Howard defeats Martin to win 6th Masters title
ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., captured his record-extending sixth career Masters title after defeating Edmonton’s Kevin Martin 7-4 Sunday in the men’s final.
The team of Howard, third Wayne Middaugh, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill — who earned $26,000 CAD — ran the table 7-0 for the second consecutive Grand Slam of Curling event and are heating up at just the right time with the Canadian Olympic trials taking place next month in Winnipeg.
Howard has won 13 Grand Slams as a skip including six of the last eight Masters titles. Martin, who collected $15,500 for finishing runner-up, holds the Grand Slam record of 17 titles but his two-year quest for No. 18 continues.
“We’re off to a great start and to win a Grand Slam is the pinnacle,” Howard told Sportsnet. “You have the best of the best. All the best teams are here and to win that, you have to be doing something special.”
After Martin opened the scoring stealing a single in the first, Howard nailed a perfect runback to score a deuce in the third to take the lead. With Howard sitting four stones in the fourth, Martin drew his final rock through a narrow port and into the four-foot circle to tie it up 2-2 heading into the break.
Howard broke the game wide open in the fifth delivering a slashing shot to score four. Martin cut the deficit in half with a deuce in the sixth, but Howard hit and stuck to cushion his lead with another single in the seventh.
Team Howard now aim to defend the Canadian Open title (Nov. 13-17 in Medicine Hat, Alta.) during the second leg of the Grand Slam circuit in their pursuit of the $1-million bonus if they sweep all four events.
It was an Ontario sweep as Ottawa’s Rachel Homan successfully defended the women’s title with a 7-5 win over Eve Muirhead of Scotland. Homan, who earned $26,000 CAD, has an opportunity to claim the $100,000 Grand Slam bonus prize when the women’s tour returns to the series for the season-ending Players’ Championship in April.
“We had a couple of losses early, but we were learning the ice and learning from our mistakes,” Homan told Sportsnet. “We just kept building, got a couple of breaks and took it one game at a time.”
