No changes atop the leader board of Australian Masters after Tuesday's qualifying

10/18/11

Australia

USA's Sean Rash, Shannon Pluhowsky leap into fifth place in the men's and women's division

2011ABFT02JasonBelmonte2.jpgThe top four men and the top four women in the AMF Australian Masters remained unchanged during Tuesday's qualifying squads at AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Jason Belmonte (pictured left) of New South Wales and Rochelle MottleeQueensland, continued to lead the 129 men and 57 women with 1531 and 1311, respectively. The two highest three-game series bowled during the 2011 Australian Adult National Championships are being used for the Masters qualifying.

Chris Castle, VIC, and Bec Voukolos, NT, remained in second place with 1489 and 1304. They are followed by defending champion Sam Cooley, NSW (1488) and Emma Walsh, NSW (1291) in third place and Craig Rem, NSW (1485), and Nat Shelley, NT (1273), in fourth place, resp.

201011PBASeanRash.jpg2011WWCShannonPluhowsky.jpgFour-time PBA champion Sean Rash (left), United States, had three-game sets of 751 and 722 on Tuesday to move from ninth to fifth place with 1473 total and an average of 245.50.

His fellow countrywoman, Shannon Pluhowsky (right), who has won four gold medals at the Women's World Championships in Hong Kong last month, rolled 657 and 614 in her first qualifying attempts to also overtake fifth place with 1271 and an average of 211.83.

Joining Rash in the top 40 from the international contingent was seven-time PBA champion Robert Smith (below left). The 37-year-old right-hander, who now lives in Hong Kong, had sets of 739 and 679 for 1418 total, good for eighth place.

2011HKGOpenRobertSmith2.jpg201011PBADanMacLelland.jpgJason Waters, New Zealand, slipped to 15th place with 1378 and was followed by PBA exempt player Dan MacLelland (right), Canada, who was tied with Hong Kong's Eric Tseng for 20th place at 1361.

Paeng Nepomuceno, Philippines, was just one pin behind in 22nd with 1360 and Michael Mak, Hong Kong, was further nine pins behind in 24th place with 1351.

Shaun Ohara, NSW, currently holds the 34th and last place to qualify for the finals with 1314 or an average of 219. Rounding out the top 40, who will advance to finals, are six State representatives who cannot be eliminated from qualifying.

Besides Pluhowsky, there are five international bowlers in the top 40 of the women's division. Michaela Oehler, Singapore, improved her total by 21 pins but remained in seventh place with 1258. Julieanne Mollett and Sarah Young of New Zealand slipped to 19th and 24th place with 1161 and 1134, respectively.

2011KOSandraAndersson.jpgSwedish national team member Sandra Andersson (right) added a 603 set on Tuesday to her previous set of 558 to tie Mollett for 19th place. Sara Rash, Sean's wife, fell to 30th place with 1109.

Emily Robertson, VIC, currently holds the 35th and last place to advance (places 36 to 40 are reserved for State reps) with 1081 or an average of 180.17.

Qualifying runs through Friday, Oct. 21st, with the last qualifying squad scheduled for 11.30 a.m. local time (CET -9; EST -15).

2011AUSMastersLogo3.jpg The AMF Australian Masters is the 8th and last stop of the 2011 World Bowling Tour. The tournament will be held from Monday Oct. 10 through Saturday Oct. 22, 2011 at AMF Bowling Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The tournament offers total prize fund of 112,400 Australian Dollar or approx. USD116,000 with $25,000 and $15,000 going to the men's and women's champion, respectively. Applicable taxes will be withheld from prize-funds paid to non-resident entrants.

2010AUSMastersJordanRodgersAMFLyndaBarnes.jpg2010AUSMastersJordanRodgersAMFSamCooley.jpg In the 2010 AMF Australian Masters, Lynda Barnes, United States and Sam Cooley, New South Wales, claimed the women's and men's title.

Barnes (pictured left) defeated compatriot and fellow Team USA member, Wendy Macpherson, in the women's title match in best-of-five format, three-games-to-one to win the $15,000 women's top prize.

On the men's side, top seeded Sam Cooley (pictured right) topped defending champion Paul Trotter in an all-Australian affair in the deciding fifth game, 237-234, to win the title and the $25,000 men's top prize.

WBTLogo.jpg The 2011 World Bowling Tour consists of 8 tour stops in seven countries - Finland, France, Kuwait, Korea, Thailand, Australia and United States (2). The top 50 men and the top 50 women in each event earn ranking points (from 50 points for the winner to 1 point for 50th place).

Those points will be tabulated throughout the season to determine the top three men and top three women who will be invited to compete in the World Bowling Tour Finals presented by the Professional Bowlers Association.

The WBT Finals are scheduled to take place at the PBA's World Series of Bowling in November and will feature a total prize fund of $40,000. The event will be aired nationally in the United States.

The top three men and top three women will bowl a stepladder finals format in their respective divisions. The prize money for each division is the same, with the winner taking $10,000, second place earning $6,000 and third place winning $4,000.

2011AUSMastersLogo_small.jpg Qualifying of the 2011 AMF Australian Masters will be over six games, using the two highest three-game series in singles or doubles attempts bowled during the 2011 Adult National Championships until completion of the 12.00pm squad on Friday 21st October.

A total of 40 men and 40 women will advance to the finals. The defending champion and the State representatives cannot be eliminated from qualifying.

The top 4 in each division will receive two byes to Round 3 while bowlers seeded positions 5 through 16 will receive one bye to Round 2. Bowlers filling qualifying positions 17 through 40 will compete in Round 1. No pinfall will carry over in any of the final rounds.

In the event of a tie for fourth, 16th or 40th qualifying positions, a single game will be played to break the tie. Any subsequent tie will require a 10th frame playoff until the tie is broken.

Bowlers seeded 17th to 40th will bowl 6 games scratch to cut to the top 12 bowlers who will join bowlers seeded positions 5 through 16 in Round 2. These 24 bowlers will then play 6 games scratch. The top 12 bowlers on total pinfall meet the top 4 qualifiers in Round 3.

These 16 bowlers will then play 6 games scratch. The top 8 bowlers on total pinfall will determine the champion in single-elimination best-of-three games match play. The field will be cut to four and then two players who will bowl for the titles and the $25,000 and $15,000 top prizes, respectively. The winners will also get free entry into the 2012 event.

 


Related Articles


Belmonte, Mottlee overtake qualifying lead in AMF Australian Masters
Defending champion Sam Cooley sets the pace in AMF Australian Masters

 


Men's Division - Qualifying Standings at the end of Tuesday, Oct. 18


The top 40 will advance to the finals. The defending champion (DC) and the State representatives cannot be eliminated from qualifying.

 


Women's Division - Qualifying Standings at the end of Tuesday, Oct. 18


The top 40 will advance to the finals. The defending champion (DC) and the State representatives cannot be eliminated from qualifying.

Â