Winners emerge at Bowling World Open
USBC Communications
Published: July 12, 2015 | Bowl.com
The inaugural Bowling World Open came to an exciting conclusion Sunday in Tokyo as Finland’s Osku Palermaa and Singapore’s Joey Yeo won their respective divisions and 10 million Yen (approximately $81,800) top prizes.
The elimination finals took place on a special six-lane installation constructed inside the Makuhari-Messe Convention Center just outside of Tokyo.
Palermaa, a 31-year-old two-hander, defeated local favorite and Japan PBA member Isao Yamamoto, 248-224, to earn his fifth Professional Bowlers Association title.
On his way to the final, Palermaa outlasted Team USA member Bill O’Neill of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, in a high-scoring bout, 266-255, while Yamamoto eliminated men’s top seed Dom Barrett of England, 256-224.
Yeo, 17, needed a mark in her final frame to slip past No. 1 seed Birgit Poppler of Germany, and she was able to capture the women’s title by a final score of 207-204.
The road to the championship match was a little smoother, as Yeo downed Venezuela’s Karen Marcano, 234-181, to set up the meeting with Poppler, who defeated Team USA member Kelly Kulick of Union, New Jersey, 258-227 in the semifinals.
Yamamoto and Poppler each received 5 million Yen (approximately $40,900) for their runner-up finishes, while O’Neill, Barrett, Kulick and Marcano all took home 1.5 million Yen (approximately $12,200).
The Bowling World Open was a special showcase event to help support the push for bowling to be included in the 2020 Olympics. A field of 567 bowlers from 52 countries competed in the tournament, which was conducted by World Bowling in cooperation with the Japan Bowling Congress and National Bowling Federation of Japan.
For complete details about the Bowling World Open, please visitwww.bowlingdigital.com.
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