Here's an excerpt from the PBA media team, going into the televised finals ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (July 11, 2015)
Barrett, Palermaa, O’Neill Advance to Japan’s Bowling World Open Finals
Kelly Kulick among four women advancing to Sunday’s championship rounds
TOKYO – Professional Bowlers Association champions Dom Barrett of England, Osku Palermaa of Finland and Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pa., along with Japan’s Isao Yamamoto, will bowl for an $81,000 first prize in the men’s singles championship round of the inaugural Bowling World Open Sunday in an arena setting at Makuhari-Messe convention center.
The women’s finalists will be Birgit Poppler, Germany; Joey Yeo, Singapore; Karen Marcano, Venezuela, and 2011 PBA Tournament of Champions winner Kelly Kulick of Union, N.J., who advanced from sixth in the final three qualifying games Saturday to claim the fourth women’s berth.
The finalists were determined during an eight-game qualifying event Saturday at Round1 Minamisuna Bowling Center. In Sunday’s men’s finals, Barrett as top qualifier will bowl No. 4 Yamamoto while No. 2 Palermaa will meet No. 3 O’Neill in the semifinal round. The winners will bowl for the title.
Poppler, as women’s top qualifier, will meet No. 4 Kulick while No. 2 Yeo will bowl No. 3 Marcano in the women’s semifinal round. The winners in both divisions will bowl for the $81,000 women’s top prize on national television in Japan.
Barrett, a four-time PBA Tour title winner, started Saturday’s finals with a 300 game and average 246 for a 1,969 eight-game total to win the men’s top qualifying position by 118 pins over Palermaa, Finland’s two-handed star. Poppler, a member of Germany’s national women’s team, averaged 229 for her eight games, holding off Yeo by 14 pins for the No. 1 berth in the finals. Kulick, the only woman ever to win a PBA Tour title, started her final three-game round with games of 237 and 238 to claim the fourth berth in the finals by 10 pins over Malaysia’s Syaidatul Afifah.
The Bowling World Open, conducted by World Bowling in cooperation with the Japan Bowling Congress and the National Bowling Federation of Japan, is a special showcase designed to promote the sport’s bid to include bowling in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Bowling is one of eight sports in contention for possible inclusion in the 2020 Olympics.
The Bowling World Open is offering the richest prize fund on the World Bowling Tour schedule, including an estimated $81,000 each to the men’s and women’s champions. As a part of its support of the event and the Olympic movement, the PBA will award a PBA Tour title to the men’s champion if he is a PBA member.
Sunday’s finals, along with a special international mixed doubles demonstration event, will be contested on a special six-lane installation in an exhibition hall at the Makuhari-Messe convention center on the outskirts of Tokyo.
BOWLING WORLD OPEN
Round1 Minamisuna Bowling Center, Tokyo, Saturday
Men’s Final Qualifying Standings (after 8 games; top 4 advance to championship round)
1, Dom Barrett, England, 1,969.
2, Osku Palermaa, Finland, 1,851.
3, Bill O'Neill, U.S., 1,849.
4, Isao Yamamoto, Japan, 1,836.
WOMEN’S DIVISION
Women’s Final Qualifying Standings (after 8 games; top 4 advance to championship round)
1, Birgit Poppler, Germany, 1,834.
2, Joey Yeo, Singapore, 1,820.
3, Karen Marcano, Venezuela, 1,795.
4, Kelly Kulick, U.S., 1,794.