Ross Whyte’s team may have narrowly missed out in both, but he and his teammates are drawing confidence from their appearances in major finals either side of the New Year as they return to Canada to contest another Grand Slam at the Canadian Open in Alberta.
Whyte, Robin Brydone, Duncan McFadzean and Euan Kyle started 2024 impressively at the Perth Masters earlier this month, failing by inches to secure the title with the last stone of an epic final against three-time previous champions and reigning world champions Team Mouat.
That followed an even more powerful performance at The Masters in Canada in December, where they were edged out by Italy’s world number one ranked Team Retornaz on their first appearance in a final at a Grand Slam event. 
As they, along with former World Junior champion James Craik’s team, crossed the Atlantic to join Mouat - whose men reached the semi-finals of the inaugural Astec Safety Challenge in a world class field last weekend – at the Canadian Open, they do so believing they are now ready to start claiming major honours.
“Losing out in that final at Perth was tough to take as we had done so well to get there and had hammer going into that extra end, but it was a very close game and lot of very good shots made by both teams and we are hoping that we can carry on that good play into this week,” said skip Ross Whyte.
“We are very pleased with how we played that full week and we felt that even in that final we put in a good enough performance to win, but unfortunately we fell short.
“We are going to use the confidence we generated that week and hopefully get a good run going this week, following our run to the final at the last Slam event.
“After making that last Slam final we want more, we want to get to a final again and hopefully go one further and become Grand Slam winners.
“It is going to be tough as there are so many good teams out here however we feel like we are in a good place and we have been playing very well and have enough ability to put a good run in together.
“We feel like we are growing as a team all the time, so to continue to make play-offs at Grand Slams would be a great achievement, however we would love to go and say we managed to win one.
“We feel like we go into every game now knowing we have a good chance and there is no reason why we can’t win.
“Obviously it comes down to the game we are playing at the time and it’s not easy to win every game out here, but we have to keep trying what we are doing well and see how well and how far we can go this week and hopefully it will be a title at the end of it.”
In the women’s event Team Morrison are Scotland’s lone representatives and, in the absence of regulars Sophie Jackson and Olympic gold medallist Jen Dodds they have been boosted by the availability to join them of current World Junior champion Fay Henderson.
The event will be a first taste of Grand Slam action for Henderson, who is in her first full season on the senior tour and she is savouring the prospect, albeit there will be some unaccustomed hard labour as she swaps skipping duties for life on the front-line.
“Obviously getting to join Team Morrison this week is a good opportunity,” she said.
“I was very surprised when I got the phone call but obviously I was more than happy to step up and help them out.
“This is a great chance to play in my first Slam.
“Obviously the Slams are something that my own team would definitely be aspiring to be reaching, so to get this experience with another team is great and hopefully when it gets to time for us to reach a Slam it is less of a foreign experience.
“Even just watching some of the teams there I will be learning a lot, so to be playing with the girls I can pick up on a few things that will help with my team and just watching how other teams communicate and call shots as well.
“Every game is going to be at a great standard, so there will be something to learn from them all.
“This experience should definitely help us at the Scottish Champs and I will be playing lead this week, so the shot making and a bit of sweeping as well will be a different challenge but one which I am really looking forward to and excited about.”
Link to the GSOC draw and results.
Team Whyte Image: Anil Mungal/Grand Slam of Curling
