4th June, Singapore: Shaker Al Hassan of UAE won the Men's Open Masters title of the 44th Singapore International Open for the second time while debutant, Kelly Kulick of the United States took the women's crown on Saturday evening.

Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, who was seeded second after the second round of 8 games, trashed top seed, Khalid Al Dubyyan of Kuwait, 269-203 in the title match to force a deciding second match. Khalid failed to pick up three spares as the Emirati had a clean game to beat Khalid, 215-180 to win the Men's crown for the second time.

The champion had won the Singapore Open back in 2009 and the victory was the Emirati's second title this year after winning the season opening Dubai Open back in February.

"I'm very happy to have won it for the second time," said the 42-year-old Shaker after his victory. "There's a lot of good bowlers here and it's not easy to beat some of my friends like Remy and Khalid.

"I'm already looking forward to come back next year to defend the title and I'll do my best to try and win it again for the third time."

The champion won the first match against local favourite and third seed, Remy Ong and desperado squad qualifier, Syafiq Ridhwan of Malaysia, 237-202-192 to advance into the title match.

Khalid had topped the two round with 3496 ahead of Shaker in second with 3484. Remy finished third with 3429 while the final spot went to Syafiq with 3358.

Meanwhile debutant, Kelly Kulick of the United States had to work double-time to beat another local favourite and No. 3 seed, Jazreel Tan after the top seed was beaten 196-215 in the first match.

But in the decider, two open frames from the 22-year-old Singaporean lifted some pressure off Kulick as she struck out to take the match and the title, 226-210. The champion had a poor first round in which she finished tenth.

The American posted a stunning 1798 in the second round to lead with 3403 and advance into the stepladder finals as top seed.

Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia, who finished second with 3355, lost to third seed Jazreel 40-49 in the tie-breaker after both were locked at 203 in the first match. The second Singaporean, Daphne Tan shot 198 to remained fourth.

"I made two bad shots in the first game which costed me the match," said the 43-year-old Kulick, who was voted 2010 WBW Women Bowler of the Year.

"But I didn't repeat the mistakes and was lucky to come away with the win. Jazreel is a good competitor and she has a great potential. I've also heard alot about her especially being voted the BWAA Collegiate Bowler of the Year. "I'll certainly come back to defend the title next year. The organization is great and the competition is intense."

Kulick won S$6,000 for her maiden victory while Jazreel settled for S$3,000. Tannya and Daphne won S$1,500 and $1,000 respectively. Shaker picked up S$20,000 for the win with Khalid settling for S$10,000. Remy and Syafiq took home S$5,000 and S$3,000 respectively.

A total of 530 bowlers from 16 countries participated in the week long championship which began on May 24 and culminating the grand finals today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

3rd June, Singapore: Singapore women put in a dominating display in the Women's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 44th Singapore International to take the top three positions on Friday evening at Orchid Bowl @ Orchid Country Club.

Asian Championship Doubles gold medalist, Daphne Tan got off to a cracking start with a sizzling 258 in her opening game to lead the field of 30 finalists and ahead of Shayna Ng in second and Jazreel Tan third.

Daphne continued to set a blistering pace reeling in 218 and 202 in the next two games as Jazreel kept close to the leader in second. Daphne kept the lead despite managing only 189 in the fourth game.

While Daphne and Jazreel were fighting for the lead, another Singapore national bowler, Bernice Lim slowly hauled herself into contention for the lead with several big games.

By the sixth game, it was clear that Bernice struck the sweet note which saw her take over the running. She went on to end the round with 1712, 6 pins ahead of Daphne in second with 1706 while Jazreel finished third with 1691.

"I didn't have the best of starts but fortunately I made some adjustments to line up the lanes much better and to get better carry," said the 19-year-old sports psychology student at NTU.

"I'm happy with my performance today and it's good to be in the top 5 which was my target before the finals. Hopefully I can carry my form forward into the next round and making the stepladder finals."

Chinese Taipei's Wang Ya Ting bowled consistently to clinch fourth spot with 1682 ahead of two Indonesian, Sharon Limansantoso and Tannya Roumimper in fifth and sixth positions.

Top qualifier and newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia struggled in this round to end in 16th position while defending champion, Sin Li Jane faired slightly better in 11th.

