Singapore national kegler makes Top 36

21st September, Busan: Singapore national kegler, Remy Ong made the cut for the Top 36 finals of the 13th DSD Samho Korea Cup International Open Bowling Tournament after finishing 27th overall at the end of the third block on Wednesday.  Ong started off his first three games positively with 227, 247 and 213 but on his 16th game, the left-hander encoutered two 7-10 splits and had numerous pocket shots only to see a stubborn pin 7 standing.

Unable to get the carry he need, Ong ended the game with a disappointing 166. Fortunately, the 32-year-old winner of two gold medals at the 2002 Busan Asian Games and two gold medals at the 2006 World Men Championship at the same Homeplus Asiad Bowling Center, recovered with a sizzling 265 in game 17.

The Singaporean struggled in his final game when the lanes got tougher due to the changing lane conditions and ended with 186 for a 6-game block of 1304. Adding to 2656 posted in his two squads the past two days, Ong totaled 3960 to finish ninth in the squad.

But crucially, Ong made the Top 36 cut in 27th position overall after the three squads scores were combined. American PBA pro and twice PBA Player of the Year (1999, 2001-02) claimed pole position with 4284.The southpaw finished 103 pins ahead of another lefty and JPBA pro, Teruyuki Obara in second with 4181. Korean amateur and Daejeon International Open champion, Jeong Seong Soo, who topped Squad B, took third spot with 4158.

A second JPBA pro, Toshiyuki Kaneko and American PBA pro, Sean Rash completed the top 5 with 4151 and 4096 respectively. Other invited PBA pros, Rhino Page (7th-4088), Mike Fagan (8th-4087), Jason Belmonte (15th-4017), Tommy Jones (20th-4005) and Wes Mallot (23rd-3973) all made the cut.

Missing the cut were Pete Weber (46th), perfect gamer Chris Barnes (57th), Norm Duke (86th) and Dan Maclelland (107th). Biggest surprise was current WBT Ranked No. 1, Mika Koivuniemi in a dismal 142nd position.

The top 36 will bowl another 6 games tomorrow with pins carried forward. The top 12 will advance to the Round-Robin matchplay style semi-finals for 11 matches and a position round match.

The top 6 at the end of the semi-finals will proceed to the TV finals set for September 23 and will be telecast LIVE over SBS-ESPN network.

Detailed scores: Block 3 Squad A | Block 3 Combined | Photo Album.

Photos by Terence Yaw in Busan.