News Masters

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones moved up to a 2-0 record and the top of the table in the Masters at Memorial Gardens.

Playing at the site of her 2018 world championship victory, Jones drew to the button with her final rock to score a 5-4 victory over Scotland’s Eve Muirhead during Wednesday afternoon’s round-robin action.

Jones said it’s been “absolutely incredible” returning to North Bay.

“When we were here, we couldn’t believe the fan support and the hospitality and the great food and the ice conditions,” Jones said. “We came back and it’s exactly the same or even better. Now I feel like all of these fans are our friends because they were just such a great part of our lives and a great part of a memory that we’ll remember forever.”

Muirhead (0-1) opened with the hammer, but Jones jumped out to an early 2-0 lead stealing singles in back-to-back ends. The 2013 world champion Muirhead hit and rolled to give up one in the second and overthrew her draw shot in the third to concede another point.

After Muirhead recovered with a draw for a deuce in the fourth end to tie it up, Jones was able to unlock Muirhead’s shot rock and score a deuce to reestablish the two-point cushion at 4-2.

Muirhead managed to knot it up again with a single in six followed by a steal in seven as Jones attempted a double takeout but missed the second target. Still, Jones held the hammer coming home and made no mistake with her last.

“It always feels great to win and it’s always nice to throw a couple of last shots to win games,” Jones said. “The girls swept that perfectly and played a great game. So 2-0 is exactly where we want to be.”

Elsewhere, Team Elena Stern of Switzerland defeated Ottawa’s Team Rachel Homan 5-4 in an extra end again.

While Stern stunned Homan in Sunday’s final at the Canad Inns Women’s Classic in Portage la Prairie, Man., by stealing the winning point, the Tour Challenge Tier 2 champion held the hammer in the extra this time although she didn’t need to throw her last. Homan wrecked on Stern’s guard and promoted it into the four-foot circle for shot rock.

Both teams now have 1-1 records.

Team Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan improved to a 1-1 record with a 6-4 victory over Team Chelsea Carey. The Scotties Tournament of Hearts champions from Calgary open with a 0-1 record.

In men’s play, Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat climbed to a 2-0 record crushing Olympic gold medallists Team John Shuster (0-1) from the United States 10-3. It was a big day at the offensive office for Team Mouat scoring 21 points in total as they downed Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller 11-6 during the morning draw.

“We obviously came out firing because we’ve had quite a few big ends so it’s been a bit interesting,” Mouat said with a laugh. “We love being back at the Slams and we’re playing some good curling so hopefully we can keep it up for tomorrow and the next day.”

Their second win on the day was as much about defence as it was offence with Mouat stealing four off the start as well as two in the fifth and three in the sixth.

Mouat credited Hammy McMillan Jr. for leading things off each end and establishing control.

“We were setting up well and Hammy’s getting the stones in the right positions for us to create interesting ends,” Mouat said. “We’re just catching a few breaks, we’re getting a few ends stolen.”

Team Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., held off Team Scott McDonald of Kingston, Ont., 6-5. Jacobs is at 1-0 while McDonald dropped to 0-2.

The Masters action continues at 8 p.m. ET.

Broadcast coverage begins Thursday at Noon ET on Sportsnet with online streaming available via Sportsnet NOW (Canada) and Yare (international).

NOTES: The Masters is the first of six Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling events on the season and one of four majors in the series. … The total prize purse is $300,000 and is split evenly between the men’s and women’s divisions. Winners receive $35,000 plus berths towards the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup taking place April 29 to May 3, 2020, in Olds, Alta. … Also up for grabs at the Masters are Pinty’s Cup bonus points. The leaders following the conclusion of the Players’ Championship in April will capture the Pinty’s Cup with additional prize money awarded.