3rd July, Macau: Southpaws Remy Ong of Singapore and Sharon Koh of Malaysia were unbeatable as the top seeds claimed victory in the Men's Open and Women's Open Masters of the 2nd Macau China International Open on Saturday.

Remy Ong, who ended the second round finals with a 16-game total of 3507, was fortunate enough for not needing a second decider to edged challenger and No. 3 seed, Surasak Manuwong of Thailand, 233-223 in the title match.

Both the title contenders started off the match brilliantly with a double strike each but Remy Ong fell a third strike to put his opponent on his back foot after Surasak could only spare this third frame.

The Singaporean was on fire after he downed four more strikes consecutively from frame 5 leaving the Thai to trail by 26 pins going into the ninth and foundation frame.

Ong then opened in the ninth while Surasak struck in the ninth and tenth frames. Ong managed to strike in the tenth and then spared his bonus frame forcing Surasak needing to strike out for a chance for a second decider.

But the No. 3 seed miss the head pin to hit only six pins and allowing Ong to seal the match and the victory, 233-223.

"This was probably one of the closest match I've ever played and I'm extremely glad I prevailed," said the 31-year-old Ong, who picked up his second international title this year after winning the Saudi Open back in April.

Ong pocketed the top prize of MOP70,000 (approx. US$8,700) while Surasak settled for MOP30,000 (approx. US$3,700). Surasak had earlier ousted No. 2 seed, Zulmazran Zulkifli of Malaysia and compatriot, Yannaphon Larpapharat, 212-168-200 to make the finals.

Yannaphon edged fourth-seed, Adrian Ang of Malaysia and fifth-seed, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, 234-210-211 in a thrilling hard-fought and first stepladder match to advance to the second match.

Meanwhile, another southpaw Sharon Koh took a resounding victory over her challenger and No. 2 seed, Putty Armein of Indonesia, 236-159 to win her first international title this year.

Koh started the title match with a double and then strung together four consecutive strikes from frame 4 as Putty had failed to spare her two opening frames. The top seed eased off for a convincing victory to win MOP40,000 (approx. US$5,000) top prize.

Putty had earlier easily defeated No. 3 seed, Lee Mi-Ryung of Korea and compatriot, Sharon Limansantoso, 206-156-199 in the second match to face Sharon Koh in the finals. Limansantoso took the first match by beating fourth-seed, Choi Hae Yun of Korea and sixth-seed, Wendy Chai of Malaysia, 191-175-174.

"The last time I won a title was back in 2008 and it seems a long time," said Sharon Koh after her victory. "I felt confident after the warming up and when Putty opened her first two frames, I was just pacing myself for a good game.

Putty settled for MOP18,000 while Lee Mi-Ryung won MOP10,000 for retaining third position. The top 16 men and top 16 women also qualified for the ABF Tour Macau leg which will be staged at COTAI Bowling Centre tomorrow.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

3rd July, Macau: Sharon Koh of Malaysia advanced into the Women's Open Masters stepladder finals of the 2nd Macau China International Open by topping the second round finals on Saturday morning.

Sharon Koh, who lost the lead in the first round yesterday in the final game, made amends by ending the second round with 3355 total to advance into the stepladder finals as top seed.

Round 1 leader, Kim Hyun-Mi continued to lead the field as they resumed with their second round despite managing only 183 in her opening game with Indonesia's Putty Armein trailing in second and reducing the gap to 3 pins.

Two poor games from the Indonesian saw her losing the lead to Malaysia's Sharon Koh followed by team-mate, Wendy Chai taking over second spot while Putty and Kim Hyun-Mi continued to slip away.

Koh ended the second block with 1708 to give herself a 16-game total of 3355 for top spot. Putty recovered well to finish second with 3351 and her Round 1 joint-second opponent settling for third with 3329.

Another Korean, Choi Hae Yun who was 19th overnight, posted the highest 8-game series of 1796 to catapult into fourth spot with 3293. Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia retained fifth spot with 3279 thanks to a final high game of 267.

The final stepladder spot went to Wendy Chai of Malaysia, who improved from tenth position to sixth with 3272. SIngapore's Geraldine Ng, who was fourth before the final game, missed the cut in seventh with 3246.

Choi, Limansantoso and Wendy Chai will meet in the first stepladder match with the winner advancing to the second match to face Putty and Choi. The winner of the second match will then challenge top seed, Sharon Koh for the coveted title.

The stepladder finals will commence after the men have completed their Round 2 finals at 1.30pm later today which will also see the top 6 finishers qualifyng for the shootouts.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

2nd July, Macau: Defending champion, Kim Hyun-Mi and Lee Mi-Ryung of Korean National Sports University dominated the Women's Open Masters Round 1 finals of the 2nd Macau China International Open by taking the top two positions.

