Cherie Tan follows world bowling women's gold with victory at PWBA Championship

SINGAPORE — Singapore bowler Cherie Tan followed up her gold at the World Bowling Women’s Championships last month with another huge prize – clinching the QubicaAMF Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Players Championship on in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Sunday (8 September).

The 31-year-old became the first Asian to clinch this prestigious title, which comes with a prize money of US$20,000 (S$27,600).

"It's really awesome to come away with back-to-back wins, because it's something everyone wants but is so hard to achieve," she said on the PWBA website. “I’m really pleased with the results.”

In the championship round, which was broadcast live in the United States on the CBS Sports Network, Tan defeated reigning PWBA Player of the Year, American Shannon O’Keefe, by 245-204 pinfalls to seal a brilliant week in which she had bowled consistently well.

She had made the step-ladder finals as the top qualifier, amassing 8,744 pinfalls during her qualifying rounds. O’Keefe, on the other hand, qualified in fifth spot with 8,190 pinfalls, and had to beat three other bowlers to progress to meet Tan.

Tan, however, maintained her scintillating form, delivering nine strikes to overcome 40-year-old O’Keefe.

The PWBA Players Championship is one of the four major tournaments on the PWBA Tour, and is open only to PWBA members.

Tan's victory earned her an invitation to the season-ending PWBA Tour Championship, which will take place in Richmond, Virginia, from 15 to 18 September.

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