Ng maintains lead, local standout in mix at U.S. Women’s Open
August 05, 2016
Results - Qualifying Round 4 | Match Play Round 1
ADDISON, Ill. – With the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open just 30 minutes away from her house, Jodi Gawlik managed to get time off to bowl in her first major event.
The Schaumburg, Illinois, resident has taken full advantage of the opportunity, making the top 24 for match play, and then winning her first six matches Friday at Stardust Bowl in Addison.
Despite dropping her final two matches of the evening, Gawlik will head into Saturday’s final two rounds of match play in sixth place.
Shayna Ng of Singapore leads the field with an 8,523 pinfall total through 40 games. She started the day with a 25-pin lead, was in fifth place and 173 pins back after the final eight games of qualifying and went 7-1 in match play to build an 85-pin lead over Colombia native Rocio Restrepo.
Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, is in third place at 8,332, followed by Singapore bowlers New Hui Fen (8,300) and Jazreel Tan (8,294).
Gawlik bowled collegiately at McKendree University, graduating in 2015, and has competed in a couple of Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour events. She was 13th at the PWBA Greater Detroit Open this year and 18th at the PWBA Minnesota Open in 2015.
“It’s pretty crazy, I just bowled Liz Johnson and Kelly Kulick,” Gawlik said. “It just doesn’t happen. I’ve always watched them on TV, and to be bowling in the same tournament as them, at this stage, it’s just pretty crazy.”
Gawlik’s success also might come from the fact she’s become pretty familiar with Stardust Bowl. She competed in a Sport league at the center the last three Thursdays, and then won the Estrogen Open Scratch Women’s Bowling Tournament, an eight-game tournament held Sunday at Stardust Bowl.
Of course, the conditions for the U.S. Women’s Open are a little different.
“Night and day,” Gawlik said of the difference. “These are so touchy. Ball choices are super important, and I’m not sponsored, so I don’t have a ball rep helping me. My friend who works in the pro shop here has been helping me, and my mom has been helping, too. It’s kind of cool thinking I almost got here by myself.”
After the final eight games of qualifying Friday, New held the lead after posting a block-high 1,728 pinfall total to reach 6,700. She would take a 108-pin lead over Restrepo into match play.
New said she got lucky with a ball choice, saying she just took a “big shiny ball out of the ball bag” and went with it.
“It’s tough because every day is different, even on the fresh,” New said. “You have to play around with your release a lot, and speed control is really important. I think people with more ball speed tend to do well here. But, I guess things worked out today.”
Allie Ijams also made a big move on Friday morning, shooting 1,541 for her first seven games before a 147 finale dropped her back.
“I can’t say third time’s a charm since it’s Day 4,” Ijams said. “I just felt I had a way better game plan today, and it wasn’t about shooting 240s, it was about shooting 180, 190 and catch the 220s when you can. Then, my 220s turned into 240s, and that was cool.”
The 2016 U.S. Women’s Open continues Saturday with the final two eight-game blocks of round-robin match play to determine the five finalists for Sunday’s stepladder, which will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at noon Eastern.
All qualifying and match-play rounds of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open are being broadcast live on Xtra Frame. For subscription information, visit XtraFrame.TV.
ADDISON, Ill. – With the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open just 30 minutes away from her house, Jodi Gawlik managed to get time off to bowl in her first major event.
The Schaumburg, Illinois, resident has taken full advantage of the opportunity, making the top 24 for match play, and then winning her first six matches Friday at Stardust Bowl in Addison.
Despite dropping her final two matches of the evening, Gawlik will head into Saturday’s final two rounds of match play in sixth place.
Shayna Ng of Singapore leads the field with an 8,523 pinfall total through 40 games. She started the day with a 25-pin lead, was in fifth place and 173 pins back after the final eight games of qualifying and went 7-1 in match play to build an 85-pin lead over Colombia native Rocio Restrepo.
Jodi Woessner of Oregon, Ohio, is in third place at 8,332, followed by Singapore bowlers New Hui Fen (8,300) and Jazreel Tan (8,294).
Gawlik bowled collegiately at McKendree University, graduating in 2015, and has competed in a couple of Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour events. She was 13th at the PWBA Greater Detroit Open this year and 18th at the PWBA Minnesota Open in 2015.“It’s pretty crazy, I just bowled Liz Johnson and Kelly Kulick,” Gawlik said. “It just doesn’t happen. I’ve always watched them on TV, and to be bowling in the same tournament as them, at this stage, it’s just pretty crazy.”
Gawlik’s success also might come from the fact she’s become pretty familiar with Stardust Bowl. She competed in a Sport league at the center the last three Thursdays, and then won the Estrogen Open Scratch Women’s Bowling Tournament, an eight-game tournament held Sunday at Stardust Bowl.
Of course, the conditions for the U.S. Women’s Open are a little different.
“Night and day,” Gawlik said of the difference. “These are so touchy. Ball choices are super important, and I’m not sponsored, so I don’t have a ball rep helping me. My friend who works in the pro shop here has been helping me, and my mom has been helping, too. It’s kind of cool thinking I almost got here by myself.”
After the final eight games of qualifying Friday, New held the lead after posting a block-high 1,728 pinfall total to reach 6,700. She would take a 108-pin lead over Restrepo into match play.
New said she got lucky with a ball choice, saying she just took a “big shiny ball out of the ball bag” and went with it.
“It’s tough because every day is different, even on the fresh,” New said. “You have to play around with your release a lot, and speed control is really important. I think people with more ball speed tend to do well here. But, I guess things worked out today.”
Allie Ijams also made a big move on Friday morning, shooting 1,541 for her first seven games before a 147 finale dropped her back.
“I can’t say third time’s a charm since it’s Day 4,” Ijams said. “I just felt I had a way better game plan today, and it wasn’t about shooting 240s, it was about shooting 180, 190 and catch the 220s when you can. Then, my 220s turned into 240s, and that was cool.”
The 2016 U.S. Women’s Open continues Saturday with the final two eight-game blocks of round-robin match play to determine the five finalists for Sunday’s stepladder, which will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at noon Eastern.
All qualifying and match-play rounds of the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open are being broadcast live on Xtra Frame. For subscription information, visit XtraFrame.TV.