30th March, Riyadh: Remy Ong of Singapore successfully defended the 5th Kingdom International Open title after defeating another former champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE in the all-lefty title match.

Remy Ong, who squeezed into the top 5 qualifying bracket round in the second last squad on Monday after having been knocked out by two American PBA pros, started off cautiously with two spares, a strike and two more spares in the first game against challenger, Shaker Al-Hassan.

Two open frames in the fifth and six frames from the Emirati gave Ong the confidence to fire six consecutive strikes and took the first game, 236-202 for a 34 pins margin.

Shaker made another error when he missed a single pin in the second frame of the second game while Ong pulled away with six strikes-in-a-row to put the match beyond his opponent.

The champion easily won the second game, 239-188 for a two-game total victory with 475-390 en-route to successfully defended the crown he won last year.

"This is my first back-to-back title in my bowling career and I feel great," said the 32-year-old national bowler, Remy Ong after receiving the top prize of US$25,000 as champion.

"When I was knocked out from the top 5 qualifying bracket, I thought it would be tough to make it in the second last squad on Monday. I'm glad I managed it otherwise I may not be bowling in the elimination rounds.

"The field here is extremely strong especially with six American PBA pros and several top Europeans and I had to pass three of them to reach the title match. And all these matches were by no means easy and it came down to the last few frames to decide the match.

"There is always ups and downs at top level competitions and not only many have high expectations of me, but I have high expectations for myself as well. I'm always happy to add another title to my resume."

Ong survived the first stage by edging American Tim Mack, 403-401 then sailed pass another American PBA pro, Josh Blanchard, 466-382 in the winners' pool of the second stage.

Resting the third stage, Ong returned with his third victory over Amercian PBA pro and top seed, Sean Rash, 439-421 to advance to the sixth stage and skipping the fifth.

The Singaporean beat yesterday's semi-finals leader and Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait, 420-389 to earn his place in the title match.

First runnerup, Shaker received a bye in the first stage from the injured Dominic Barrett of England but won his second stage before losing to Khaled in the fourth stage.

But a victory against Rash in the sixth stage and another victory in a re-match against Khaled in the seventh stage earn him a place in the finals meeting Ong. Unfortunately, Shaker had settle for US$13,000 for finishing second.

Khaled took home US$8,000 for third position, Rash US$5,000 for fourth and England's Paul Moor rounded up the top five with US$4,000. A total of 73 bowlers from fifth countries participated in this year's tournament.

The top 16 Asian finishers qualified for the second ABF Tour - Saudi leg which will be staged tomorrow at 10.00pm and will be telecast LIVE over Saudi TV.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

30th March, Riyadh: Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al-Dubyyan put in a stunning run in the semi-finals of the 5th Kingdom International Open at Universal Bowling Center to lead the top 10 for the knockout stage.

Josh Blanchard of the United States got off the mark with a superb 237 opener, four pins ahead of another American, Tim Mack. But neither could hold the pace as Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait streaked into the lead with a strong 259 in the second.

The Kuwaiti held the lead with 246 and 205 for another two games but was pipped by a third American, Ronnie Russell with just 1 pin past the halfway mark.

But Khaled bounced back with a sizzling 278 in the sixth game to not only regain the lead but also opened up a gap of 43 pins over Finn, Osku Palermaa making his bid as Russell slipped down to third.

The field was simply no match for the 25-year-old as he went on to end the semi-finals with 237 and 217 for an 8-game total of 1838. Russell recovered to take second spot with 1769, 69 pins adrift.

2009 champion, Andres Gomez of Colombia did well to finish third with 1766, 3 pins further away followed by Palermaa claiming fourth spot with 1740. Gomez's countrymen, Manuel Otalora rounded up the top 5 with 1713.

Those making the top 10 cut for the next stage were Tim Mack of USA (6th-1694), Josh Blanchard of USA (7th-1678), Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE (8th-1677), Paul Moor of England (9th-1656) and Khaled Al-Hamdan of Saudi Arabia (10th-1654).

