Scotties champion Rachel Homan kicked off the Players’ Championship with a bang on Tuesday night in Summerside, P.E.I.
Homan’s Ottawa rink breezed to a 7-2 victory in six ends against Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin in Draw 1 action of the Grand Slam of Curling event. Homan pulled ahead early with a 3-0 lead thanks to a single in the first and a steal of two in the second. Nedohin got on the scoreboard with a point in the third but Homan responded with a triple in the fourth.
As the Masters champion, Homan has a chance to earn a $100,000 bonus if her team also captures the Players’ Championship.
Elsewhere, Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni stole a single in the final end to slip past Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones for a 6-5 win. Jones, the Sochi Olympics gold medallist, led 5-2 after the fifth but Tirinzoni closed the gap with a double in the sixth and a steal of one in the seventh to tie it.
Eve Muirhead from Scotland scored three doubles in a 7-5 victory in seven ends against Switzerland’s Michele Jaggi. Muirhead, the defending Players’ Champion, won the bronze medal in Sochi.
Brier champion Kevin Koe scored a single in the final end to edge Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock 7-6 in men’s division action. Koe, from Calgary, scored a deuce in the first and stole a pair in the fourth to grab a 5-1 lead but Laycock rallied back with a triple in in the fifth. Koe settled for one in the sixth and Laycock tied it with a deuce in the seventh.
Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen pulled ahead with a double in the seventh and won 6-4 over Sven Michel from Switzerland.