Cherie Tan Claims Fifth PWBA Title at BowlTV Classic

A Dominant Victory in an All-Singapore Final

Cherie Tan secured her fifth Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour title with a commanding performance at the BowlTV Classic in Smyrna, Tennessee. In an all-Singaporean final, Tan defeated her national teammate New Hui Fen with a stellar 269-206 victory. This marks her second BowlTV Classic title, having also won the event in 2022.

Maintaining Focus in a Familiar Matchup

Despite facing a close teammate, Tan remained focused on her execution.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about making the shot and having the pins falling your way,” she said. “New bowled great all week too, and I just happened to have better ball motion.”

New entered the championship match with strong momentum after an impressive semifinal win over Bryanna Coté of Tucson, Arizona, throwing seven consecutive strikes to secure a 255-181 victory. However, Tan proved unstoppable in the final, closing the game with six straight strikes to shut out New by the ninth frame and claim the $10,000 top prize.

Road to the Finals: Coté’s Stepladder Climb

The stepladder finals began with Coté facing England’s Verity Crawley. Crawley struggled early with two open frames in the first five, finishing with a 147. Coté stayed clean and advanced with a 229, earning Crawley a fifth-place finish and $2,000.

Next, Coté took on local favorite Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, an assistant head coach at Vanderbilt University. Coté started strong with a turkey, while Barnes had an open frame early but recovered with a split conversion. Despite another open in the sixth frame, Barnes couldn’t keep pace as Coté secured a 221-173 victory. Barnes finished fourth, earning $2,500.

In the semifinal, Coté couldn’t maintain her momentum against New, finishing third with a $4,000 prize. New’s runner-up performance earned her $5,000.

More Challenges Ahead for Tan

Tan’s week is far from over. Having bowled 50 games in four days, she now leads the Music City Classic, which combines scores from the Greater Nashville Classic and BowlTV Classic. With at least 24 more games ahead, Tan stays mentally sharp by taking breaks from bowling.

“During downtime, I don’t even think about bowling because you overload yourself,” she explained. “You don’t want to do that and start making mistakes.”

Upcoming Matches in the PWBA Classic Series

The final event of the Classic Series, the Music City Classic, begins Sunday at 11 a.m. Eastern with three eight-game round-robin match play blocks. The top 24 competitors, based on qualifying totals, will battle for a spot in Monday’s stepladder finals at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.

With all scores resetting to zero, Tan will aim to carry her momentum into the final rounds, where the Music City Classic champion will be crowned. Fans can catch all match play rounds and the finals live on BowlTV.

Will Tan continue her dominant run and claim another title? Stay tuned for more updates from the PWBA Classic Series!