Zulmazran Zulkifli, 22, of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, demonstrated to a packed concourse and his fellow bowlers just how to cope with the short oil condition as the men’s division rolled their first eight of 24 qualifying games Thursday afternoon.

Zulkifli shot into an early lead and held pole position despite strong opposition from the field, finishing with a total pinfall of 1837 for a 230 overall average.

“Of course, I’m really happy to be top of this squad, especially as there is a US $1,000 bonus for each squad leader.” He stated. “Now I’m looking forward to doing some shopping.”

His smile failed a little when informed that he won’t get his money until the victory party on Sunday night.

“I just played my game,” he added, “and didn’t take much notice of what was going on around me. Every pair of lanes seemed to be different, so it was a tough eight-game block. I’m pretty confident that I can handle the long oil pattern on tomorrow’s squad, but we’ll see when the time comes.”

There is no prize for the best progress through the field. If there was, it would most probably have gone to Malaysia’s Alex Liew who managed to climb from 21^st place to third over the final six games.

Zulkifli is a really happy bunny and bowling on top of his form. Last Sunday he won the Kuwait leg of the ABF Tour and two weeks ago clinched the ABF Tour title in Bangkok. He would really like to make it three in a row.

The short oil pattern eventually produced some interesting scores. for instance, Zulkifli was the only man in the field of 24 to beat ladies' division leader Tanya Petty's total pinfall of 1796. Second-placed Wu Siu Hong of Hank Kong, China was next best in the men's group with 1772.

Also, all European players were ousted from the top eight positions as five Asians and three Americans bagged those slots. It was down to tenth place to find Sweden's Peter Ljung.

After 12 perfect games in the Kuwait Open, a major event which preceded these World Ranking Masters, the high game over the first eight-game blocks of the men's and women's divisions is a 279 by Alex Liew of Malaysia. Second high, a 276, came in the final game of the block by Puerto Rico's Edgardo Ruiz. Credit for the top ladies' game goes to Helen Johnsson of Sweden with her opening score of 269.

MEN FIRST 8 GAMES - SHORT OIL:
Top 8 qualify for quarterfinals.