Siti Safiyah finishes seventh in Detroit Open

THE challenging medium oiling pattern in the Detroit Open was a hurdle for Holloway Cheah’s girls as Siti Safiyah Amirah Abdul Rahman emerged as the country’s best performer in the PWBA Tour event on Saturday.

Siti Safiyah finished seventh overall after losing 199-190 to Poland’s Daria Pajak in the first match of the group stepladder finals.

Earlier, the 27-year-old was the only Malaysian to qualify for the match-play stage after finishing fourth in the cashers’ round with a 3,924 total, averaging 218 pins.

Natasha Roslan failed to make the top 12 match-play cut when she took 22nd spot with 3,716 pinfalls while Syaidatul Afifah Badrul Hamidi finished 31st on 3,616.

In the match-play round, Siti Safiyah took third spot in Group B with a 3-3 record and posted a 1,185 series in the process for a grand total of 5,199 pinfalls. Only the champion of each group earned spots into the TV Finals.

“I did my very best today. I am really proud to make it this far…the game process was very long and tough,” said Siti Safiyah yesterday.

“The lane pattern was tougher than the one yesterday (Friday). I had to make some line adjustments and also change my ball to adapt with the condition.”

Siti Safiyah, the 2009 World Ranking Masters champion, is not too disappointed as she has already made one TV Final at the recent Wichita Open, where the winner will be decided on June 25.

“I have already made one TV Final… I hope to do well in it. I am bowling well but I need to learn how to adapt quicker to pattern changes on the lanes during competitions,” she added.

Siti Safiyah along with the other women bowlers will compete in the Players Championships in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which starts on Thursday.

The tournament will be the final stop for the Malaysian bowlers in the PWBA Tour before they return to Kuala Lumpur to resume training for the Sea Games in August. Ajitpal SIngh