McEwen on undefeated roll at Players’ Championship
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen improved to a 4-0 record at the Players’ Championship and locked up a playoff spot with a 7-4 victory over Toronto’s John Epping on Friday morning.
McEwen broke a 4-4 tie with a deuce in the sixth stole one in the seventh for a three-point advantage. The teams shook hands when McEwen ran Epping out of rocks in the eighth.
The five-rock rule is in effect this week for the men’s division requiring teams to wait until the sixth rock of the end to remove stones that are sitting in the free-guard zone from play. Although the four-rock rule is the norm, McEwen has found success with the modification running the table at the 2011 Canadian Open where the five-rock rule was introduced as a test run and reached the semifinals at last month’s Syncrude National when the rule returned.
“I think we’re rolling with the punches pretty good and we’re making our own breaks,” McEwen said. “I think we’re handling the conditions pretty well, especially with the five-rock there’s going to be plenty of opportunities to score points. You can’t hang your head if another team cracks a couple good ends. You just have to do your thing with the hammer and come back at them so we’ve rebounded pretty well when we have slipped.”
McEwen is looking forward to his final round-robin match against Olympic gold medallist Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in the late afternoon draw. While McEwen has his spot in the playoffs secure, it’s a pivotal game for Jacobs, who holds a 2-1 record with back-to-back games in the final two preliminary draws.
“The pressure is on them,” McEwen said. “If they want to be a playoff team, they’ve got to beat us. We don’t need any motivation, we’re already in the playoffs and into the semis.”
Ottawa’s Rachel Homan (3-2) advanced to the women’s playoffs with a 7-5 win over Michele Jaeggi (2-3) of Switzerland. Homan held the hammer coming home all square and just needed to score one point but tacked three on the board for good measure.
The reigning Masters champion Homan has an opportunity to earn a $100,000 bonus if her team can also capture the season-ending Players’ Championship to sweep the two women’s Grand Slam events.
Elsewhere, Edmonton’s Heather Nedohin (1-4) ended her tournament on a high note edging Scotland’s Eve Muirhead 8-6 with a deuce in the final end. Muirhead moves onto the playoffs with a 4-1 record.
Sherry Middaugh, of Coldwater, Ont., brushed aside Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones 7-1 in six ends. Middaugh jumped out with a single in the first, steals of one in the second and third and stole three in the fourth to pull away. Middaugh closes round-robin play with a 2-3 record while Jones (3-2) advances to the playoffs.
Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson rallied in the final end to score a deuce and win 6-5 over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni. Both teams advance with 4-1 records.