2007 Singapore Open champion, Cherie Tan got the Women's Open Round 1 Masters finals underway with a superb 245 to take the early lead, 22 pins ahead last year's first runner-up, Tannya Roumimper in second.

Two splendid 221 and 258 from Malaysia's Sharon Koh saw the left-hander taking over the running as defending champion, Kim Hyun-Mi advanced into second spot, 21 pins behind. While Koh suffered in the third game, Kim surge ahead into the lead.

Consistent lines from the Korean allowed her to remain in front for the next four games with Singapore's Geraldine Ng trailing in second. A strong recovery by Koh and two sub-200 games from the Korean put the Malaysian back into the lead.

But the determined Kim bounced back superbly with 235 in the last game to snatch pole position with 1706. Lee Mi-Ryung stormed home to give the Koreans a one-two finish with 1673.

Last year's ABF Tour Macau leg champion, Putty Armein of Indonesia also finished strongly to tie second spot with Lee as Ng and another Indonesian, Sharon Limansantoso took fourth and fifth spots with 1671 and 1664.

"I was happy with my performance in the first four games but didn't do well in the fifth and seventh games," said the 23-year-old physical training undergraduate at the Korean National Sports University.

"I thought I had lost the lead but luckily I had a strong game to end the round still in No. 1. I'm slightly condifent that I will do better tomorrow.

Sharon Koh suffered a poor last game to slip down to sixth position with 1647 followed by the best Macau bowler, Chan Weng Sam finishing a respectable seventh position with 1636.

The women will resume with their second round tomorrow morning at 9.00am during which the top 6 after the 16-games will advance to the stepladder finals. The men will contest their Round 2 in the afternoon.Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

2nd July, Macau: Top Malaysian bowler, Zulmazran Zulkifli was on a roll as he surged into pole position at the end of the Men's Open Masters first round finals of the 2nd Macau China International Open at COTAI Bowling Center.

The start of the Men's Open Round 1 finals saw ex-Thai national, Surasak Manuwong scorching the lanes with a sizzling 276 to head the field with China's spinner, Zhu Jun Hee in second and Malaysia's Zulmazran Zulkifli a close third.

The Thai stretched his lead slightly after the second game but soon found Zulmaran hot on his heels at the third and reducing the gap from 36 pins to just 12. As Surasak fizzled off, the Malaysian took full advantage to move ahead at the halfway mark.

The flamboyant Zulmazran continued his relentless pace to reel in 225 and 255 in his next two game as top qualifier, Ryan Lalisang and Thai national, Yannaphon Larpapharat tried very hard to keep pace.

By the seventh game, Zulmazran was well clear of his nearest opponent, 60 pins ahead. The leader eased off with 215 to end the first round with a total of 1827 while Saudi Open champion, Remy Ong of Singapore stormed home to snatch second spot with 1774.

"The lanes were very challenging and a slight mistake could cost you," said the 25-year-old two-time Malaysian Open champion, Zulmazran after a hard-earned effort. "I made a few mistakes along the way but fortunately I could put together several strikes to make up for the error.

"It'll be another hard fought round tomorrow and I'll make sure that I tackle each lane intelligently. I led in the first block during the Singapore Open last month and missed the cut for the stepladder finals. I'm not going to let that happen again this time.

Yannaphon finished a good third position with 1734 with early leader, Surasak recovering well to take up fourth spot with 1726. Another Thai, Phiriyahbhoon P. and Hong Kong's Joshua Chow did well to finish in the top six.

The men will continue with another 8 games in the second block tomorrow with pins acarried forward and the top 6 will advance to the stepladder finals. The women will contest their round 1 later today.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

1st July, Macau: ABF Tour TOC winner, Ryan Lalisang put in a resounding performance to snatch the lead of the Men's Open Masters standings on the final day of qualifying at the 2nd Macau China International Open.

Lalisang, who led two days ago but was knocked off top spot by Hong Kong's Wu Siu Hong, regained his lead after improving his lowest attempt of 642 to 737 at the 4.00pm squad. His other two best attempt of 751 and 737 gave the 29-year-old Indonesia a new total of 2183.

Wu, who is the defending champion and did not require a qualifying total, had wanted to top the standings to win the prize of MOP2,000 but was content with second spot on a 2164 total.

Thailand's Annop Arromsaranon also improved his total to 2084 to take up third spot ahead of Malaysian southpaw, Muhd Nur Aiman and Korean National Sports University's Koo Seong Hoi rounding up the top five.

There were no changes in the local pool which saw Zoe Dias Ma, newly-crowned Youth Masters champion, Derek Lee Tak Man and Man Si Kei taking up the top 3 spots. The top 3 seeded local qualifiers remained unchanged.

