Ottawa’s Homan opens with win over Manitoba’s Fleury at Masters
TRURO, N.S. — Rachel Homan has kicked off her Masters tournament with a win.
The Ottawa skip opened the round-robin draw of the second event and first major of the Grand Slam of Curling with a 6-2 victory over Tracy Fleury’s rink from East St. Paul, Man., on Tuesday.
Homan, who sits third in the Pinty’s Cup standings and five back of leader Anna Hasselborg, took a three-score lead over Fleury through three ends.
Fleury managed to close the gap to 3-2 after singles the fourth and fifth ends, but the three-time national and 2017 world champion responded with two points in the sixth and tacked on another in the seventh.
Homan has won the Masters three times (2012, 2013 and 2015).
In other women’s action, the reigning world junior champion, Kaitlyn Jones of Halifax, upset Silvana Tirinzoni 7-4.
Tirinzoni is second in the points standings and represented Switzerland at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Jones received a sponsor’s exemption as the 15th and final entry into the Masters.
Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa opened with an 8-3 triumph over American Jamie Sinclair.
In men’s play, six-time Masters winner Glenn Howard of Penetanguishene, Ont., lost to Jamie Murphy of Halifax 6-2.
Reigning Olympic gold medallist John Shuster of the United States squeaked out an 8-7 victory over Matt Dunstone’s team from Regina with a two-score eighth.
Curling’s 5-rock rule in full swing this season in arenas and clubs
The experimenting is over for curling’s five-rock rule. From the clubs to the world championships, curlers are adapting to the newest wrinkle in the sport this season.
Rocks in front of the rings can’t be removed from play until five rocks have been thrown in an end.
Previously, the rule was four rocks in what’s known as the free guard zone.
So the team with hammer now has the option of throwing a second guard that can’t immediately be removed on the next shot.
Sounds simple, but there are a host of ripple effects from new strategies to more demands on shotmaking skills — particularly at the second position.
“It’s another thing to kind of wrap your head around,” Olympic gold medallist and television commentator Joan McCusker said.
The world’s top teams have been playing the five-rock rule in the World Curling Tour’s Grand Slams for the last four years.
The World Curling Federation’s vote to adopt the five-rock “FGZ” for 2018-19 put it into widespread use this season.
The theory behind the change is there will be more rocks in play, fewer blank ends, the ability to come back from a big deficit and thus fewer blowouts in which teams shake hands early.
Elite teams such as Jennifer Jones, Rachel Homan, Brad Gushue, Kevin Koe and Brad Jacobs got a head start on it playing in Slams. Those who have played few or no Grand Slams, as well as club teams, are still on a learning curve.
Two-time world champion Russ Howard invented the free guard zone rule in the 1980s to jazz up curling.
The WCF implemented the four-rock rule in 1993.
Canada went with a three-rock version before adopting four in 2002.