onefrombills
08-06-2009, 11:39 PM
8/06/2009
By Matt Cannizzaro
LAS VEGAS - Malaysian star Shalin Zulkifli came into this week's U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event, with a few simple goals and bowled better than she hoped on the way into the lead halfway through the third and final day of qualifying.
The 31-year-old right-hander was third after two days of competition at Strike Zone Bowling Center inside the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino in Henderson, Nev., but Thursday's Cheetah lane condition suited her game and helped catapult her to the top of the standings.
Zulkifli is the leader after the first of two squads with a 5,369 total for 24 games, an average of 223.7. USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, is second with 5,320, Tammy Boomershine of North Ogden, Utah, is third with 5,294 and 2007 U.S. Women's Open champion Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., is fourth with 5,260.
The second half of the 170-player field, including second-round leader Missy Bellinder, is on the lanes now.
The Cheetah typically is the highest-scoring of the five PBA Experience lane conditions, and success most often is found by playing toward the outside part of the lane, where Zulkifli is most comfortable.
"When we looked at the schedule and saw that Cheetah was the last pattern, we were happy because all of us (on Team Malaysia) bowl well on it," said Zulkifli, who posted a high game of 268 on the way to a 1,838 set Thursday morning, the second-highest of the morning behind Colombia's Clara Guerrero (1,876). "I wasn't actually thinking about being in the lead. I was just focusing on getting as many pins as I could, especially for the Tour Trials."
Along with her bid to make a second consecutive appearance on the televised portion of the U.S. Women's Open, Zulkifli also is focused on returning to the Professional Bowlers Association Women's Series, where she hopes to improve on her overall performance from last year.
Zulkifli also set the pace for the field of 43 players who have paid the additional entry fee for the PBA Women's Tour Trials, which uses the U.S. Women's Open qualifying scores to determine who will qualify for the 2009-10 PBA Women's Series.
The top 12 bowlers from the Tour Trials will join the six champions from last season (Dorin-Ballard, Johnson, Michelle Feldman, Wendy Macpherson, Stefanie Nation and Jodi Woessner) as exempt players for the upcoming Women's Series.
"My main goal for the week was to make it through the Tour Trials so I could be out there competing again," said Zulkifli, who had a best finish of fifth in seven Women's Series events last year. "I didn't bowl well in the Women's Series last year, so I went home and trained really hard to get in shape and hopefully improve this year."
The Women's Series will feature five standard events, the open-field PBA Women's World Championship, the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship and the season-ending PBA Women's Series Showdown. Each standard event will have a 20-player field, up from the 16-player field used this season. The final two players in the field will come from the weekly Tour Qualifying Rounds, similar to the PBA Tour.
Competitors in the Women's Series will be competing for nearly $500,000 in prize money with $10,000 going to the winner of each regular event.
To reach her goal, Zulkifli's game plan is to aim for 100 pins over par (200) each squad, and that strategy will continue Friday morning.
At the conclusion of competition Thursday, the field at the U.S. Women's Open will be narrowed down to the top 48, who will bowl an additional 16 games Friday on the final two PBA Experience lane conditions, Scorpion and Viper. The first two days of the event were contested on the Shark and Chameleon, respectively.
"I managed to bowl well on the Shark, which isn't my best pattern, so that gave me a lot of confidence," Zulkifli said. "Last week's World Women's Championships also helped me out heading into this tournament because sometimes, it takes a while to get into the groove. I am pretty relaxed, and I'm really enjoying myself."
This year, the U.S. Women's Open features a new format with the top 12 players advancing to the five-part ESPN series. The overall prize fund for this year's event is $150,000 with $25,000 going to the winner.
Any competitor who rolls a 300 game on one of the first four TV shows will receive a $25,000 bonus, while a perfect game in the semifinals or championship match (the fifth show), will earn $100,000. The shows will air on five consecutive Sundays at 2 p.m. EDT beginning Sept. 13. The scheduled is subject to change.
Kim Terrell-Kearney is the defending champion at the U.S. Women's Open and will be looking to claim the coveted title for the third time. She also won the event in 2001.
