Rachel Homan opened the Grand Slam season on Tuesday with a 4-3 victory over fellow Canadian Clancy Grandy at the HearingLife Tour Challenge.
Homan, the defending champion from Beaumont, Alta., scored a single point in the eighth end for the win.
Clancy, from Coquitlam, B.C., picked up back-to-back steals to tie the game, but Homan used the hammer to her advantage in the final end.
In other early women’s games, Kerri Einarson of Camp Morton, Man., posted a 5-3 win over Kate Cameron of New Bothwell, Man.
Jennifer Jones of Springwater, Ont., edged South Korea’s Seungyoun Ha 6-5 and Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg beat Italy’s Stefania Constantini 8-4.
In the women’s late draw, Sweden’s Isabella Wrana scored a point in an extra ninth end to upset Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes 9-8.
Four-time women’s world champion Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland beat Norway’s Marianne Roervik 6-5, Scotland’s Rebecca Morrison thumped Japan’s Satsuki Fujisawa 7-1 and South Korea’s Eun Ji Gim downed Tabitha Peterson of the United States 7-4.
In the opening men’s draw, Calgary’s Kevin Koe topped Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers 5-4 and Scotland’s Ross Whyte defeated Sweden’s Niklas Edin 8-5.
American John Shuster beat Scotland’s Bruce Mouat 6-5 and Italy’s Joel Retornaz edged Japan’s Riku Yanagisawa 5-4.
In the men’s late draw, Brad Gushue’s squad from St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, defeated Aaron Sluchinski’s crew of Airdrie, Alta., 8-2 in five ends, while Calgary’s Brendan Bottcher edged the Netherlands’ Wouter Gosgens 4-3.
Matt Dunstone of Winnipeg rolled past Magnus Ramsfjell of Norway 6-3, and Korey Dropkin of Duluth, Minn., beat Yannick Schwaller of Switzerland 8-3.
Play continues through Sunday.