Left-handers struggled in Round 3
30th September, Bangkok: Out of the seven left-handers in the Round 3 Finals of the PTT World Bowling Tour Thailand 2011, only one made the Top 12 cut as Singapore's Remy Ong ended at the tail end of the field on Thursday. Only Korean PBA and second runnerup of the recent DSD Samho Korea Cup, Kang Sung Yu made the cut in 11th position as PBA pro, Sean Rash of USA topped the round with 1420. Rash led compatriot, Norm Duke who finished second with 1401 after making most of the running.
A second Korean PBA, Choi Won Young finished third with 1360 as left-handers, Joshua Chow of Hong Kong, Parker Bohn III of USA, Atchariya Cheng of Thailand, Shaker Al Hassan of UAE, Naif Oqab of UAE including Ong all finished at the tail end of the field.
PBA pro and top seed, Jason Belmonte of Australia responded with a perfect game to beat challenger and fellow-PBA, Mike Fagan of USA, 300-205 to win the inaugural PTT World Bowling Tour title.
Fagan, who was seeded second, had taken the first match 300-211 in front of a capacity crowd that has gatered at the concourse of the Major Cineplex on a pair of Brunswick TV lanes specially constructed on the fifth floor of the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall to force a deciding second match before Belmonte responded with his own 300.
Fagan had earned a crack at the title after ending a fine run by eighth-seed and PBA pro, Ryan Ciminelli, 234-214 in the semi-final match. The sole left-hander, Ciminelli trashed third-seed, PBA pro and Dan Maclelland of Canada, 280-258 in the third match.
Ciminelli dispatched fourth-seed and Korean PBA pro, Choi Won Young and fifth-seed and UAE national bowler, Sayed Al Hashemi, 278-238-245 in the second match. The American won the opening match with a strike over sixth-seed and Thai, Peerawich Rungcharoen's 6 pins after they were locked at 227 while seventh-seed, Sean Rash managed 214.
In the earlier Round 4 finals, Jason Belmonte shot a 300 in the sixth and final game to haul himself into top spot from ninth position with 1387. Fagan and Maclelland finished second and third with 1377 and 1372.
Ciminelli, who was second before the final match shot 181 to almost miss the cut finishing eighth with 1323 while leader, Sean Rash survived with 172 after having led the field before the final game.
Belmonte won 1 million Thai Baht (approx. US$32,250) for the win while Fagan settled for 500,000 Baht. Ciminelli took home 300,000 Baht with Maclelland 200,000 Baht, Choi 100,000 Baht, Sayed 90,000 Baht, Peerawich 85,000 Baht and Rash 80,000 Baht.
Over 85 bowlers from the PBA, Korean PBA and amatuers from Australia, Chinese Taipei, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, Norway, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sweden, UAE and host Thailand participated in the championship.
The World Bowling Tour Thailand 2011 was the sixth leg of the inaugural WTBA World Bowling Tour. The seventh and final leg will be the AMF Australia MAsters 2011 which will be held the AMF Bowling Rooty Hill in Sydney, Australia from 10th to 22nd October.
The World Tenpin Bowling Association, which is made up of more than 100 bowling federations, governs the sport throughout the world. For more information on WTBA and the World Bowling Tour, visit www.worldtenpinbowling.com.
Detailed scores: TV Finals | Round 4 Finals | Round 3 Finals | Photo Album.
Photos by Terence Yaw in Bangkok.