By Matt Cannizzaro
LAS VEGAS - Malaysian star Shalin Zulkifli came into this week's U.S. Women's Open, a United States Bowling Congress event, with a few simple goals and bowled better than she hoped on the way into the lead halfway through the third and final day of qualifying.
The 31-year-old right-hander was third after two days of competition at Strike Zone Bowling Center inside the Sunset Station Hotel and Casino in Henderson, Nev., but Thursday's Cheetah lane condition suited her game and helped catapult her to the top of the standings.
Zulkifli is the leader after the first of two squads with a 5,369 total for 24 games, an average of 223.7. USBC Hall of Famer Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Keller, Texas, is second with 5,320, Tammy Boomershine of North Ogden, Utah, is third with 5,294 and 2007 U.S. Women's Open champion Liz Johnson of Cheektowaga, N.Y., is fourth with 5,260.
The second half of the 170-player field, including second-round leader Missy Bellinder, is on the lanes now.
The Cheetah typically is the highest-scoring of the five PBA Experience lane conditions, and success most often is found by playing toward the outside part of the lane, where Zulkifli is most comfortable.
"When we looked at the schedule and saw that Cheetah was the last pattern, we were happy because all of us (on Team Malaysia) bowl well on it," said Zulkifli, who posted a high game of 268 on the way to a 1,838 set Thursday morning, the second-highest of the morning behind Colombia's Clara Guerrero (1,876). "I wasn't actually thinking about being in the lead. I was just focusing on getting as many pins as I could, especially for the Tour Trials."
Along with her bid to make a second consecutive appearance on the televised portion of the U.S. Women's Open, Zulkifli also is focused on returning to the Professional Bowlers Association Women's Series, where she hopes to improve on her overall performance from last year.
Zulkifli also set the pace for the field of 43 players who have paid the additional entry fee for the PBA Women's Tour Trials, which uses the U.S. Women's Open qualifying scores to determine who will qualify for the 2009-10 PBA Women's Series.
The top 12 bowlers from the Tour Trials will join the six champions from last season (Dorin-Ballard, Johnson, Michelle Feldman, Wendy Macpherson, Stefanie Nation and Jodi Woessner) as exempt players for the upcoming Women's Series.
"My main goal for the week was to make it through the Tour Trials so I could be out there competing again," said Zulkifli, who had a best finish of fifth in seven Women's Series events last year. "I didn't bowl well in the Women's Series last year, so I went home and trained really hard to get in shape and hopefully improve this year."
The Women's Series will feature five standard events, the open-field PBA Women's World Championship, the Don and Paula Carter Mixed Doubles Championship and the season-ending PBA Women's Series Showdown. Each standard event will have a 20-player field, up from the 16-player field used this season. The final two players in the field will come from the weekly Tour Qualifying Rounds, similar to the PBA Tour.
Competitors in the Women's Series will be competing for nearly $500,000 in prize money with $10,000 going to the winner of each regular event.
To reach her goal, Zulkifli's game plan is to aim for 100 pins over par (200) each squad, and that strategy will continue Friday morning.
At the conclusion of competition Thursday, the field at the U.S. Women's Open will be narrowed down to the top 48, who will bowl an additional 16 games Friday on the final two PBA Experience lane conditions, Scorpion and Viper. The first two days of the event were contested on the Shark and Chameleon, respectively.
"I managed to bowl well on the Shark, which isn't my best pattern, so that gave me a lot of confidence," Zulkifli said. "Last week's World Women's Championships also helped me out heading into this tournament because sometimes, it takes a while to get into the groove. I am pretty relaxed, and I'm really enjoying myself."
This year, the U.S. Women's Open features a new format with the top 12 players advancing to the five-part ESPN series. The overall prize fund for this year's event is $150,000 with $25,000 going to the winner.
Any competitor who rolls a 300 game on one of the first four TV shows will receive a $25,000 bonus, while a perfect game in the semifinals or championship match (the fifth show), will earn $100,000. The shows will air on five consecutive Sundays at 2 p.m. EDT beginning Sept. 13. The scheduled is subject to change.
Kim Terrell-Kearney is the defending champion at the U.S. Women's Open and will be looking to claim the coveted title for the third time. She also won the event in 2001.