The women will resume with the second round tomorrow over another 8 games with pins carried forward from today's round. The top 4 finishers at the end of the two rounds will advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

3rd June, Singapore: Shaker Al Hassan of UAE is eying to regain the title he won in 2009 after finishing the Men's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 44th Singapore International Open in top spot on Friday.

Shaker Al Hassan got off the mark on a right footing reeling in 227 222, 204 and 236 to stay close to leader, Khalid Al Dubyyan of Kuwait at the halfway mark with Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong and Malaysia's Adrian Ang were among the front runners.

While Khalid continued his relentless pace in the next three games, Shaker continued to push hard with 227, 247 and 226 to trail the Kuwaiti by 36 pins with the final eighth game to play.

A disastrous 162 from Khalid saw him handing the lead to Shaker after the latter shot a stronger 216 to end the block with 1806. Khalid hung on to second with 1787 with Singapore's Remy Ong storming home for third with 1783.

"The lanes were a little bit different from yesterday and I think it's because of the weather," said the 41-year-old champion of the 2009 Singapore Open. "I altered the surface of my bowlng ball and bowled a squad yesterday and I got good ball reaction.

"Today I had very consistent games and I didn't have low games so I managed to stay with the leaders. We've completed 8 games today and there's another 8 tomorrow. It's important to be in the top 5 which will give me a good chance to make the stepladder.

Wu Siu Hong did well to take fourth spot with 1725. Singapore's Basil Low, who almost shot the masters' first perfect game when he rolled eighth consecutive strikes in the final game, finished sixth with 1720.

The men will resume with the second round tomorrow over another 8 games with pins carried forward from today's round. The top 4 finishers at the end of the two rounds will advance to the stepladder grand finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

2nd June, Singapore: Australia's pair of Glen Loader and George Frilingos powered themselves to finish one-two in the Men's Open Masters qualifying standings of the 44th Singapore International Open on Thursday evening.

Australian national bowler, Glen Loader, who almost shot the tournament's second perfect game when he fired an astonishing 777 high series to haul himself into top spot with 1468. Loader's effort also put him into the limelight as one of the title contenders.

His compatriot and 2010 Ancol Open champion, George Frilingos also stunned the field when he started off with a cracking 279 to end his attempt with 735 which moved him into second spot with 1423 to give the Aussies a one-two finish.

"I wouldn't say the lane conditions were by no means easy," said the 26-year-old security system technician from Sydney in New South Wales. "I've lost track of the number of attempts both George and I had.

"We were glad to make the cut let alone to top the table," added George Frilingos. "Doing well in qualfying is one thing but most importantly we must do well in the finals.

Late overnight leader, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand slipped down to third with 1422 followed by Hong Kong's Wicky Yeung and Malaysian Open first runner-up, Yannaphon Larpapharat of Thailand rounding up the top 5.

The top three positions in the local pool remained unchanged since yesterday with Remy Ong heading Singapore's challenge in pole with 1419. Benjamin Lim and national rookie, Leong Ho Yun completed the top 3.

Singapore's reigning national champion, Bernice Lim put herself into the title race after taking up third spot with 1329 behind team-mates and 2009 national champion, Fok Ka Wai in pole and Jazreel Tan in second.

Although she was left out of the Asian Games squad, Bernice proved she has got what it takes to step up her performance by capturing the Doubles gold medal with Daphne Tan at the Asian Championship in Abu Dhabi in January this year.

The top three positions in the overseas pool remained unchanged with newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Zandra Aziela followed by Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia and Lara Posadas of the Philippines second and third.

The current cut for the men's open division stood at 1349 and being occupied by Hong Kong's Cyrus Cheung while in the women's division, the cut is held by Chinese Taipei's Tsai Hsin-Yi on 1234.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

2nd June, Singapore: Malaysian youths completed a clean sweep of the Youth Open Masters titles of the 44th Singapore International Open with Aris Ardilla and Syaidatul Afifah winning the Boy's and Girl's Open divisions.

2010 Asian Youth gold medalist, Aris Ardilla set a cracking pace to take an early lead with his sizzling opening game of 253 but soon found himself trailing Aussie Sam Cooley after the second game.

Singapore's Jovi Ang made his bid by taking over the running after the third game but could not keep up the pace set by Aris after the Malaysian regained the lead at the halfway mark. Despite losing the lead briefly to team-mate, Chong Jun Foo after the fifth game, Aris went on to end the 8-game finals with 1709 to capture the title.

