2010 Canadian Open Championships

Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor RBC, announced that two-time former Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk has confirmed his intention to compete at the 2010 RBC Canadian Open, July 19-25 at the historic St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Furyk, currently the 5th ranked player in the world and winner of both the 2006 and 2007 Canadian Opens, will be joined by long-hitting Bubba Watson, rising star Ricky Barnes, former Canadian Open champion Scott Verplank and fan favourite John Daly.  

With a pair of 2010 PGA TOUR victories (Transitions Championship & Verizon Heritage), Furyk currently sits 4th on the FedEx Cup standing.  Watson, winner of the recent Travelers Championship, currently sits 10th on the FedEx Cup ranking while Barnes and Verplank, a five-time PGA TOUR winner, sit 20th and 32nd respectively on the 2010 FedEx Cup ranking.   Daly, a fan favourite throughout his career, is a five-time PGA TOUR winner and former British Open and PGA Championship champion.

Furyk, Watson, Barnes, Verplank and Daly will join a field that includes notables Anthony Kim Sean O’Hair, Rickie Fowler, Camilo Villegas, Hunter Mahan, Luke Donald, Retief Goosen, Tim Clark, Y.E. Yang, Matt Kuchar, Fred Couples, Paul Casey and defending RBC Canadian Open champion Nathan Green. 

While several PGA TOUR players have confirmed their intention to compete for Canada’s National Open Championship, competitors have until Friday, July 16 at 5:00 ET to officially register for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open.

EXEMPT CANADIANS
Golf Canada and RBC also announced that Canadians Jon Mills, David Hearn and Dustin Risdon have earned exemptions into the 2010 RBC Canadian Open.   Hearn and Mills sit 13th and 24th on the 2010 Nationwide Tour Money List while Risdon, who sits 70th on the Nationwide Money List is coming off a recent victory at the Canadian Tour’s ATB Financial Classic Presented by TELUS.

The group announced today joins exempt Canadian favourites Stephen Ames, Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir and PGA TOUR rookie Graham DeLaet.  Other Canadians set to compete include two-time defending Canadian Men’s Amateur champion Cam Burke as well as Team Canada teammates Nick Taylor and Eugene Wong.  Former Team Canada member Matt Hill will also participate as a professional and will be joined by 2009 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion Dave Bunker and 2009 Canadian PGA champion Ben Boudreau.

ON-SITE FAN EXPERIENCES
RBC will provide spectators with the chance to participate in some exciting on-site spectator promotional activities while in attendance at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. The WestJet RBC MasterCard Putting Challenge will allow participants to compete on a 3-hole putting course, adjacent to the North Spectator Entrance, for their chance to win $250,000. On Saturday July 24th, two finalists will each have the opportunity to putt on the 18th green for $250,000 for themselves, and another $250,000 for charity.  The WestJet RBC MasterCard Putting Challenge is open Monday to Wednesday from 8:00am to 5:00pm, and Thursday and Friday from 8:00am – 7:00pm. For more information please visit www.rbc.com/westjetputt.

The RBC Direct Investing Practice Zone gives spectators the chance to “virtually” play St. George’s famous par 3, 16th hole. Located on-site, alongside the 17th hole, this state of the art   3-D golf simulator will allow spectators to participate in a daily closest-to-the-pin contest on an exact representation of the 16th hole. For every shot that lands on the green, a donation will be made to the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation. As an added bonus, spectators will also have videos of their swings captured, and can view their swings at a later date and even compare them to those of some of the biggest stars on the PGA TOUR. The RBC Direct Investing Practice Zone will be open daily (Monday – Sunday) from 8:00am – 5:00pm.