In what continues to be an impressive array of talent for this year’s RBC Canadian Open — now just two weeks away — Golf Canada announced a couple of new names:
The field for the 2011 RBC Canadian Open continues to get stronger as three more PGA TOUR notables – Vijay Singh, Camilo Villegas and Geoff Ogilvy – have confirmed their intention to compete for Canada’s National Open title, July 18-24 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver. Singh is a 34-time winner on the PGA TOUR including the 2004 Canadian Open. Currently the No. 63 ranked player on the World Golf Ranking, Singh sits 31st on the 2011 FedEx Cup ranking and 32nd on the PGA TOUR money list. Ogilvy, the No. 41 ranked player in the world is a 7-time winner on the PGA TOUR, including the 2006 U.S. Open. Villegas, a fan-favourite on the PGA TOUR, is a 3-time winner on Tour and currently the No. 71 ranked player on the World Golf Ranking.
Additionally the organization continues to hand out exemptions to its past national team members, even if they haven’t exactly set the world alight. Last year’s low Canadian, who signed for an incorrect scorecard last week on the Canadian Tour, also gets a spot:
Golf Canada and RBC also announced today that Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. and Matt Hill of Bright’s Grove, Ont. have been extended tournament exemptions to compete in the 2011 RBC Canadian Open, July 18-24 at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club. Hadwin’s solid 2011 season has been highlighted by a T39 finish at the at the 2011 US Open as well as a Canadian Tour victory (2011 Pacific Colombia Tour Championship) back in March. Currently the No. 3 ranked Canadian on the World Golf Rankings, Hadwin’s steady play on the Canadian Tour this year has him 7th on current Canadian Tour Order of Merit. The 23-year-old former Louisville University standout is a graduate of Canada’s national amateur team program – Team Canada – and finished as the low Canadian at the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. Also granted exemptions to compete in the RBC Canadian Open are Team Canada graduates Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. and Matt Hill of Bright’s Grove, Ont. Taylor and Hill are former amateur standouts who at one point during the 2009 season were ranked no. 1 and no. 2 respectively on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Maybe it says more about our lack of overall talent that we have to end out exemptions to Taylor and Hill because basically no one else deserves one. Our world ranking list isn’t exactly compelling viewing….
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
To shine a little positive light on our rankings…
I went through the list and surprisingly, I actually recognized over half the names which is a lot more than I could say a decade ago about our top twenty. Is it more press or better results for these guys in the amteur ranks or a combination? Either way, at least I can follow more Canadians on a variety of tours than I once could. We just need to translate some recent good amateur results into professional results.
Colin
Ogilvy now, sweet! Always enjoyed watching him play. Going to head over the watch the first 2 rounds and hopefully make it to Sagebrush on the Saturday and Carrick’s course at Predator.