Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont. won the men’s final of the first stop on the Grand Slam of Curling, completing his unbeaten run on Sunday by defeating Edmonton’s Kevin Martin 7-4 at the Masters final in Abbotsford.
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan beat Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 7-5 in the women’s final. Homan led 5-2 after four ends, but Muirhead came back with a pair in the seventh end to trail by a single point, before Homan took the win with a single in the eighth.
The Grand Slam events have purses of $100,000, plus added bonus money for wins. In addition to the Masters, the events include the Canadian Open (November 13-17 in Medicine Hat), the National (March 12-16 in Fort McMurray) and the Players’ Championship (April 15-20 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island).
For the second consecutive year, Sportsnet is offering a $1-million bonus for any men’s team that sweeps all four Slams. If there is no sweep, the team with the most points collects a $50,000 bonus, the runnerup $30,000 and third-place team $20,000. If a women’s team sweeps the Masters and Players’ Championship it will collect $100,000. If there is no sweep, the top team will collect a $12,500 bonus, the runnerup $7,500 and the third-place finisher $5,000.
(with info from Sportsnet)