PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio – The first event of the 2026 Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour Championship Week, the PWBA Cleveland Open, got underway with qualifying Wednesday at Yorktown Lanes in Parma Heights, Ohio.
Singapore’s New Hui Fen led the field with a 12-game total of 2,688. Seeking her second title of the season and a second consecutive PWBA Player of the Year award, New credited her ability to adjust as the lanes changed throughout the day.
“I found a shape that worked and kept it really in front of me,” New said. “I think I was the only one who was able to play on the outside, so I just stuck with it until it went away for me in the last two games. Then I started watching people and realized I needed to be further left and found something that allowed me to play that shape.”
New enters Tour Championship Week with a narrow lead in the PWBA Player of the Year points race and has been one of the tour’s most consistent players, leading the way with five championship-round appearances. She said being willing to change her game plan based on what she sees from the lanes and the rest of the field has been key to her success this season.
“I think it’s more about ball choice, what kind of layout suits me and what surface I have on the balls,” New said.
That adaptability has served New well at Yorktown Lanes, where she won twice during last year’s PWBA Summer Series.
“It’s really based on the history I have in this building,” New said. “I’ve made notes on the lanes here so I can rely on them.”
In second was Colombia’s Maria Jose Bohr at 2,609, followed by Singapore’s Shayna Ng at 2,603. Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, was fourth at 2,598, while Canada’s Felicia Wong was fifth at 2,561. Alexis Runk of Milton, Pennsylvania, was sixth at 2,557, followed by Morgan Kramer of Webb, Alabama, at 2,556.
Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo was eighth at 2,546, Jillian Martin of Stow, Ohio, was ninth at 2,539, and Miranda Pattison of Redwood Valley, California, was 10th at 2,537. Brittany Smith of Adel, Iowa, was 11th at 2,537, and Carlene Beyer of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, was 12th at 2,517.
Kramer shot her first PWBA 300 during the second round of qualifying, vaulting her into the cut line and helping her advance past qualifying for the second cut of her rookie season.
“I honestly didn’t even realize I could shoot 300,” Kramer said. “I didn’t let myself think about it until about the eighth frame. I was like, ‘Oh, wow, OK, I’ve got a chance to get there.’ I then got one out with a Brooklyn, and I was like, ‘OK, I got away with something.’ I just tried to be calm for the 10th frame, keep doing what I was doing and keep it in front of me.”
Kramer, who began bowling competitively after playing softball in college, said her rookie season has helped her realize she belongs on the PWBA Tour.
“Honestly, I learned that I definitely belong out here,” Kramer said. “I knew that I had the ability to do it. I just really needed to get out here and just prove to myself, and I feel like I did. I’m very proud of myself.”
Kramer also made an adjustment from her U.S. Women’s Open experience, slowing her ball speed to help create more shape and improve her carry. The adjustment paid off Wednesday as she left only two 10 pins throughout the 12-game block.
“I learned that I really need to slow my ball speed down,” Kramer said. “I got it down today by about a mile an hour slower, just trying to get the ball to read the midlane a little bit more and have some better pin action. I kind of struggled carrying. I normally leave a lot of 10 pins, and I only left maybe two today. I already feel like my ball is through the pocket better.”
Kramer will enter Thursday’s match play focused on staying committed to her game plan while leaning on her father, who is with her this week.
“I just have to trust the process, trust what I’m doing and trust how I’m seeing the lanes,” Kramer said. “My dad’s here with me, I trust in what he says and what I see on the lanes and just being on the same page.”
The first round of match play for the top 12 begins Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern, followed by the second round at 2 p.m. Eastern. After match play, the top five based on total pins, including bonus pins for each win, advance to the stepladder finals at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live on BowlTV.
