Korea's Jung thrives on unfamiliar lanes at Singapore's premier bowling event
Korean copes well on unfamiliar lanes as competition heats up
She was unfamiliar with the lanes at the SingaporeBowling @ Rifle Range, because that particular brand did not exist in her country.
But that did not stop South Korea's Jung Da Wun from topping the first round of the Women's Open Masters Finals at the 48th Singapore International Open yesterday.
The 30-year-old chalked up an eight-game total of 1,819 pinfalls to top the 28-strong field, with the top 12 from yesterday's round making today's second round.
"It was a bit easier today compared to the qualifiers," said Jung, who won her first international title when she claimed the Singapore Open crown in 2012 at the Orchid Country Club.
"Both Orchid and this bowling centre have the same type of lanes, which we don't have back in South Korea.
"But, if the lane conditions tomorrow are like what they are today, I have the confidence that I can win again."
Jazreel Tan was the best-performing Singaporean among the women yesterday, finishing second with 1,782 pinfalls despite being off her game for months.
The 26-year-old said: "I've been having a bad patch with my physical game for the past six months, partly also due to injury, so I have been focusing a bit on my scores during the qualifiers in the last few days.
"We had a game plan coming into today to manage my form and things fell into place somehow, even though some of my shots felt 'bad'.
"When the scores started coming in, I felt 'looser' and was able to get my flow and momentum."
Along with Tan, Team Singapore bowlers Tracy See (1,700 pinfalls), Cherie Tan (1,678), Iliya Syamim (1,661), Charlene Lim (1,629) and Daphne Tan (1,628) made the cut for the second round today.
EARNED A BYE
They will be joined by teammates Bernice Lim, Geraldine Ng and Shayna Ng; the trio topped the local qualifiers on Friday and earned a bye into the second round.
Meanwhile, Indonesia's Billy Muhammad Islam topped the first round of the Men's Open Masters Finals yesterday with 1,841 pinfalls.
Ryan Nicholas Lin was the top-performing Singaporean in the competition, finishing in sixth spot with 1,781 pinfalls, while Remy Ong (1,731), Muhd Jaris Goh (1,721), Alex Chong (1,711), Jonovan Neo (1,694), Jonathan Ng (1,673) and Cheah Ray Han (1,665) also made the cut.
After the second round today, the top four bowlers in both competitions will progress to the semi-finals, with the tournament culminating in the respective step-ladder finals this evening.
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