in last year's final, posted 896 to give Malaysia a 1-2 finish. Another Malaysian, Choy Poh Lai improved from her first attempt to finish third with 790.

Asian Youth champion, Valerie Teo continued to lead Singapore's charge with 885 and topping the local pool. 2002 World Ranking Masters champion, Jennifer Tan finished second with 883 followed by Ong She-Na in third with 876.

Meanwhile, Singapore's national youth member, Eugene Low put in a superb performance to grab the lead in the men's open division wth 946 posted several days ago. Seasoned campaigner and 2005 champion, Jack Wong was second with 938.

2006 World Men's Championship two gold medalist, Remy Ong, who also finished third last year, took up third with 935 as 2006 Singapore Open champion, Lee Yu-Wen and newcomer, Ho Yeen Kee rounded up the top 5 with 932 and 922 respectively.

Qualifying continues through to Thursday May 29 and the Masters Finals will be held on May 30 and 31.

Photos courtesy of Singapore Bowling.

23rd May, Singapore: World Championship two gold medalist, Remy Ong will be hoping to end a barren 2007 year with a victory in the Masters finals of the 41st Singapore International Open.

Ong, who bagged the Singles and All-Events gold medal at the World Men's Championship in Busan in 2006, sits comfortably third in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table with a score of 935.

The 29-year-old southpaw finished third in last year's championship and looked posied to regain the title for Singapore and will also give him the confidence leading to this year's World Men's Championship in Bangkok this August.

Youngster, Eugene Low continued to lead the Men's table with 946 posted two days ago followed by early leader and veteran, Jack Wong in second with 938. 2006 champion, Lee Yu-Wen, another southpaw, is also strongly fancied with a fourth place finish on 932.

2005 national champion, Jason Yeong-Nathan rounded up the top 5 as 2004 national champion, Helmi Chew dropped off the local pool but topped the mixed pool with 825.

Malaysian Open runner-up, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia headed the Women's overseas pool with a moderate 846 in her first attempt with teammate, Choy Poh Lai in a less impressive second on 691.

Asian youth champion, Valerie Teo maintained pole position on 885 with Jennifer Tan in second with 883. Ong She-Na improved to third with 876 ahead of 2005 national women champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan is a comfortable fourth with 862.

Sabrina Lim, who dropped off into the mixed pool overnight, improved to move back into the local pool and in sixth spot with 845 behind Cherie Tan who also returned to the local pool in fifth with 859.

Rena Teng, Doreen Pang and this year's Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan all dropped into the mixed pool to take up the top three positions with 891, 808 and 803 respectively.

Eugene Low and Ong She-Na continued to top the Youth Boy's and Girl's table as qualifying intensify with the arrival of the overseas bowlers competing in this year's championship.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

22nd May, Singapore: Singapore's national youth member, Eugene Low took over the lead of the Men's Open Masters qualifying leaderboard on Day 3 of the on-going 41st Singapore International Open at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber.

The 19-year-old Low, whose best showing was a sixth-place finish in the 2005 National Championship, chalked up a 4-game total of 946 to dislodge leader, Jack Wong into second spot and Remy Ong third.

Seasoned campigner and 2005 Singapore Open champion, Jack Wong had topped the table with 938 and held the lead for only two days since the championship started on Wednesday. But Low was awesome when he took to the lanes today with a superb 946 to take over the lead.

Jack settled for second followed by Singapore's World Champion, Remy Ong in third spot with 935. 2006 Singapore Open champion, Lee Yu-Wen found his line to reel off 932 for fourth place and putting him safely into the finals.

Andrew Lee rounded up the top 5 in fifth place with 895 as those who finished 13th positions and above were pushed into the mixed pool, which is headed by Aloysius Kuok Choon Ngiap with 812.

Asian Youth two gold medalist, Valerie Teo continued to head the women's open division with a score of 885 followed by fellow compatriot and 2002 World Ranking Masters champion, Jennifer Tan in second with 883.

2005 National champion, Jasmine Yeong-Nathan did well to finish third with 862 while 2006 Indonesia Open champion, who was ninth overnight, improved to fourth after shooting 827. Amanda Ng completed the top 5 in fifth spot with 818.

Meanwhile, Eugene Low also topped the Youth Boy's table with another impressive 939 ahead of Travis Tay and Gregory Gan second and third spots with 916 and 865 respectively. Te Youth Girl's lead remained with Ong She-Na on a score of 875.

With the bulk of the overseas participants arriving this Sunday, the scramble for a slot in the masters finals will surely intensify and push the qualifying scores higher. Qualifying ends Thursday, May 29 and the finals will be held on May 30 and 31.

Photos courtesy of Singapore Bowling.

21st May, Singapore: Seasoned campaigner and winner of the 2005 Singapore Open, Jack Wong set the opening pace as he blitzed the lanes at Superbowl Safra Mount Faber to take top spot in the Men's Open Masters qualifying table of the 41st Singapore International Open.

Winner of numerous titles in his prime days, the 56-year-old showed that he has still got a many years left in his illustrious bowling career to knock down a 4-game total of 938 averaging 234.5 to lead Singapore's bid to keep the prestigious men's crown on home soil.

World champion and national kegler, Remy Ong also impressed with 935 to take up second behind the veteran while Andrew Lee finished third with 895. Paiman Bin Dali and Chaim Yew Beng rounded up the top 5 finishing fourth and fifth with 888 and 876 respectively.

2006 champion, Lee Yu-Wen made little impression and only managed to post 794 to take up 13th in the men's local pool. Lionel Lim finished out of this pool but topped the mixed pool with 778 ahead of Carl de Vries and Ong Qizong second and third.

Meanwhile, Valerie Teo topped the women's local pool with a total of 885, just 2 pins ahead of fellow compatriat, Jennifer Tan second and last year's second runner-up, Cherie Tan third with 883 and 800.

Newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Jazreel Tan shot 794 to finish fourth ahead of youngster, Ong She-Na in fifth spot with 781. Tan, the two-time national champion was the only Singaporean to qualify for this year's World Ranking Masters in Jakarta, missed an opportunity to make an impression when she was taken down with a fever throughout the championship.

But Ong She-Na posted a higher score when she made her other attempts to head the Youth Girl's division leaderboard with 875. Last year's

champion, Gina Lim claimed second spot with 826 while Teo Li Ying finished third with 816.

Participants vying for glory in six grades in both the male and female divisions of the on-going Singapore Open will continue to make their attempts to qualify for their respective Masters finals till Thursday, May 29.

The Youth Under-16's final attempt will be at 5.30pm on Wednesday, May 28, the Youth and senior divisions at 5.30pm on Thursday, May 29 while the last squad for the rest will be later in the early hours of Friday.

Photos courtesy of Singapore Bowling.