KUALA LUMPUR: High-flying Sin Li Jane is on the brink of making history after qualifying for the top-five stepladder finals of the US Women's Open in Indiana on Monday.
The 32-year-old Li Jane is just one win away from clinching her fourth Professional Women's Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour title, and her biggest yet, after topping the third round of the match-play stage and securing the top seeding.
Li Jane amassed a total pinfall of 12,474 to lead the 25-woman leaderboard following a grueling 56-game battle over five days, which concluded on Monday at Royal Pin Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.
The other four qualifiers are Diana Zavjalova of Latvia (12,222), American Stefanie Johnson (12,209), England's Verity Crawley (12,207), and Breanna Clemmer (12,118), also from the US.
Esther Cheah, the other Malaysian who made the match-play stage, finished 24th with 11,470 pinfalls
The stepladder finals will be contested in a one-match elimination format, taking place later today at 7 pm (7 am Malaysian time).
As the top seed, Li Jane is already assured of finishing at least as the runner-up, surpassing Shalin Zulkifli's third-place finish in 2008, the best Malaysian achievement in this tournament.
Li Jane is guaranteed a cash prize of US$30,000 (RM141,500) and could double it to US$60,000 (RM283,000) if she emerges as the champion.
Li Jane is also set to become only the second Asian to be crowned the US Women's Open champion since the tournament's inception in 1949.
The first Asian to achieve this feat was Japan's Shinobu Saitoh in 1982.
Competing in her first full season on the PWBA Tour, Li Jane has already made a significant impact by winning two titles in four starts.
Her victories came at the PWBA Bowlers Journal Rockford Open in May and the PWBA Classic Series in Nashville two weeks ago.
