Danielle McEwan earns top seed for finals at 2022 U.S. Women's Open

Match Play - Round 1
Match Play - Round 2
Match Play - Round 3

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - Just three years removed from her first U.S. Women’s Open title, Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York, doubled in the 10th frame to earn the top seed at the 2022 edition of the major championship.

The 30-year-old right-hander will be joined in the stepladder at Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center by Jordan Richard of Maumee, Ohio, Shannon O’Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois, Singapore’s Shayna Ng and Erin McCarthy of Elkhorn, Nebraska.

The finals will be televised live on CBS Sports Network on Sunday starting at 7 p.m. Eastern.

The winner will take home the second major title of the 2022 Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour season, the event's coveted green jacket and iconic trophy, and the $60,000 top prize.

If McEwan doubling in the 10th frame at the U.S. Women’s Open sounds familiar, it’s because she doubled in both the semifinal and title matches in 2019 to win her second major championship. She defeated O’Keefe in the semifinal, 229-225, and Indonesia’s Tannya Roumimper, 201-199, in the final.

She entered Game 56 of the position round Monday night with a 27-pin advantage over Richard, which meant the winner of the match would claim the top seed. Richard, who finished first, had a chance to shut out McEwan with two strikes and six pins in the 10th frame but left a 2 pin on the first shot. Richard made the spare and got nine on the fill for 214.

Needing two strikes and four pins for the win, McEwan calmly delivered three of her best shots of the week for a game of 221 and the top spot. She ended the event with a 17-7 match-play record over 24 games to finish with an overall total of 12,428, including bonus pins.

“It was really important to get the No. 1 seed,” McEwan said. “I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. So, I was going to throw my good shots and however the pins fell, that's how they were meant to fall, because you never know what's going to happen tomorrow. I threw two really good shots that fell, so that feels really good. I feel really confident after getting up under the pressure and being able to do that going into tomorrow.”

McEwan will make her fifth championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open on Tuesday, and she’s accumulated an abundance of experiences over time to help her succeed this week. It took her all 56 games to earn the No. 1 seed, which perfectly exhibits why the event is a marathon and not a sprint.

“I remember bowling my first couple of U.S. Open’s, and Day 1, I was trying to win the tournament,” McEwan said. “I’ve had so many people that have given me such great advice over the years. You can't win it on Day 1. Slow and steady. It's a marathon. That's the stuff that I keep in the back of my head. Regardless of a bad game, bad shot or even a set that didn’t end how I wanted it to, it's a marathon. There are still so many games left. I’ve always kept that in perspective.”

Richard, who finished with a 12,364 total to nab the No. 2 seed, is making her first championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. She’s not absent of major experience, as she finished fourth at the 2018 PWBA Players Championship, but she is vying for her first career major title.

O'Keefe earned the No. 3 seed with a 12,318 total, while Ng (12,205) and McCarthy (12,150) will square off in Sunday's opening match.

O’Keefe will make her seventh championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. She is seeking her first title at the event and has two runner-up finishes, two third-place finishes and two fifth-place finishes on her resume. The two-time PWBA Player of the Year already has one title this season (PWBA Twin Cities Open) and is searching for her fourth career major title.

Ng is making her second championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. The two-time PWBA Tour champion finished third at the 2016 event and is looking for her first career major title.

McCarthy, who doubled in the 10th frame to defeat Singapore’s Cherie Tan, is making her third career championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women’s Open. She has a pair of third-place finishes in 2017 and 2018.

Tan left a 6-8 split in the 10th frame of which she was unable to convert, and McCarthy threw two great shots to earn her way onto the show. McCarthy entered the position-round match with a 26-pin advantage, with the winner of the match advancing to the finals.

“Honestly, that was the most nerve-wracking game that I think I've ever bowled in my life,” McCarthy said. “And I thought I was out of it going into the eighth, ninth frame. Cherie had a really good look, and I didn't have enough strikes. But, to be able to throw a double in the 10th frame and actually secure the win is probably the best I've ever felt while bowling. Obviously, I made the show, but that’s a moment I'll never ever forget … throwing a double to make the U.S. Open show.”

All competitors bowled 24 qualifying games over three days to determine the 30 players advancing to Round 4. After eight additional games, the field was cut to the top 24 bowlers for round-robin match play.

The five finalists were determined by total pinfall, including bonus pins, for 56 games.

For more information about the U.S. Women’s Open, visit BOWL.com/USWomensOpen.