Chong made a late charge in his final game but finished 19 pins behind the champion with 1690 while Cooley took third spot with 1671, a further 19 pins away.

Singapore's Jonathan Ang stormed home to snatch fourth spot with 1609 to edge early pace-setter, Jovi into fifth position with 1597. Aris Ardilla won S$1,000 for his effort, Chong and Cooley taking home S$600.

The Malaysian girls were much more superior than their boys counterpart sweeping the finals with the top four places. Syaidatul Afifah took a convincing victory to win her second international yout title after her triumph in Taiwan last year.

Syaidatul, who took over the lead after the third game, amassed a total of 1604, 49 pins ahead of Faten Najihah in second with 1555. Early pace-setter and pint-sized, Fatin Azmira settled for third with 1545 while Steffira Zeandea completed the top 4 for Malaysia with 1513.

Singapore's best finisher was Girl's Under-18 first runner-up, Tracy See in fifth position with 1485. Syaidatul, Faten and Fatin all won S$800, S$600 and S$300 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

1st June, Singapore: The lead changed hands in both the overseas and local pool of the Men's and Women's Open Masters table in the 44th Singapore International Open as qualifying intensified on Wednesday.

Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong edged Kuwait's Mohammed Kamel by just a single pin to move into the lead of the Men's Open overseas pool after he rolled 704 and 683 for a 6-game tally of 1387.

Mohammed Kamel finished second with 1386 while Sweden's Marcus Berndt, who shot the tournament's first perfect game, posted 729 and 644 to finish third with 1373 to tie with Badin Lerdpiriyasakulkit of Thailand.

Meanwhile, two-time Saudi Open champion, Remy Ong of Singapore became the first bowler to surpass the 1400-mark after taking over the lead in the local pool with 1419. The 32-year-old, who was fourth overnight, rolled a superb 703 to add to his earlier 716.

Benjamin Lim, who led the local standings since the opening day, settled for second with 1380 followed by national rookie, Leong Ho Yun in third with 1377.

The current cut stood at 1308 occupied by Australia's Sam Cooley. The cut is expected to reach at least 130 over with the final day of qualifying ending late Thursday, June 2.

The lead in the women's open division also changed hands after newly-crowned Malaysian Open champion, Zandra Aziela of Malaysia continued her fine form to storm into the lead of the overseas pool with 1367.

2010 Thailand Open champion, Tannya Roumimper, who had lead the overseas pool briefly, settled for second with 1342 while overnight leader and Canon Cup winner, Lara Posadas slipped down to third with 1336.

Team USA member and winner of two major US title this year, Kelly Kulick of the United States did well to roll 658 and 642 to take up fourth with 1300 as Malaysia's Siti Safiyah Amirah of Malaysia completed the top 5.

2009 national champion, Fok Ka Wai also took over the running the the local pool after she amassed a 6-game total of 1383. BWAA Collegiate Bowler of the Year, Jazreel Tan, who improved from 1283 to 1364 settled for second.

Asian Championship Doubles gold medalist, Bernice Lim did well to finish third with 1329 followed by Jasmine Yeong-Nathan and Geraldine Ng rounding up the top 5.

The Youth Open and Senior Masters finals will be held tomorrow morning followed by more qualifying rounds. A desperado squad will be stage to select the top 3 with the highest single-game to join the finals on June 3 and 4.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

31st May, Singapore: Emirati bowlers took the top three spots of the Men's Open Masters overseas qualifying pool of the 44th Singapore International Open with Sayed Al Hashemi in pole ahead of Shaker Al Hassan and Hassan Al Zaabi third.

Sayed Al Hashemi's two best series of 699 and 644 gave the Emirati national bowler a 6-game aggregate of 1343 to lead fellow compatriot and 2011 Dubai International Open champion, Shaker Al Hassan in second with 1330.

Hassan Al Zaabi did well to roll 1282 to complete UAE bowlers occupying the top three positions. Bahrain's Mohamed Ali Al Sahwoosh finished fourth with 1265 ahead of another Emirati and three-time Asian ranked No. 1, Hussain Al Suwaidi rounding up the top 5 with 1262.

Over in the local pool, national rookie passed with flying colours in his first international assignment for Singapore when he stormed into second spot in the local pool with 1377, just 3 pins behind leader, Benjamin Lim in pole with 1380.

