Let me just introduce the skips and teams in the final stages of the Scottish Championships this weekend. In the Bruadar Scottish Men's Championship, David Smith's team, with Warwick Smith at fourth stones, David himself at third, Craig Wilson at second and Ross Hepburn at lead, was up against Glen Muirhead, Greg Drummond, Thomas Sloan and Michael Goodfellow this afternoon in the first of the 'best of three' Page 1-2 games.This turned out to be a low-scoring tightly fought game. Smith's back to back singles at ends four and five were all that was on the scoreboard as the teams began the ninth. Muirhead took a single. Warwick had a runback for the game in the tenth, and jammed it. Extra end! But when Glen could not get hidden with his last in the eleventh, there was no need for Warwick to throw his last stone. First blood to Smith.
David Murdoch, Ewan MacDonald, Peter Smith and Euan Byers faced Hammy McMillan, Philip Wilson, Ross Paterson and Sandy Gilmour in the first of their Page 3-4 matches.This was a tight game, but Team Murdoch always seemed to have the edge. They were one up, with the hammer, at the tenth. Still, Murdoch faced three McMillan stones, with the four foot open, when he went down to play his last. His final draw looked good as it came over the hog, but seemed to pick up and didn't make it in for shot. Extra end! On last stone in the eleventh, Murdoch elected to play the hit, with two McMillan stones lying against him. He was right on the nose this time. Round one to Murdoch!
The linescores are all here.
In the Columba Cream Scottish Ladies Championship, the first of the Page 1-2 games saw Eve Muirhead, Jackie Lockhart, Kelly Wood and Lorna Vevers, just returned from their Olympic duties, face Gail Munro, Lyndsay Wilson, Kerry Adams and Alison Mather. This one was all over after seven, Muirhead counting a big four in the sixth for an 8-2 lead. The teams play again this evening.
The Kay Adams team, which has Gillian Howard at fourth stones, Linsey Spence at two, and Sarah Macintyre at lead, had come through a tiebreaker for their place in the last four. This afternoon they faced Sarah Reid, Kerry Barr, Laura Kirkpatrick and Barbara McFarlane in the first of their Page 3-4 games. Sarah and her rink came back from 5-1 down to win 7-6 in the tenth.The linescores are all here.
Photos from top: David Smith and Glen Muirhead; David Murdoch and Hammy McMillan; Gail Munro and Eve Muirhead; Sarah Reid and Kay Adams. Pics © Skip Cottage.
