Local favorite
Tannya Roumimper started the Women's World Ranking Masters at Senayan Sportainment Bowling Center in Jakarta, Indonesia with a 1720 8-game series en route to lead the field of 24 women after day one and to earn a $1,000 bonus.
Shalin Zulkifli, Malaysia, is 103 pins behind in second place with 1617. Mere two pins behind is 2007 European ranking champion
Kirsten Penny, England, with 1615, followed by
Wendy Chai, Malaysia, with 1610. Asian ranking champion
Kim Eun Jung, Korea has hurt her knee and sits in 24th and last place with 1386.
Indonesian bowler Putty Armein (pictured left), ranked 7th in Asia, is determined to grab her first victory in the World Ranking Master tournament to be held in Jakarta from May 1 to 5. Her two compatriots, Ryan Lalisang and Tannya Roumimper, will also join the US$72,000 (Rp 662.4 million) tournament featuring 47 international bowlers who are ranked in the top eight of the American, European and Asian zones. "My aim this year is to win the championship," Putty, 27, competing in the Kuwait Open tournament, told The Jakarta Post by phone on Friday.
The 2008 World Ranking Masters featuring the top eight men and top eight women from the American, Asian and European 2007 Rankings will be held from April 30 through May 6, 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The event will be hosted by the Senayan Sportainment Bowling Center, a 30-laner with Brunswick equipment. The WRM, which will be played on multiple lane condition (short, long and short/long), has a total prize fund of 72,000 U.S. Dollar equally shared between men and women. The champions will walk a way with the $10.000 top prize.
The women's and men's championship matches of the World Ranking Masters will be televised on Sun Sports, a Florida-based cable sports channel in the Southeastern U.S in a 90-minute telecast on Monday, May 28 at 3 p.m. EST and re-broadcasted Sunday, June 3 at 3 p.m., and Thursday, June 7 at 9 a.m. PBA champions Randy Pedersen and Del Warren are among the commentators for the telecast.
Drive south on U.S. 27 after passing another series of homes that used to be orange groves and you start looking for the Kegel Training Center. Kegel is known by bowlers and proprietors world wide so you are sure that you will see this giant neon sign signaling where you should turn right to the unique bowling complex...something like looking for the MGM sign when driving down the Strip in Las Vegas. Wrong.
Stuart Williams (right) from England ended the 2007 Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters at the Kegel Training and Tournament Center in Lake Wales, Fla. with a huge game en route to claiming the title and the $10,000 top prize. Williams, who decided to start on long oil, lost game #1 against Peter Ljung from Sweden, 236-233, but leveled the match on short oil, 235-224. Ljung doubled in the last frame of the decider to force Williams to strike on his first ball in the 10th frame. Williams went off the sheet to win the game and the match, 269-240. 
Mikael Kanold is a young talented Swedish bowler, a member of the Swedish youth national team, and not known for becoming angry very often. His compatriot Martin Larsen, World Doubles champion and Jason Belmonte, the High Roller champ from Australia brought this video to our attention. It shows why all bowling center proprietors teach their customers NOT to cross the line between the approach and the lane. Actually it gives the expression 'foul line' a new meaning. Enjoy.
Diandra Asbaty (left) from the host country United States, defeated Zara Glover from England, two-games-to-none in the women's finals of the Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters. The 2004 WRM champion became the first two-time winner in the history of the championships. Asbaty earned $10,000 for the victory. Glover received $5,000 for second.
Caroline Lagrange (left, with Diandra Asbaty) sealed the victory in the women's qualifying of the Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters with a final 237 game en route to take the No. 1 seed for the single-elimination finals and to earn a 1,000 Dollar bonus. The Canadian, who led the women's division since the first round, will take on Alicia Marcano from Venezuela in the quarterfinals. Other matches feature: #2 Diandra Asbaty, United States vs. Patricia Schwarz. Germany; Wendy Chai, Malaysia vs. Aumi Guerra, Dominican Republic; and Zara Glover, England vs. Zandra Aziela, Malaysia. 
Osku Palermaa, the two-hander from Finland, fired his third consecutive 1900-plus series to take the No. 1 seed for the single-elimination best-of-three game finals in the Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters at Kegel Training and Tournament Center in Lake Wales, Fla. Palermaa will meet Austria's Thomas Gross in the quarterfinals, who finished with a 278-game to beat out Singapore's Remy Ong for the 8th and final qualifying spot. The other matches: #2 Jason Belmonte, Australia vs. #7 Peter Ljung, Sweden; #3 Stuart Williams, England vs. #6 David O'Sullivan, United States; and #4 Paul Moor, England vs. #5 Martin Larsen, Sweden. 
The decision about the squad and overall lead on Day Two of the Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters was made in the very last frame. Trailing Stuart Williams (r.), England, by 62 pins going into the last game, Finn Osku Palermaa (l.) fired the first 300 game of the tournament to beat the Englishman, who shot 235, by three pins for the day, worth 1,000 Dollar, and 40 pins for the overall lead after eight games on long oil and eight games on short oil. 
Canadian Caroline Lagrange (l.) started her eighth game on long oil with a spare, then reeled of ten consecutive strikes to seal the victory in the women's division first round with 1885 8-game total and an average of 235.63. Her high score was one of two 289 games in the final game, Choy Poh Lai (r.), from Malaysia had the other. 
Trailing leader Paul Moor (right) from England by 16 pins heading into the final game of the first qualifying block at the Kegel/USBC World Ranking Masters, two-time World Champion Remy Ong (left) from Singapore struck out for 236 to force Moor to do the same for a tie. Moor did the same but due to the higher last game, Ong was awarded the 1,000 Dollar bonus for the daily squad leader. 
When Team USA's Diandra Asbaty travels around the world, she says she is always welcomed by the host countries. When the 2007 Kegel/United States Bowling Congress World Ranking Masters begin this week, Asbaty will have a chance to play host. Asbaty of Chicago and Team USA's Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, will be the lone American representatives when the World Ranking Masters begins Thursday at the Kegel Training Center in Lake Wales, Fla.
The United States Bowling Congress and Kegel have been selected by the World Tenpin Bowling Association to jointly host the 2007 World Ranking Masters in May, a move made necessary after original host country Qatar withdrew several weeks ago. As tournament hosts, Kegel and USBC have jointly selected Team USA members Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, and Diandra Asbaty of Chicago to represent the United States in the event.
As earlier reported, the Qatar Bowling Federation (QBF) has withdrawn as host of the 2007 World Ranking Masters, which should take place in Doha from April 30 through May 6. Bowlingdigital has now heard that the World Tenpin Bowling Association (WTBA) has even received three applications (not two as earlier reported) to host the event, one from the United States, another one from Indonesia and the third one came from Finland. The WTBA, which wants to keep the tournament dates, intends to make a final decision tomorrow, February 28. Stay tuned.