Whyte Cruises to Opening Draw Victory
Scotland's Ross Whyte continues chase for first Grand Slam title.
Having reached the knockout stages at the last seven Grand Slam events, Ross Whyte, Robin Brydone, Duncan McFadzean and Euan Kyle believe they are ready to make a breakthrough by going a step further than last year when they were beaten in the final of The Masters.
"We are on a bit of a streak on qualifying at Grand Slams which is nice knowing that every time we go out here we have always got a good chance of qualifying and potentially going on to do better things in making finals and hopefully winning events," said skip Whyte.
"We feel very comfortable in these Slams and always look forward to them as our main competitions throughout the season and we always put a lot of emphasis on the weeks before these events to train well and make sure we are in a good spot before we get here.
Whyte opened with a steal in the first end against Switzerland's Michael Brunner, then added three points in the third end for an early 4-2 lead.
Whyte pushed their lead to four points with another steal in the fourth end to lead 6-2 at the game's halfway point.
Brunner added two points in the fifth end, with Whyte scoring one more in the sixth end for a 7-4 lead. Whyte held Brunner to a blank in the seventh end, then ran the Swiss side out of rock in the eighth end for the win.
"Dunc and I had the mixed doubles, and Robin and Euan were training a lot in the NCA, and when we came back, we knew they were in a good place.
"Dunc and I obviously had less time to train but were competing so it was good for us and though it was a little bit stop and start with preparing our bodies for this event, we seem to be ready to go.
"We are feeling good for this week and hopefully we can continue that streak for qualifying and go on and do really well."
Whyte faces fellow Scots James Craik at Noon Mountain Time (MT) on Wednesday, then takes on Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers at 8pm MT on Thursday. Whyte finishes round-robin action on Friday at 8pm MT with a tilt against Italy's Joel Retornaz.
Having reached the knockout stages at the last seven Grand Slam events, Ross Whyte, Robin Brydone, Duncan McFadzean and Euan Kyle believe they are ready to make a breakthrough by going a step further than last year when they were beaten in the final of The Masters.
"We are on a bit of a streak on qualifying at Grand Slams which is nice knowing that every time we go out here we have always got a good chance of qualifying and potentially going on to do better things in making finals and hopefully winning events," said skip Whyte.
"We feel very comfortable in these Slams and always look forward to them as our main competitions throughout the season and we always put a lot of emphasis on the weeks before these events to train well and make sure we are in a good spot before we get here.
Whyte opened with a steal in the first end against Switzerland's Michael Brunner, then added three points in the third end for an early 4-2 lead.
Whyte pushed their lead to four points with another steal in the fourth end to lead 6-2 at the game's halfway point.
Brunner added two points in the fifth end, with Whyte scoring one more in the sixth end for a 7-4 lead. Whyte held Brunner to a blank in the seventh end, then ran the Swiss side out of rock in the eighth end for the win.
"Dunc and I had the mixed doubles, and Robin and Euan were training a lot in the NCA, and when we came back, we knew they were in a good place.
"Dunc and I obviously had less time to train but were competing so it was good for us and though it was a little bit stop and start with preparing our bodies for this event, we seem to be ready to go.
"We are feeling good for this week and hopefully we can continue that streak for qualifying and go on and do really well."
Whyte faces fellow Scots James Craik at Noon Mountain Time (MT) on Wednesday, then takes on Winnipeg's Reid Carruthers at 8pm MT on Thursday. Whyte finishes round-robin action on Friday at 8pm MT with a tilt against Italy's Joel Retornaz.