Jonathan Ng Yew Weng, who totaled 1358, edged two-time Saudi Open champion, Remy Ong by 12 pins to take up fourth while Ong, who also improved his 6-game tally from 1304 to 1346 for fifth position.

In the women's division, newly-crowned Canon Cup 2011 winner, Lara Posadas of the Philippines took over the lead in the overseas pool with 1336 after she rolled 704 and 632 series.

Australia's Rebecca Voukolos impressed with 1221 to take up second spot while Guangzhou Asian Games silver medalist, Tannya Roumimper of Indonesia finished third with 1212. Uella Marcial of the Philippines slipped down to fourth with 1153.

The top three positions in the local pool remained unchanged with Daphne Tan, New Hui Fen and Jazreel Tan occupying the top three spots with 1293, 1291 and 1283 respectively. Cherie Tan and Bernice Lim completed the top 5.

Qualifying will end June 2 and the Men's Open Masters Round 1 will be staged at 10.00am and the Women's Open Masters Round 1 at 2.30pm on June 3. Round 2 will be staged on June 4 culminating in the stepladder finals at 5.30pm.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Singapore.

30th May, Singapore: Two-time Saudi Open champion, Remy Ong set his sight on the 44th Singapore International Open Men's Open Masters title that has eluded Singapore's top national bowler by taking up fourth in the standings on Monday.

After failing to make the Masters finals of the recently concluded 34th Canon Malaysian International Open, Remy Ong was determined to do better on his home ground. Ong rolled a splendid 716 series and despite a weak 588 in only his two attempts, still managed a creditable 1304.

The effort put Ong fourth in the standings behind leader, Benjamin Lim in front with 1380. LeongHo Yun and 2005 champion, Jack Wong finished in front of Ong in second and third with 1377 and 1308 respectively.

Ong looked set to take over the lead with an improved second-best series which will put him a firm title contender. Singapore national bowlers have returned from Malaysia and will be making headways in their qualifying rounds in the next few days.

In the overseas pool, Aussies dominated the standings with Scott Lutschini topping with 1146 followed by Andrew McArthur in second with 1061 and Bruno Maglieri third with 1026.

Asian Championship Doubles gold medalist, Daphne Tan also remained in the lead 1293 followed by Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medalist, New Hui Fen improving to second with 1291.

EBT Masters champion, Cherie Tan slipped back to third with 1253 while BWAA Collegiate Bowler of the Year, Jazreel Tan taking up fourth spot with 1250 and Amanda Ng rounding up the top 5 with 1196.

Filipina and debutant, Uella Marcial topped the overseas pool with 1085 ahead of Canon Cup 2011 winner, Lara Posadas in second with her first attempt of 704 and a good second series will surely put her in pole.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Ng Yew Weng topped the Youth Boy's Open qualifying table with a superb 1299 followed by Gan Ju-Yen and Nicholas Lim in second and third with 1272 and 1252 respectively.

National youth and Youth Under-18 second runner-up, Tracy See led the Girl's Open division with 1193 ahead of Ong Ying Xin and Felicia Teo in second and third.

Photos by SingaporeBowling.

29th May, Singapore: National youth, Alexander Tan took a convincing victory in the Boy's Under-18 Masters finals of the 44th Singapore International Open while Stacy Lian snatched victory in the Girl's Under-18 finals in her final game.

National youth Alexander Tan, who did not have the best of start, managed three superb back-to-back games in the second to fourth games to take over the running at the halfway mark.

Consistent games from the 17-year-old allowed Alexander to take a well-deserved victory to win the Boy's Under-18 Masters title with 1654. Tay Kun Long edged front-runner, Marcus Leong for second position with 1631, 23 pins adrift the champion.

"I guess my ability to just concentrate on the processes during the competition helped me to win. Although during the competition I could see I was leading the competition, I decided to block out the information and continued to use my pre-shot routine to put my remaining games in place." commented Alexander Tan.

"Having joined the national youth squad this year only, I feel the regular training has helped me to improve my game and maintain consistency. The encouragement from coach, Henry Tan prior to competition had also boosted up my confidence to put in my best performance."

Singapore Sports School's Marcus amassed a total of 1554, a further 100 pins away from Alexander to settle for third spot.

Meanwhile, a last-minute remedial lesson before the competiton helped Stacy Lian to clinch the girl's crown. Stacy shot a massive game of 229 in the eighth and final game to take victory with 1496.