Bahrain's Mohammed Janahi, who was eighth before the last game ended with 185 to miss the cut by 2 pins on 1652. Kuwait Open champion, Chris Loschetter of USA ended in 13th position behind Stuart Williams of England in 12th.

The six top qualifiers are Sean Rash (USA-1st), Parket Bohn III (USA-2nd), Dominic Barrett (ENG-3rd), Ryan Lalisang (INA-4th), Remy Ong (SIN-5th) and Ahmed Al-Hadyan (KSA-6th).

The top 10 will join the top 5 seeded qualifiers and the best Saudi qualifier for the Stage 1 double-elimination 2-games total pinfalls knockout finals tomorrow commencing at 1.00pm local time.

Photos by Terence Yaw at Riyadh.

28th March, Riyadh: American PBA pros, Parker Bohn III and Sean Rash dominated the final day of qualifying at the 5th Kingdom International Open after the duo took over the top 2 spots in the standings on Monday.

Parker Bohn III, who was 15th in the standings with 711, 631 and 615, improved his lowest series with 709 in Squad 48 on lines of 225, 230 and 254 for a 9-game total of 2051 to move up into seventh missing only the top 5 bracket by 14 pins.

Fellow-compatriot, Sean Rash who was 12th with 686, 658 and 641, went into the same squad by rolling 222, 289 and 212 for a 723 series and 9-game tally of 2067 to tie fourth spot with Remy Ong of Singapore and pushing down Kuwaiti Khaled Al-Dubyyan into fifth.

Knowing that there was a better chance to make the top 5 bracket, Bohn went for the following Squad 49 to fire 253, 258 and 223 for a sizzling 723 giving him a new 9-game total of 2154.

The PBA Player of the Year took over top spot and looked set to win the final day high series award but was soon robbed off it when Rash blitzed the lanes with yet another stunning performance.

Rash downed 258, 257 and 258 in the same squad for a 773 series setting the highest series of the tournament thus far. His effort not only put him in pole position but could finally earn him the high series award of US$500.

"We've been resting for the past two days and we were just happy to have made the semi-finals," said 28-year-old 2007 USBC Masters champion. "The finals was going to be in fresh oil so we thought we needed to get use to the conditions for the finals.

"It simply went great for us and I could hit the pocket most of the time and got tremendous carry. Obviously making the top 5 from the earlier squad took alot of pressure off me and made the job easier in the this squad."

The leader had knocked UAE's Shaker Al-Hassan off fifth spot when he bowled the 723 series in Squad 48 while Bohn's 734 pushed Khaled Al-Dubyyan off fifth spot but the Kuwaiti managed a 680 in the same squad to remain in fifth which knocked off Remy Ong into seventh.

With three more squads left to play, Khaled will still be making attempts to either improve or fend off challenges from the Singaporean, who is also trying to return into the top 5. Indonesia's Ryan Lalisang will also be making attempts to remain in the top bracket just in case others improve as well.

Those trying their luck are Shaker Al-Hassan (UAE-8th), Jassem Darwish (KUW-9th), Stuart Williams (ENG-10th), Tim Mack (USA-11th) and Andres Gomez (COL-12th).

Photos by Terence Yaw at Riyadh.

28th March, Riyadh: Asian Championship Masters gold medalist, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait moved into the Top 5 of the 5th Kingdom International Open qualifying standings after improving his lowest series of 569 to 665 to take up fourth position.

Khaled Al-Dubyyan, who won the ABF Tour season opening leg in Dubai early this year, needed to better his lowest series of 569 in order to put himself into the top 5 bracket.

The 25-year-old Kuwaiti bowled consistently with 213, 223 and 229 in Squad 35 for a 665 series and a 9-game aggregate of 2065 which moved him up into a strong fourth position in the qualifying standings. Khaled's two other series were 702 (242, 247, 213) and 698 (268, 214, 216).

2008 champion and winner of the 2011 Dubai International Open, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE was pushed down one slot into fifth position. The Emirati left-hander was third when he shot 721 yesterday afternoon but was unfortunate when others also made improvements.

England's Dominic Barrett continued to lead the standings with 2112 followed by Day 2 high sereis award winner, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia in second with 2110.

