Perfect ball, perfect game

By her lofty standards, Wednesday's three-game high score of 630 pinfalls at the 47th Singapore International Open local Masters qualifiers was almost 200 pinfalls short of her personal best of 817.

It was simply unacceptable.

So, Shayna Ng, after consulting national coach Remy Ong, drilled a new 15-pound Storm Punch Out ball yesterday - and lit up Orchid Bowl at Orchid Country Club.

The 24-year-old was so hot that she struck a perfect 300 in her second game en route to a score of 794 (248-300-246) to put herself in line for the first round of the women's Open Masters final next week.

Ng told The New Paper: "The perfect game caught me by surprise because I was using a brand new ball and I haven't quite gotten used to it.

"On Wednesday, the carry and reaction weren't that good, so I spoke to Remy. I have to thank him because he helped with the layout of the ball to suit the lanes.

"We had 10 minutes for our practice throws and I kept striking... everything just fell into place.

"This is my seventh perfect game, so I'm used to the pressure. I just had to treat every shot the same, go through the same routines and focus on the process and not the outcome."

However, Ng, who is nominated alongside paddler Feng Tianwei for the Sportswoman of the Year award, will not get a share of the $10,000 perfect game award as her 300 was not achieved in one of the pre-designated perfect game squads during the Masters qualifiers.

Still, it was a significant feat as the 2012 world champion aims to add another feather to her cap by winning the Masters.

"The perfect game still means a lot, as this is my first perfect game here at OCC and the lanes are quite tough," she said.

"It's been more than a year since my last perfect game and it's good to know I still got it.

"My form has been okay this year. I haven't won, but I've cashed in at every tournament I've played. So I'm still waiting for a breakthrough.

"It's very hard to say whether I will win here because sometimes being at your best doesn't necessarily mean you will win. So I'm going to take it one step at a time."

There will be 24 finalists in the women's Open Masters final.

The qualifying scores are based on the best two attempts (a total of six games) from the Masters qualifiers (three games per attempt).

But there is an added incentive to record a high score as the top three will go straight to round two, while the fourth- to seventh-ranked local and overseas qualifiers will join qualifiers from the mixed pool in round one.

The perfect game caught me by surprise because I was using a brand new ball and I haven’t quite gotten used to it.

— Shayna Ng