22nd October, Sydney: Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong and USA's Shannon Pluhowsky won the Men's and Women's titles of the AMF Australian Masters at AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL, concluding the final stop of the WTBA World Bowling Tour.

Wu, who topped the men's qualifying, defeated American PBA pro, Mike Fagan, 2-0 (226-207, 259-243) in the Round 6 best-of-3 title match to claim the men's title and the top prize of AUS$25,000 (approx. US$25,650).

The 26-year-old two-time Asia No. 1 needed a third deciding game, 290-266 to beat another American and four-time PBA champion, Sean Rash, 2-1 in the Round 5 semi-finals. Wu also had to go the full distance when he edged Australia's Jason Walsh, 2-1 in the Round 4 quarter-finals.

In the other semi-finals, the two time PBA champion Fagan edged reigning PBA Player of the Year and World Bowling Tour ranking leader, Mika Koivuniemi of Finland, 2-1 (255-262, 266-246, 268-247) to reach the finals.

Fagan revenged his defeat to PBA pro, Jason Belmonte in the PTT World Bowling Tour finals by beating the two-handed Aussie, 2-1 in the quarter-finals to advance into the semi. Fagan received AUS$12,500 while Rash and Koivuniemi took home AUS$5,000 each.

Meanwhile, World Women Championship four gold medalist, Shannon Pluhowsky of USA claimed the women's crown with a 2-0 (236-181, 210-181) victory over Sweden's Sandra Andersson in the title match.

All seven matches in the women's division were decided in two games. Pluhowsky flew past Australia's Jacinta Gilliland 2-0 (216-177, 222-156) in the semi-finals. The American southpaw swept past another Aussie, Rebecca Whiting, 2-0 in the quarter-finals.

Andersson sailed past Asian Championship Singles gold medalist, Lexi Nicoll of Australia, 2-0 (215-193, 244-201) in the first semi-finals. The Swede took out another Aussie, Emma Walsh, 2-0 in the quarter-finals.

Pluhowskly received AUS$15,000 (approx. US$15,400) for the victory and Andersson took home AUS$7,5000 while Nicoll and Gilliland settled for AUS$3,000 each as losing semi-finalists.

The AMF Australian Masters 2011 was the eighth and final stop of the WTBA World Bowling Tour 2011. The tournament started on October 10 through to October 22 at the AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney, NSW.

The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of more than 115 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.

Photos courtesy of Natalie Page.

Tenpin Bowling Australia Ltd and AMF Bowling are thrilled to announce that the 2011 AMF Australian Masters is to be one of only 7 events to form part of the new and exciting World Bowling Tour for 2011.

Following the success of the 2010 AMF Australian Masters last October at AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney, both TBA and AMF Bowling are committed to further growth of the event with the ultimate aim of making it a truly global event.

TBA CEO Cara Honeychurch commented "It has been many years since Australia hosted a significant international tournament to attract the sports finest athletes from around the world."

"The foundations were laid with the 2010 AMF Australian Masters and now with its inclusion into the 2011 World Bowling Tour, we look forward to taking the tournament to the next level."

"Not only do we expect this event to create great excitement within the bowling community as we celebrate Australia's 50th National Adult Championship, it is an excellent opportunity for our local athletes to compete against the world's best in their own backyard."

The AMF Australian Masters will again be part of the TBA Adult National Championships taking place at AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL, following the tremendous success of the 2010 National Championships.

AMF Bowling CEO Jordan Rodgers added, "Following the resounding success of the AMF Australian Masters in 2010, it is our goal to build the tournament over the coming years to become a truly world class tournament. It is my hope that we will attract more bowlers from around Australia and around the world to compete in 2011 and really put the AMF Australian Masters on the map."

You can download Rules & Regulations and Entry Forms.