S’pore’s New Hui Fen crowned PWBA Player of the Year for second year in a row

SINGAPORE – A year ago, national bowler New Hui Fen was on tenterhooks as she nervously watched the stepladder final of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association (PWBA) Tour Championship.

While she led the race for the PWBA Player of the Year accolade, the Singaporean knew her closest competitor Jordan Snodgrass could still overtake her, depending on how the American fared in the stepladder final of the event in Rochester, New York.

In the end, Snodgrass lost her opening match, handing New the award and making her the first Singaporean to win the accolade.

There was no such anxiety at the 2026 edition of the season-ending event in Parma Heights, Ohio, however, as New secured the award for the second year in a row even before the stepladder final began on Aug 18.

The 34-year-old, who did not qualify for the stepladder final, had accumulated enough points to mathematically clinch the prestigious award, which is determined by points earned across the season.

Her 15th-place finish at this week’s tournament earned her 8,800 points, taking her season tally to 97,450 and putting the title beyond the reach of her rivals.

She said: “I believe it’s a reflection of my efforts and skills to be able to be consistent throughout the entire season.

“It has shown me that as long as I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything I want to achieve.”

New’s closest competitors for this season’s award – Snodgrass and her compatriot Shannon Pluhowsky, and Malaysian 2024 winner Sin Li Jane – all finished behind her at the Tour Championship.

Even if American Jillian Martin, the highest-ranked Player of the Year contender among those who advanced to the Tour Championship stepladder final, won the tournament, her total of 72,465 points would have been insufficient to surpass New.

With this achievement, New becomes the first player to win back-to-back awards since American 15-time PWBA champion Shannon O’Keefe did so in 2018 and 2019.

Other bowlers who have been crowned Player of the Year for consecutive seasons are Americans Liz Johnson (2015 to 2017), Wendy Macpherson (1996-1997 and 1999-2000) and Leanne Hulsenberg (1990 and 1991).

Winning the accolade in 2025 only motivated New to replicate the achievement.

She said: “Last year, I wasn’t aiming to win Player of the Year before the season started.

“This year, I told myself I want to do well for every stop, to be as sharp and as consistent as I can be to win Player of the Year again.”

She started the season with second place at the Rockford Open in May, before bagging her sixth PWBA title at the Northern Colorado Open.

Since then, she has come in the top five on five more occasions this season, including two third-place finishes at the USBC Queens and BowlTV Open.

Her performance at the USBC Queens was one of her proudest moments of this season, as she clawed her way back from 61st place among the 64 bowlers who progressed from qualifying to finishing among the top three.

While she succeeded in replicating her Player of the Year win this season, New admitted her fine form from 2025, when she won three PWBA titles, had also brought added pressure.

“In some ways, it was challenging mentally as I was harder on myself than before,” said New, who also recorded the highest average points on the tour this season.

“I expected more of myself and at times my emotions spiralled down, or I would get really frustrated with the results.”

But she managed to discard the negativity and turn things around through trusting in her work and being wise and calmer, especially when things did not go well on the lanes.

Singapore Bowling Federation president Valerie Teo hailed New’s accomplishments, saying they were a testament to her consistency, resilience and unwavering pursuit of excellence.

She said: “Her accomplishment this season is even more remarkable, having also recorded the highest average points on the 2026 PWBA Tour.

“To perform at such an exceptional level throughout an entire season requires tremendous discipline, consistency and skill.

“She continues to inspire the next generation of Singapore bowlers and has once again demonstrated that Singapore can compete with the very best on the world stage.”