The Indonesian also picked up the Day 4 high series award of another US$500 after he posted the highest 3-games series so far in the tournament with 755 yesterday.

Defending champion, Remy Ong of Singapore had to improve his total to 2067 to stay in the top 5 in third position above Khaled and Shaker.

Kuwait's Jassem Darwish had a chance to move into the top 5 in his attempt last night but missed it by just 13 pins to take up seventh position with 2037.

Places in the top 5 are still up for grabs as American PBA pro, Tim Mack could improve especially on his lowest series of 620.

2009 champion, Andres Gomez is still in the hunt also after failing to make improvements last night. Five other American PBA pros have made the cut in the lower bracket and will have to battle for a place in the semi-finals when the field is cut to 10 after their 8-games roll off tomorrow.

Realistically, only Parker Bohn III and Ronnie Russell have a chance if they could improve their lowest series of 615 and 619 respectively.

Photos by Terence Yaw at Riyadh.

27th March, Riyadh: Day 2 high series award winner, Ryan Lalisang could win another high series award after notching up a stunning 755 series during Squad 35 of the 5th Kingdom International Open en-route to regaining second spot in the standings.

Ryan Lalisang had slipped down to fifth position and was in danger of being knocked out of the top 5 bracket after Dominic Barrett of England surged into pole and 2008 champion, Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE moving up to third.

At the same time when other opponents were vying for that magical top 5 finish, the 30-year-old Indonesian had an attempt earlier but failed to make any headway.

With sheer determination, Lalisang pulled up his socks and took to the 7.00pm squad for his last attempt of the day. He started off with a bang, reeling in nine consecutive strikes and looked set to become the first bowler to hit a perfect 300.

A weak shot on his tenth frame left three pins standing and he ended up with 277. Lalisang followed it up with another splendid 253 giving him a two-game score of 530. Anything more than 200 in his third and final game would put him back firmly into the top 5 bracket.

He eventually ended with 225 for that stunning 755 which could earn him another high series award of US$500. But crucially, his 9-game aggregate of 2110 placed the him in second spot, just 2 pins adrift leader, Dominic Barrett of England.

Also at the same squad, Remy Ong also improved his lowest series of 612 with 663 on lines of 237, 218 and 218 which allowed the Singaporean to retain third in the top bracket on 2016.

Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE, who was hoping to pick up the high series award with 721 in the earlier squad, dropped one spot to fourth after holding third spot briefly with 2012.

American PBA pro, who led the standings the day before, is now in danger of being knocked out after dropping to fifth on 2009.

Andres Gomez of Colombia, Khaled Al-Dubyyan of Kuwait, two additional American PBA pros, Sean Rash and Parker Bohn III are now the top contenders for a spot in the top 5 as all of them have at least one low series that they can improve on.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

27th March, Riyadh: 2010 European Bowling Tour winner, Dominic Barrett of England goes into the top of the qualifying leaderboard of the 5th Kingdom International Open after taking his 9-game tally to 2112 pinfalls on Sunday.

Dominic Barrett, who was shot a superb series of 720 yesterday but was pipped for the hgih series award by Remy Ong's 724, settled for 11th position in the qualifying standings with 1953.

The winner of five EBT titles last year set out today in an attempt to improve his position at the 4.00pm Squad 33 and blitzed the lanes at Universal Bowling Center with another splendid performance.

The Englishman started off with a moderate 218 in the opening game and up his pace with 236 in the second game before romping home with a sizzling 256 for a total of 708 to give himself a 9-game aggregate of 2112 to take over top spot in the standings.

"I had a game plan before the start of my squad and I knew where I had to play," said the 25-year-old Barrett from Essex, south east of England. "But I still had to move alot because of the fast changing lane conditions."

At the same squad, 2008 champion Shaker Al-Hassan of UAE was on a roll when he knocked down 242, 203 and 276 for an even higher series of 721 to pip Barrett yet again for the possible US$500 daily high series award.

Overnight leader, Remy Ong was relegated into second position on 2016 while Shaker moved into the top bracket in third with 2012 pushing down American PBA pro, Tim Mack of the United States into fourth position with 2009.

