THE CANADIAN PRESS
WINNIPEG — One end was all Kevin Martin needed to get comfortable Wednesday night.
The world champion scored three points with the hammer, then cruised to a 7-2 win over Tom Brewster of Scotland in the opening game for both skips at the BDO Classic Canadian Open.
Martin, from Edmonton, had little trouble against the 1995 world junior champion, breaking out to an early lead — one he said was critical to his team’s success the rest of the way.
"It doesn’t matter how many times you play in these events," said Martin. "They’re big events and you get keyed up for the first game. To have three in the first end relaxes everybody and then away you go.That’s big for any team in any event, but in the big events like this, that’s a huge momentum builder."
After Brewster took one in the second, Martin countered with a single in the third, a steal of one in the fourth and two more in the fifth after Brewster failed to draw to the button through a tight opening.
Brewster settled for one in the sixth, then conceded defeat to Martin, who is seeking his third straight Canadian Open title.
Martin, lead Rene Hebert, second Marc Kennedy and third John Morris lead the Order of Merit standings entering the Canadian Open, the third event in the Grand Slam of Curling series.
Jeff Stoughton of Winnipeg opened with an 8-4 triumph over Joel Jordison of Moose Jaw, Sask. Stoughton, the 1996 world champion, broke a 4-4 tie with a two-point sixth end, then took control with a steal of two in the seventh.
2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue scored one with the hammer in an extra end to shade Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 4-3. Ulsrud forced the extra end with a single in the eighth after Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., had stolen one in the seventh for his first lead since the first end.
Kerry Burtnyk beat Mike McEwen 5-4 in an all-Winnipeg matchup.
The teams had traded single points until the seventh, when McEwen stole one to take a brief 4-3 lead. Burtnyk quickly bounced back in the eighth end, executing an open hit to score two points for the win.
"I thought our team played pretty well and Mike made some really big shots himself," said Burtnyk. "Both of us got a little bit fortunate on one or two occasions, but it was really more about the makes than it was about the misses. We got a little fortunate there at the end to have a chance, but I thought we deserved a chance too."
Wednesday’s other matchup saw Pat Simmons of Davidson, Sask., earn a single point in the extra end to get past Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers 5-4.