News Masters

TRURO, N.S. — Reigning Olympic champions Jennifer Jones and Brad Jacobs won their opening games of the Masters during Draw 2 on Wednesday morning at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.

Jones, from Winnipeg, earned a four-ender in the third during a 10-5 victory over Sherry Middaugh of Coldwater, Ont., while Jacobs, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., held off Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 4-2.

Team Jones lead Dawn McEwen made her Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling return from maternity leave. McEwen missed the season-opening Tour Challenge event after giving birth to her daughter Vienna over the summer.

“I’m just really excited to be back with the girls,” McEwen said. “To start it off with a W is always nice and the girls were playing great.”

McEwen added that Vienna will be “an eventual avid curling spectator for sure.” 

Jones drew for two points in the first but flashed on her last in the second allowing Middaugh to match with a deuce to tie it. After Jones’s four-ender in three, Middaugh hit and rolled for shot rock in four but knocked her second stone too far and only counted a single. Middaugh recovered forcing Jones to a single in the fifth and took two in the sixth.

Jones drew to the button for a point in seven to lead 8-5 and tacked two on the board in eight when Middaugh attempted a runback that went through the back of the house untouched.

Meanwhile in the men’s division, Jacobs took two in the first end to open the scoring against Ulsrud. The two teams alternated singles through three and four and again in five and six. Ulsrud blanked the seventh to retain the hammer coming home but ran out of rocks in the eighth.

Edmonton’s Brendan Bottcher stole points in the seventh and eighth ends to lift his team to a 5-4 victory over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers. Bottcher opened with the hammer and blanked the first but gave up a steal of one in the second. The teams exchanged singles in the third and fourth ends and Carruthers stole two in the fifth to add to his lead. Bottcher got a deuce in six to narrow the gap back to one. 

Elsewhere, Winnipeg’s Kristy McDonald powered past Binia Feltscher of Switzerland 11-5. McDonald pulled ahead 4-2 with a three-ender in the third. Feltscher closed within one trailing 6-5 after scoring two in six, but McDonald added one in seven and stole four in eight.

NOTES: The Masters is the second stop on the seven-event 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling schedule and runs through to Sunday at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre. … TV coverage of the Masters begins Thursday at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on Sportsnet.