07/24/2010

- News and notes from St. George’s Golf and Country Club -

Toronto (Golf Canada) – Dean Wilson shot a five-under par 65 on Saturday to take a four-shot lead into Sunday’s final round of the RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Wilson, who has his first 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR, has taken advantage of the sponsor’s exemption granted to him by looking for his first top-10 finish of the 2010 season.

Playing out of the past champion category, a victory would earn the Canadian Tour graduate fully exempt PGA TOUR status for the remainder of 2010, and all of 2011 and 2012.

The Hawaii native would also earn a spot into a slew of events including the 2010 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and 2010 PGA Championship as well as the Masters Tournament, PLAYERS Championship and The Memorial Tournament in 2011.

Carl Pettersson shot an RBC Canadian Open record 10-under par 60 to vault into a tie for second. The three-time PGA TOUR winner is making his third RBC Canadian Open start.  His best previous finish in this event is a T11 in 2008.

Tim Clark, who broke a PGA TOUR winless drought at THE PLAYERS Championship earlier this year, finds himself tied for second with Pettersson and Bob Estes, four shots out of the lead. 

A win by Clark would vault him into the lead in the FedExCup.  The 500 points would give him a slim 29 point lead over current leader Ernie Els. Clark is competing in just his second RBC Canadian Open. He missed the cut in his only other start here, which was in 2002.

The third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 14 of 30 times in stroke-play events so far this year on the PGA TOUR.

Current low-Canadian honours are shared by Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. and Jon Mills of Oshawa, Ont.  Hadwin shot an even par 70 on Saturday while Mills fired a 66. The pair are tied for 25th, 9-shots back of the lead.

A year ago, the top finishes by a Canadian came from Stephen Ames and Chris Baryla, who both tied for eighth.

Five players who made the 36-hole cut will not be playing Sunday because of the PGA TOUR’s made-cut, did-not-finish rule. The five are Arjun Atwal (69-70-71—210), Lee Janzen (69-69-72—210), Paul Azinger (69-68-74—211), John Daly (69-70-73—212) and Steve Lowery (67-71-75—213).

The following are third-round scores for the 18 Canadians in the 2010 RBC Canadian Open field. 

(7,046 yards, Par 70)

T25 - Hadwin, Adam, Abbotsford, B.C. 68-66-70—204 (-6)
T25 - Mills, Jon, Oshawa, Ont. 67-71-66—204 (-6)
T65- Ames, Stephen, Calgary, Alta. 67-68-73—208 (-2)
--- CUT ---
CUT - DeLaet, Graham,Weyburn, Sask. 70-70—140 (E)
CUT - Brown, Ted, Calgary, Alta. 71-69—140 (E)
CUT - Ross, Christopher, Dundas, Ont. 72-68—140 (E)
CUT - Hill, Matt, Bright’s Grove, Ont. 69-71—140 (E)
CUT - Burke, Cam (a), New Hamburg, Ont. 71-70—141 (+1)
CUT - Bunker, Dave (a), Woodbridge, Ont. 71-71—142 (+2)
CUT - Taylor, Nick (a), Abbotsford, B.C. 71-71—142 (+2)
CUT - Hearn, David, Brantford, Ont. 72-79—142 (+2)
CUT - Wong, Eugene (a), North Vancouver, B.C. 71-72—143 (+3)
CUT - Lee, Beon Yeong (a), Montreal, Que. 78-65—143 (+3)
CUT - Puska, Jeffery, Ladysmith, B.C. 73-72—145 (+5)
CUT - Jarosch, Barrett, Edmonton, Alta. 72-73—145 (+5)
CUT - Weir, Mike, Bright’s Grove, Ont. 72-74—146 (+6)
CUT - Rutledge, Jim, Victoria, B.C. 76-71—147 (+7)
CUT - Boudreau, Ben, Longueuil, Que. 74-82—156 (+16)

a – denotes amateur

FINAL-ROUND PAIRINGS
Final round pairings can be found online at www.rbccanadianopen.com or www.pgatour.com.  

The television broadcast schedule for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open is as follows:

Sunday, July 25:
3:00 – 6:00 pm    CanWest Global / CBS

MEDIA CENTRE PRESS CONFERENCES
Audio and video files of Friday’s interviews with Jon Mills, Carl Pettersson, Adam Hadwin, Stephen Ames, Kevin Sutherland, Tim Clark and Dean Wilson are available online at www.rbccanadianopen.com  in the Bell Media Centre section.

TICKETS FOR THE 2010 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
Sunday tickets for the 2010 RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club are still available and can be purchased onsite at St. George’s Club and Country Club or by calling 1-800-571-OPEN.

TEAM CANADA NATIONAL GOLF AUCTION
The National Golf Auction in support of Team Canada continues. For a limited time, golfers from across the country can bid to play golf at many of Canada’s finest golf courses. Visit www.golfcanada.ca/auction or visit Golf Canada Village onsite at the RBC Canadian Open to view a list of 350 plus courses across Canada who donated rounds of golf and showed their commitment to Team Canada.

ABOUT THE 2010 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
An exciting new era has arrived for Canada's national championship. Part of the FedEx Cup, stars of the PGA TOUR will compete for $5.1 million (US) at the RBC Canadian Open, July 19th – 25th, 2010 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto. Established in 1904, the tournament is the third-oldest national open golf championship worldwide next to the British Open and the U.S. Open. The RBC Canadian Open is proudly sponsored by RBC, Bell, BMW Group Canada, Government of Ontario, TaylorMade adidas Golf, InterContinental Hotels Group, Southern Implants, C.F.F Stainless Steels, Transitions Optical, The Glenlivet, The Globe and Mail, Mike Weir Wine, Pepsi, Corona and Reader’s Digest. For updated corporate hospitality, tickets, volunteer and sponsorship information please visit www.rbccanadianopen.com or call 1-800-571-OPEN.

RBC AND THE RBC CANADIAN OPEN
In partnership with Golf Canada, RBC is the title sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open, the third oldest national golf championship worldwide, next only to the British Open and the U.S. Open. With a history of great players and premier fields, the RBC Canadian Open provides golf fans with the opportunity to experience the excitement of a world class event on Canadian soil. RBC also sponsors all levels of amateur sport, from grassroots programs in local communities to national sport organizations and elite-level athletes, and is Premier National Partner of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

GOLF CANADA – YOU BELONG
Golf Canada is a member-based organization governed by the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA).  Recognized by Sport Canada as the National Sport Organization (NSO) for golf in this country and representing more than 350,000 members and 1,600 golf clubs, Golf Canada is responsible for promoting participation in and a passion for the game of golf in Canada.

In addition, Golf Canada conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships.  The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships provide world class competitive opportunities for Canada’s top golfers to showcase their talents.

For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit us online at www.golfcanada.ca.  

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Dan Pino    
Director, Media and Public Relations 
Golf Canada 
c: 416.434.5525 (cell)      
e: dpino@golfcanada.ca

Terry Lenyk    
Coordinator, Media and Public Relations 
Golf Canada 
c: 416.407.3893 (cell)      
e: tlenyk@golfcanada.ca

The Bell Media Centre phone number is 416.734.7569.