Day 2 high series award winner, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia felled to fifth place with 1996 and in danger of being knocked out of the top 5 with many qualifying squads left to play.

Andres Gomez of Colombia, who won the first day high series award, headed 28 other possible qualifiers in seventh position with 1991 after he improved one of his series with 707 late last night.

The top 5 positions could still change before the Stage 1 double-elimination knockout finals on March 30. Remy Ong's lowest series is 612 which could be improved. Shaker's lowest series is 632 while Tim Mack's lowest is 620.

Any improvements from these three could make them become the new leader for the finals. Gomez can also move into the top 5 especially when his lowest series is only 591.

2010 Qatar Open champion, Stuart Williams tied with Saudi's Yasser Abdulreesh on 1819 and holding the final qualifying position in 27th. Williams can surely improve his lowest series of 527 to move out of that tight spot.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

26th March, Riyadh: Remy Ong of Singapore made his bid to successfully defend the 5th Kingdom International Open title he won last year by moving into pole position of the qualifying standings on Friday.

Remy Ong, who had slipped down to 11th position after being in the top 5 yesterday, made two additional attempts earlier and failed to make any improvements. But at the 4.00pm Squad 21, The 30-year-old Singaporean set the lanes ablazed with 228, 237 and 259 for a sizzling 724 series.

Ong's effort gave him a 9-game aggregate of 2016 from 724, 680 and 612 to move into pole position in the standings which also made him a second bowler to surpass the 2,000-mark.

American PBA pro, Tim Mack who had earlier taken over the lead, albeit only briefly, had to settle for second spot with his 2004 tally.

Day 2 high series winner, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, also notched up 641 identical to his second best series which placed him third behind the American on 1996.

Ahmed Al-Hadyan of Saudi Arabia continued to slide down in the standings to take up fourth with 1987 while local crowd favourite, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines also slipped down to fifth with 1962.

This year's H.H. Emir Cup champion and 2010 EBT winner, Dominic Barrett, who shot 720 earlier and hoping to win the high series award but pipped by Remy Ong, improved to seventh position on 1953.

Three Amercian PBA pros, Parker Bohn III, Josh Blanchard and Kuwait Open champion, Chris Loschetter occupied eighth to tenth positions with 1945, 1943 and 1907 respectively.

The final cut after three days of qualifying rounds, is held by three Saudis, Adullah Al-Dulaijan, Feras Abdulferaj, Rashidan Al-Rashidan all tied at 1731.

Qualifying will continue for another two days, March 27 and 28 and the finals will commence on March 29 and ending on March 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

26th March, Riyadh: American PBA pro, Tim Mack reigned supreme at the 5th Kingdom International Open as he surged to the top of the qualifying standings after just three attempts at Universal Bowling Center.

Tim Mack, who topped the Round 4 finals of last week's Kuwait Open but ended in seventh position after the matchplay finals, needed only three attempts to take over top spot with a 9-game tally of 2004.

The American pro from Indianapolis and 78 international titles to his credit, rolled 237, 197 and 181 in his first try for 615 series. Mack followed it up with 678 on lines of 224, 239 and 215 in his second attempt.

But at the 9.00pm squad late last night, the American fired 258, 239 and 214 unsing his Storm Reign Supreme bowling ball for a stunning 711 series to move into the lead.

"I could have won the high series award but the thumb insert came off the ball I was using and when I switched to a different ball, I just could get the carry," said the 39-year-old Mack.

Overnight leader, Ahmed Al-Hadyan of Saudi Arabia got knocked off pole position as a result of Mack's superb display to become the only player to surpass the 2,000-mark and had tos settle for second with 1987.

Day 2 high series award winner, Ryan Lalisang also notched up a better series of 641 to bring his 9-game aggregate to 1969 to take up third spot. Two PBA pros, Parker Bohn III and Josh Blanchard completed the top 5 with 1945 and 1943 to earn bye to the knockout Stage 1 final.

