Ng catches Parkin to win 2019 PWBA Sonoma County Open

RESULTS

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Shayna Ng spent each round of the 2019 Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Sonoma County Open trying to catch tournament leader Missy Parkin, without success.

Ng had one last chance as she faced Parkin in Saturday’s title match at Double Decker Lanes and took full advantage of the opportunity by striking on her first seven shots in a 259-237 victory to claim her second PWBA title.

BowlTV.com provided live coverage of the event.

Parkin, from Laguna Hills, California, was dominant throughout the event, finishing 288 pins ahead of Ng to take the top seed for the stepladder finals. Ng finished second in each of the four rounds over the last two days,

“Finally, on the last one,” Ng said about catching Parkin. “She bowled great all week and was very, very consistent. I had my ups and downs, but when it comes down to just one final game, it’s really anybody’s game and I was fortunate to have matched up to the lanes better and earlier.”

While Ng was striking on her first seven shots in the title match, Parkin had a 10 pin wiggle, but not fall in the second frame, picked up a 2-8 leave in the fifth and a single-pin spare in the seventh.

“I bowled really well all week long, was happy with my execution, and the last game I threw all the shots really well,” Parkin said. “That’s all you can do. Shayna bowled really well in the stepladder finals and all week long.”

As the No. 2 seed, Ng averaged 263 in her two matches of the stepladder. In the semifinal against No. 3 seed Stefanie Johnson of McKinney, Texas, Ng closed out the match with seven strikes. She was quite aware she was on a run of 14 consecutive strikes over the two matches.

“There were nerves,” said Ng, who won the 2018 PWBA Las Vegas Open. “I was really, really quite nervous. But I guess I managed to overcome it.”

Johnson made the semifinals match with a 227-179 victory over Valerie Bercier of Spring Lake, Michigan. Bercier couldn’t convert a 2-10 split in the second fame and Johnson stayed clean in the victory.

Saturday’s stepladder was the PWBA Tour’s fifth of the season – a total of 21 spots – and once again each of the stepladder participants were making their first finals appearance of the season. No bowler has made two stepladder finals in 2019.

Ng won’t have a chance to make another stepladder as she will return to Singapore with the rest of the team. The Singapore national team has been on the PWBA Tour for the last five weeks as part of their training for the Singapore Open.

“It’s been a long trip, but it is sweet to go back with this win,” Ng said.

Competition at the PWBA Sonoma County Open started with two eight-game qualifying blocks on Friday to determine the 32 players for Saturday’s Round of 32. An eight-game block on Saturday morning narrowed the field to 12 players, who bowled six more games with total pinfall from their 30 games determining the stepladder finalists.

On Sunday, the third PWBA Regional event of the season will take place at Double Decker Lanes. All competitors will bowl eight qualifying games and the top will four advance to the stepladder finals. BowlTV.com will have live coverage of the PWBA Regional.

The winner of Sunday’s PWBA Regional earns a spot in the Go Bowling! PWBA Regional Showdown, a special made-for-TV event to be taped Aug. 17 in conjunction with the PWBA Orlando Open.

The 2019 PWBA Tour now heads to Tucson, Arizona, for the PWBA Tucson Open at Golden Pin Lane, with the action starting June 7, and BowlTV.com will have live wire-to-wire coverage of the event.

Visit PWBA.com for the latest news, complete schedule and player biographies.