Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Dave Levesque of Montreal and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C. have been extended exemptions into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open being contested July 21-27, 2014 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Île Bizard, Que.
Levesque recently won the PGA of Canada’s PGA Championship of Canada contested at Wyndance Golf Club in Uxbridge, Ont. With the win, he climbed into the No. 2 spot on the PGA of Canada’s Player Rankings presented by RBC.
Levesque will join fellow PGA of Canada professional Billy Walsh of Markham, Ont. in the field for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open. Walsh, who lost to Levesque in the match play final of the PGA Championship of Canada, earned his own exemption into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open by topping the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC following the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada.
Levesque, who teaches the game at Pure Golf Experience, also captured the Quebec Open this past weekend. The 40-year-old picked up his second prestigious professional golf title in just two weeks at Golf de La Faune in Charlesbourg, Que. The 2014 RBC Canadian Open will be Levesque’s second PGA TOUR appearance (missed cut in 2000), an experience made even more special being contested in his home province.
Levesque wasn’t the only Canadian to pick up a winners’ cheque over the weekend and punch a ticket into Canada’s National Open Championship.
Roger Sloan earned his first Web.com Tour title with a playoff victory at the inaugural Nova Scotia Open in Halifax, N.S. The 27-year-old former Texas-El Paso player topped the field at Ashburn Golf Club’s New Course to move from No. 80 to No. 14 on the Tour’s money list through 14 of 21 regular season events.
The exemption into this year’s championship will mark Sloan’s third RBC Canadian Open appearance. In 2013 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. he tied for 52nd at 2-under 286 after missing the cut in 2011 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver.
“Together with our partners at RBC we are pleased to welcome Dave Levesque and Roger Sloan into the field for the 105th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship,” said RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bill Paul. “Both of these talented players are riding the momentum of tremendous results and are deserving of an exemption to compete for Canada’s National Open title.”
Levesque and Sloan join a slew of other Canadians already confirmed into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open field. They are Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Brad Fritsch and Adam Hadwin; regional qualifiers Michael Gligic and Beon Yeong Lee; PGA of Canada Player Rankings leader Billy Walsh; and two-time Canadian Mid-Amateur champion Kevin Carrigan.
The Canucks will join a field that includes PGA TOUR stars such as Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson, Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Hunter Mahan, Ernie Els, Charl Swartzel, Chris Kirk and recent French Open champion Graeme McDowell as well as defending RBC Canadian Open champion Brandt Snedeker.
Additional player announcements for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open will be made in the coming weeks.
For a full listing of players confirmed for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open, click here.