Newly-crowned Kuwait Open champion, Chris Loschetter of the United States, who made the top 5 temporarily, slipped down to seventh position with 1907 followed by 2010 World Championship bronze medalist, Manuel Otalora of Colombia eighth with 1903.

Four-time World Cup champion and crowd favourite, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines and defending champion Remy Ong of Singapore rounded up the top 10.

Rodel Maranca and Ric Tugonon of the Philippines are the top two winners from the local tournament held earlier who would earn automatic entry into the Semi-finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

25th March, Riyadh: 2009 ABF Tour TOC winner, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia made an impact during Day 2 of the qualifying rounds of the 5th Kingdom International Open after winning the high series award with 714 to move into seventh spot on Friday.

Ryan Lalisang, who made Round 4 finals of the Kuwait Open last week but failed to progress, had an average squad of 614 in his first attempt. But the 30-year-old Indonesian fired 236, 236 and 242 for a superb series of 714 in his second try.

Lalisang wasted a golden opportunity to move to the top of the standings after managing 530 in his third attmept to take up seventh spot with 1858.

American PBA pro and PBA Player of the Year 2001, Parker Bohn III had just posted a high series of 711 only to be pipped by Lalisang in the following squad. Bohn, who has 32 PBA titles in his illustrious career, moved into second spot with a 9-game tally of 1945.

Four-time AMF World Cup champion and Hall of Famer, Paeng Nepomuceno of the Philippines improved to third with 1896.

Defending champion, Remy Ong of Singapore got into his usual strides after numerous attempts to move into fourth spot with 1894 after he shot a superb 680 series on lines of 190, 246 and 244.

Another PBA pro, Ronnie Russell of United States rolled 617 in his third try to finish ffith on 1885 while another PBA pro, Sean Rash totaled 1832 with three attempts for eighth position.

Yesterday's high series winner, Andres Gomez has 693 and had yet to make additional tries. The Colombian will surely be able to move into the top 5 in the table easily.

The 5th Kingdom International Open major sponsor are Saudi Paper Company, Sports Newspaper of Saudi Arabia, Sports Channel TV, UFM and Dubkin Donut. Qualifying rounds will end on March 28 and the finals will be stage on March 29 and 30.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.

24th March, Riyadh: 2009 champion, Andres Gomez of Colombia won the daily high-series on the opening day of qualifying rounds of the 5th Kingdom International Open at Universal Bowling Center on Thursday.

Andres Gomez, who now lives in Weston, South Florida and has earned PBA exemption through his PBA Tour points in the 2009-2010 season, started his qualifying round with a superb opening game of 233.

The 37-year-old Colombian then rolled a stunning 278 in the second game but a disappointing 182 in his final game put his 3-game tally to 693. However, Gomez's first attempt allowed him to win the daily high-series award of US$500.

Two addidtional attempts from the Colombian will surely place him well inside the top 5 in the overall standings if he can continue with his good form. Gomez did not defend the title last year when Singapore's Remy Ong took victory.

Native Colombian has had a notable amateur career winning multiple events including the 1999 Tournament of the Americas, the 1999 Bahrain Open, the 2000Mexican Open, the 2001 South American and thd 2003 American ZOne Ranking.

Saudis currently dominated the standings with Ahmed Al-Hayden with 1987 followed by Khaled Al-Hamdan with 1802. Prince Mohammad Al Saud finished third with 1748 while Yasser Abdulreesh and Adnan Ahmed rounded the top 5.

The 5th Kingdom International Bowling Tournament commenced on Thursday and players will need three of his best 3-games qualifying series to make the finals. Qualifiers positioned 1 to 5 plus the best Saudi will earn automatic entry into Round Stage 1 knockout finals.

Qualifiers positioned 7 to 27 plus two fom the desperado squad (positions 28 and 29), three best Saudi qualifiers (positions 30 to 32) and two qualifiers from the earlier local tournament will make the Top 28 Finals over 8 games on March 30.

The top 10 will join the 6 seeded qualifiers into the Stage 1 double elimination knockout finals over a two-game total pinfalls. Thereafter, winners and losers will go through Stage 2 to 8 Finals to finally determine the champion.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Riyadh.