February 11…Pat Simmons won a record-tying fourth straight provincial men’s title Sunday at the Balgonie Arena by defeating Saskatoon’s Darrell McKee, 10-5 in the final.

Simmons and his Davidson Curling Club teammates Jeff Sharp, Gerry Adam and Steve Laycock took control with three in the fifth end for a 7-2 lead at the break.   Then, after McKee had closed the gap with a deuce in the sixth and a single in the seventh, Simmons took another three in the eighth end to salt it away.

The victory equalled Bob ‘Peewee’ Pickering’s four consecutive provincial titles from 1968-71.

Simmons won the B event in the 10-team triple knockout, beating McKee, 6-3, then defeated Regina’s Randy Bryden, the A winner, 6-4, in the Page 1 vs 2 game to qualify for the final.  McKee first defeated Moose Jaw’s Joel Jordison, 10-4 in the Page 3 vs 4 game, then eliminated Bryden by a 6-4 score in the semi-final to set up the rematch with Simmons.

Simmons and Sharp will be making their fourth consecutive Brier appearance.  For Adam, it will be his third time (he played third for Gerald Shymko in 1999) while Laycock, the 2003 world junior champion, is making his second trip to the Canadian men’s curling championship.

Last year, the team finished 7-4 at the Tim Hortons Brier in Hamilton.

Saskatchewan has won seven Briers, but the last was back in 1980, courtesy of Rick Folk.

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