Stacy, who started bowling at a young age of 10 after seeing her brother Shaun bowling on the lanes, trains under former national bowler, Jack Wong since the age of 14. Coach Jack Wong had praises for Stacy's performance despite having to reduce her training hours due to heavy studies commitment at Raffles Junior College.

"I've been lagging behind the first seven games and it was then when Uncle Jack came over to encourage me which spurred me on strongly.' said Stacy Lian.

"I must also thank my brother Shaun for always taking the initiative to come and talk to me whenever he knows I faced difficulties in my bowling and during competitions. His words of advice and encouragement helped me to continue to stay focused, enjoy the game and feel no stress."

National youth, Tracy See edged front-runner, Joey Yeo Ruoqi by 4 pins to take second spot with 1468 while Joey had to settle for third spot with 1464 after a poor 156 in her last game.

Photos courtesy of SingaporeBowling.

28th May, Singapore: National bowlers, Benjamin Lim Jia Jun and Daphne Tan stretched their lead in the Men's and Women's Open Masters qualifying standings of the 44th Singapore International Open to remain atop the leaderboard on Saturday.

Benjamin Lim, who had topped the Men's Open Masters table with 1315, notched up a better second-best series of 685 to add to his best 695 for a new total of 1380 and remained firmly in the lead.

2005 champion and ex-national, Jack Wong trailed in second by 72 pins on a total of 1308 as Justim Lim Chun Liang hauled himself into third spot in the standings with 1243. Basile Low and Chiam Yew Koon rounded up the top 5 with 1232 and 1221.

The men's scores will definitely increase substantially as many of Singapore's national bowlers, who are competing in the 34th Canon Malaysian International Open, return Monday, May 30.

Bowlers from Australia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuwait, Malaysia, Philippines, Qatar, Thailand, UAE and USA are also expected to converge at Orchid Bowl for their qualifying rounds.

Meanwhile, leader Daphne Tan also stretched her lead in the Women's Open Masters table from 1225 to 1248 followed by her elder sister and EBT Masters champion, Cherie Tan in second with 1229.

Guangzhou Asian Games bronze medalist, New Hui Fen slipped down to third on 1212 ahead of Amanda Ng in fourth and Teo Li Ying fifth with 1196 and 1110 respectively.

Singapore will see for the first time, two-time US major title winner, Kelly Kulick of USA competing when she ends her defence of the 34th Canon Malaysian International Open Women's title she won last year.

Qualifying will run through to June 2 and the Open Masters finals will be staged on June 3 and 4. The Stepladder finals will be broadcast LIVE via Starhub SuperSports Arena (channel 201) on Saturday, 4 June 2011.

Photos by Terence Yaw.

28th May, Singapore: Singapore Sports School's youth and debutant, Nu'aim Syukri Bin Yusri clinched his maiden victory in the Boy's Under-15 Masters finals of the 44th Singapore International Open while Kimberly Ooi Jingyi bagged the Girl's crown on Saturday.

Both the champions attributed their success to their coach, Thomas Fox for his advice during the finals. Nu'Aim, who never expected to win against other much stronger opponents, were just aiming for a top 5 finish.

The champion picked up the sport at the age of 9 after joining his cousins in the game as part of their family gathering. He joined Singapore Sports School in order to continue to learn the sport alongside his studies pursuit.

"I'm happy to have the support of my coaches, friends and family with me during the competition," said the delighted Nu'Aim, who finished with 1587, just 13 pins ahead of Alex Chong in second with 1574.

Jeppry Aw shared third spot with Marcus Leong on 1555 while Ryan Wong Tian Hong completed the top 5 with 1495.

Meanwhile, Kimberly Ooi, who only made the finals in the final qualifying squad at 6.00pm last night, surprised the strong field to romp home a comfortable victory with 1528 and 84 pins margin.

"If she couldn't win this year, she can't qualify for the Under-15 division Masters next year. I'm happy to see that her strong fighting spirit put her through and helped in her victory," said Mrs Ooi, mother of Kimberly, who was overjoyed with tears.

"Im thankful for the coaching she receives from the Sports School coaches which helped Kimberly in her performance today and I hope she can eventually fulfill her dream to be selected into the national squad."

Rachael Tan Mei Chan and Isabele Lee Xin Yu finished second and third with 1444 and 1410 respectively. The Youth Under-18 Masters finals will be held tomorrow, May 29.

Photos courtesy of SingaporeBowling.