TOP 45 (4 GAMES, LEADING 32 ADVANCE TO ROUND 3):

 

A PETTY AFFAIR
Germany's Tanya Petty (pictured), currently living in Vienna, is once again a tournament leader on Turkish lanes. Last year, the 27-year-old secretary won the European Cup Individual in Ankara and was runner-up to Michaela Goebel, also from Germany, in the final of the inaugural Istanbul Open here at the Time Out Bowling Center.
"Turkey is wonderful," said Petty. "I really like the people and the tournament organization is perfect, especially with all the squads running on time."
Petty's 246 average, plus eight bonus pins per game, and very consistent bowling, gave her the edge over Or Aviram and England's Steve Thornton, tied on 971. The Israeli started off the first two games today with 277 and 268 but fell back to 211 and 215 over the final two games when he moved to lanes 13-14, the only pair in the house with pillars between the natural pair.
Last year, the Istanbul Open featured separate men's and women's divisions, but the second edition has all in one group, giving the women eight pins per game. "I prefer this format," commented Petty, "it is much better bowling against the men."
The lane condition, set by Gus Falgein of Kegel, certainly suits Petty's style right now. "I started out this morning around the tenth board and eventually moved out to the fifth in the last two games," she added.
Ayhan Bilge, the intrepid Turk who led the qualifying stages right up until the final day, squeezes into the next round, the top 32 with four games to cut to 16, by just two pins, the only Turk left in the now eleven-nation field. It would have been twelve, but Italy's Loris Masetti decided to withdraw, pleading re-arranged flight schedules.
Defending champion Thomas Gross is now out of competition, saying farewell in 36th position. Well-known players also biting the dust are Phil Scammell of England (35th) and Finland's Mika Luoto (42nd).
The Aviram family are doing quite well this weekend as Or's mother, Sara, won two bronze medals in team and all events, bowling for Israel in the Mediterranean Challenge Cup in Malta, which finished Saturday evening.