Muirhead edges Paetz to start Players’ Championship title defence
TORONTO — Scotland’s Eve Muirhead began her Players’ Championship title defence with a 6-5 victory over Alina Paetz of Switzerland during Draw 2 action Wednesday morning.
Muirhead won the Players’ Championship both times Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre hosted the event previously in 2013 and 2015.
After Paetz opened with a single in the second, Muirhead drew for two in the third end and stole one in the fourth for a 3-1 lead. Paetz tied it up with two in the fifth and the rinks alternated deuces in six and seven to keep it square. Muirhead had the hammer coming home all tied up and made a clutch open hit to score the winning point.
Team Muirhead is playing without third Anna Sloan, who is out for the rest of the season due to injury, and three-time Players’ winner Cathy Overton-Clapham is filling in as a spare.
Meanwhile, Ottawa’s Rachel Homan’s opened her quest to sweep the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling majors with a 7-3 victory over Tracy Fleury of Sudbury, Ont. Homan broke a 3-3 tie with an open hit for three points in the sixth, added a single steal in the seventh and ran Fleury out of rocks in the eighth.
Team Homan inched one step closer to clinching the Rogers Grand Slam Cup, awarded to the overall season champions, as one more round-robin victory will secure the title.
In men’s division action, Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen drew for the winning single in the extra end to edge David Murdoch of Scotland 7-6.
NOTES: The Players’ Championship is the fourth major and sixth event of the 2015-16 Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling season and runs through to Sunday at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre. … Television coverage begins Thursday on Sportsnet. … Winners of the Players’ Championship earn berths to the season-ending Humpty’s Champions Cup running April 26 to May 1 in Sherwood Park, Alta.
