NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Needing a mark in the 10th frame of Game 56 to secure the top seed for the stepladder finals at the 2019 U.S. Women's Open, Indonesia's Tannya Roumimper delivered a strike to put herself in position to win her first major championship.
The 28-year-old right-hander will be joined in the stepladder at Texas Star Lanes by Danielle McEwan of Stony Point, New York; Shannon O'Keefe of Shiloh, Illinois; defending U.S. Women's Open champion Liz Kuhlkin of Schenectady, New York; and Shannon Sellens of Long Beach, New York.
The finals will be televised live on CBS Sports Network on Sunday starting at 5 p.m. Eastern. The champion will take home the iconic green jacket and $20,000 top prize.
Roumimper went 15-8-1 over 24 games of match play to finish with an overall total of 12,069, including bonus pins, to claim the top spot, but it was her position-round match against McEwan on Saturday that determined the top seed.
Heading into the final game with a four-pin advantage, Roumimper needed to tie or win in the position round to secure the top seed and stayed clean to record a 202-192 victory. McEwan, who finished the match first, could have filled 29 pins in her final frame to shut out Roumimper but left a 2 pin on her first attempt in the 10th. McEwan finished with 12,025 and will be the No. 2 seed.
"I didn't know we were that close until they announced the scores, but I knew I was in a good spot to make the show," Roumimper said. "I just tried to shut my mind off and control what I could control in that moment and focus on one frame at a time. Sometimes you get it, and sometimes you don't, but tonight was my time. I'll do my best to take it forward for tomorrow."
Roumimper will be making her second consecutive trip to CBS Sports Network for a major championship on the Professional Women's Bowling Association Tour schedule after a fourth-place finish last month at the United States Bowling Congress Queens.
She learned a lot from that experience and will focus on making the best shots she can in hopes of winning her first career PWBA Tour title.
"It's crazy and still hasn't sunk in yet," Roumimper said. "Even though I know I have one more game tomorrow, just to be able to finish 56 games and have the chance to bowl for the title is amazing. For me, it'll be really important to keep my mind calm and just have fun. I have one game to bowl and 12 shots to give 100 percent on, and we'll see if I get the green jacket. But, whatever happens tomorrow, I know I'll be really proud of myself."
McEwan will be making her fourth championship-round appearance at the U.S. Women's Open. She finished in fourth place last year at Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando, Florida, and she'll be vying for her second major after winning the 2015 PWBA Tour Championship.
O'Keefe earned the No. 3 seed with an 11,997 total, while Kuhlkin (11,939) and Sellens (11,911) will square off in Sunday's opening match.
O'Keefe is the reigning PWBA Player of the Year and already has collected a pair of titles this season (PWBA Twin Cities Open and PWBA Tucson Open). She's won a major in each of the last two seasons (2017 PWBA Tour Championship and 2018 USBC Queens) and has finished as the runner-up twice at the U.S. Women's Open (2007 and 2015).
O'Keefe finished fifth at the 2018 U.S. Women's Open.
Kuhlkin will look to make a run from the opening match for the second consecutive year at the U.S. Women's Open after winning as the No. 5 seed in 2018. She's been battling an injury this week on the ring finger of her bowling hand, but she'll look to become the fourth player to successfully defend her title at the event and 12th to win the tournament multiple times.
Sellens will be making her CBS Sports Network debut Sunday, but she's been a steady performer at majors as of late, including an 11th-place finish at the 2018 U.S. Women's Open.
All competitors bowled 24 qualifying games over three days to determine the 36 players advancing to a cashers' round. After eight additional games, the field was cut to the top 24 bowlers for round-robin match play.
The five finalists were determined by total pinfall, including bonus pins, for 56 games.
Each round of the 2019 U.S. Women's Open leading up to the stepladder finals was broadcast live at BowlTV.com.