The current cut stood at 126 pins over with Hong Kong's Joshua Chow hodling it with 1926. Guam's Jay Leon Guerrero dropped off the standings and into reserves with 1920.

Singapore's Cherie Tan remained firmly in pole for the women's division with 1990. Malaysia's Sharon Koh, who was seventh before the same squad, moved up into second spot spliting the two Singaporeans with 1956.

Geraldine Ng slipped back to third with 1931 followed by Korea's Lee Seung Ree and Malaysia's Tang Joh Six completing the top five. No changes was seen in the local pool with Patricia Hui Tong holding firmly in the lead.

The cut for the women's standings sttod at 26 under with Korea's Sim Ji Jin hanging on in 14th position with 1774. ABF Tour TOC winner, Sharon Limansantoso of Indonesia was knocked off into the reserves.

A total of 40 Men's Open and 30 Women's Open will contest their Masters finals over two rounds of 8 games each on July 2 and 3. The top 6 men and top 6 women at the end of Round 2 will advance to the stepladder finals.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

1st July, Macau: Derek Lee Tak Man snatched victory in the final game from Patricia Hui Tong to give Macau a one-two finish in the Youth Masters finals of the 2nd Macau China International Open on Thursday morning.

Hong Kong's Zoe Tam got off to a good start with 204 in her opening game to lead a field of 18 youths of the Youth Masters finals at COTAI International Bowling Centre, 11 pins ahead of compatriot, David Tsang of Hong Kong in second.

But Tam's lead was immediately handed to Patricia Hui Tong in the second game after the Macau national youth downed a brilliant 229. The 17-year-old continued to lead the field with consistent scores and looked set to capture her first major title.

Patricia stretched her lead to as much as 36 pins up to the fifth game as her team-mate, Lee Tak Man began to mount his challenge to reduce the gap to just 7 pins after the sixth.

Patricia fought back with 208 in seventh to give herself an 18-pin margin but only managed 186 in her finals game as Lee rolled a scintilating 242 to snatch victory with 1635. Paticia settled for second with 1597.

Early pace-setter, Zoe Tam hung on to finish third with 1541 while David Tsang and Macau's Marco Leong rounded the top 5 with 1496 and 1488 respectively.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's ex-national and team manager, Frankie Cheung bagged the Senior Masters title with a total of 1284 over 6 games. The 53-year-old was third before the final game and downed 224 to snatch victory.

Wang Li Zhi, 63 from Shenzen, China settled for second with 1272 after having led for two games. Weipei Luo, 61 also from Shenzen, China had led in the first half but slipped down to third with 1249.

Frankie won MOP3,000 (approx. US$250) as Wang and Wei took home MOP1,500 and MOP1,000. Lee Tak Man won MOP2,000 with Patricia MOP1,000 and Zoe Tam MOP500.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.

30th June, Macau: Singaporean national bowler, Cherie Tan ruled the lanes at Cotai Bowling Center by leading the Women's Open Masters qualifying table of the 2nd Macau China International Open on Wednesday.

Cherie Tan, who won the 2007 Singapore Open Women's crown, posted the highest 3-game series of 738 in hr latest attempt to lead the Women's Open Masters standings with her two earlier attempts of 640 and 612 for a total of 1990.

Geralding Ng gave Singapore a one-two finish when she amassed a best-of-3 total of 1931 ahead of Korean National Sports University's Lee Seung Ree in third spot with 1916. 2008 ABF Tour TOC winner, Tang Joh Six took fourth position with 1909.

In the local pool, Patricia Hui Tong led with 1884 followed by Filomena Choi and Charity Tchiang Sin in second and third while Julia Lam, Chan Weng Sam and Un Im Cheng were the top 3 seeded qualifiers.

In the Men's Open division, Wu Siu Hong of Hong Kong stamped his authority with an impressive 2164 total to lead the standings despite not having to qualifying as he is the defending champion.

Wu shot 758, 798 and 698 to move ahead of 2009 ABF Tour TOC winner, Ryan Lalisang of Indonesia, who totaled 2088 for second spot. Debutant Koo Seong Hoi of Korean National Sports University took up third spot with 2046.

Thailand's ex-national, Surasak Manuwong finished fourth, just one pin off the Korean with 2045 while overnight leader, Remy Ong of Singapore settled for fifth spot with 2034.

Zoe Dias Ma topped the local pool with 1940 followed by Derek Lee Tak Man and Man Si in second and third while Choi Io Fai, Lok Hei Ieong, Jose Machon and Toby Tam are the top four local seeded qualifiers.

Qualifying will end tomorrow and 40 Men's Open qualifiers and 30 Women Open qualifiers will contest two rounds of 8 games finals on June 2 and 3. The Senior and Youth Masters finals will be held tomorrow morning.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Macau.