Although the 2017 Brier didn’t go quite as Tyrel Griffith and his British Columbia-champion curling rink had hoped, the team made it a worthwhile trip to the Maritimes overall.
Griffith, a PGA of BC member on staff at Kelowna’s Black Mountain Golf Club, and his Team Morris came up one win short of the playoffs at the Canadian men’s curling championship in St. John’s, NL, earlier this month with a 7-4 record.
However, they rebounded from the heartbreaking Brier result by capturing a Grand Slam of Curling title the following weekend, beating the Brad Jacobs rink in the final of the Elite 10 event held in Port Hawkesbury, NS.
“We just missed out on the Brier (playoffs) and we were playing really well, too,” Griffith said after returning home to the Okanagan this week. “If we would have made the playoffs, I think we could have done some real damage.
“We kept that momentum, though, and built off it.”
Griffith throws second stones on Team Morris, which collected a $26,000 cheque for claiming the Elite 10 title. The Vernon-based rink also earned a little redemption after the frustrating Brier finish – it didn’t hurt that the squad beat Brad Gushue’s Brier-winning team handily en route to the bonspiel victory.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Team Morris has found its groove as a group once again. The foursome of Griffith, John Morris, Jim Cotter and Rick Sawatsky reunited this season, looking to recapture the form they had when last together during the 2013-14 season. That year, the team was runner-up at both the Brier and Canadian Olympic Curling Trials.
“Over the last month here, we’ve really kind of amped it up,” said Griffith. “We started slow but really started to come on as of late and are feeling really good about the year. We’ve got a couple of events left to go.”
One of the events remaining, next month’s WestJet Players’ Championship in Toronto, is a big one for Team Morris’s 2018 Olympic aspirations. There are three berths to the Olympic Trials still up for grabs through the Canadian Team Ranking System and the Morris rink currently sits fourth in the standings. The Players’ Championship is the last domestic event this season counting toward the rankings, so a strong showing in Toronto could put them into the playdowns for a spot at next year's Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
“We’ll go out there, play hard and try to get that last trials spot,” said Griffith, whose squad will also be involved in the Grand Slam of Curling Champions Cup in Calgary later in April. All this as Griffith is working to transition into the golf season ahead, so he’s thankful to have the support of Black Mountain Head Professional Russ Latimer while chasing his goals on the ice.
“Russ makes it all happen and allows me go out and play. I’m very grateful for what he does and for Melcor, the company I work for,” said Griffith, who is among a group of notable, elite curlers like Wayne Middaugh, Mike Harris and Russ Howard who are current or former PGA of Canada members.
Although the 31-year-old has now made a half-dozen trips to the Brier representing British Columbia, he said he’s always thankful to hear from friends back home cheering him on during the event.
“Aaron Grice out on the Island, he was sending me messages, and Jesse Crowe from Salmon Arm, I think he sent me at least five or six every day of the Brier and is a big fan,” chuckled Griffith. “I got messages from a bunch of the guys, it’s fantastic.
"Thanks to everybody in the Association for the messages and for following.”
--Eric MacKenzie, Communications & Marketing Manager