Charlotte, N.C. – Chris Epperson of Hilton Head Island, S.C. won first place and Vaita Guillaume of Tahiti finished in second place at the eGolf Gateway Tour’s season-opening Palmetto Hall Championship over the weekend. The top finishes earned them exemptions into the Web.com Tour’s 2015 Rex Hospital Open, set to be contested at TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C. on May 28-31, 2015.

The two exemptions mark the 24th and 25th Web.com Tour exemptions awarded to the eGolf Gateway Tour in tour history. In addition, the tour has been granted a total of three PGA TOUR exemptions and four European Tour exemptions.

Another exemption granted by the Rex Healthcare Foundation will be awarded at the annual Rex Hospital Open Corporate Challenge this fall, where the top eGolf Gateway Tour members from the Palmetto Hall Championship will compete for a spot in the 2016 Rex Hospital Open.

“All our players want is an opportunity to compete on golf’s biggest stages, and these exemptions into the Rex Hospital Open provide that avenue,” said eGolf Gateway Tour president David Siegel. “There are countless scenarios where one good week changes a career, and our hope is that Chris and Vaita capitalize in Raleigh and play their way up and out, so to speak.”

For Epperson, the win at Palmetto Hall marked a career-first on the eGolf Gateway Tour after a number of near-misses following a 2012-13 campaign as without doubt the best player on tour without a victory.

Chris Epperson

In 2014, the Savannah, Ga., native competed full-time on the Web.com Tour, making six cuts in 20 starts before losing his status for the 2015 season. After a winter spent grinding on his game in cold, wet conditions, Epperson seems poised to use his Rex Hospital Open spot to play his way back up to the PGA TOUR’s developmental circuit.

“I thought TPC Wakefield Plantation was one of the top 4 or 5 courses we played on tour last year. The (eGolf Gateway) tour has been working on these exemptions for us for a number of years now, and you really want to win one,” said Epperson, 32. “It’s so much better than having to go Monday qualify for the event. It’s great that Rex Healthcare worked alongside the tour to provide this opportunity.”

Epperson, who had conditional status on the 2011 Web.com Tour, posted rounds of 70-73—143 at the 2014 Rex Hospital Open to miss the cut by two shots.

“I hit it really well last year, but got nothing to fall,” he said. “I’m looking forward to going back to Raleigh for the chance to compete.”

Guillaume, who was born in Paris but starred in college at nearby Campbell University, will be playing a home game during Rex Hospital Open week after moving to Raleigh in 2014.

The start will be the first of his career on the Web.com Tour, but not his first in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event after successfully Monday qualifying for the Wyndham Championship in 2012.

“I’m thrilled to play in my first Web.com Tour event, and I’m also very grateful that the Rex Hospital Open was able to provide two exemptions this year,” said the 26-year-old Guillaume. “It will be nice to play at home and sleep in my own bed. I love the golf course, and I’m excited to see how I measure up with the guys out there.”

Guillaume’s runner-up at Palmetto Hall was further continuation of a solid 13 months of golf. The former Camel “All America” selection opened 2014 with a win at eGolf Florida’s prestigious Citrus Open before adding a stellar six top-3 finishes on the eGolf Gateway Tour – including a win at the Sapona Ridge Classic and a runner-up at the season-ending $300,000 Tour Championship (contested at Palmetto Hall) to collect nearly $88,000 in earnings.

Five former eGolf Gateway Tour players have won the Rex Hospital Open a total of six times in tournament history. Threee-year tour member Chesson Hadley was the most recent victor when he claimed his first of two Web.com Tour titles at TPC at Wakefield Plantation in 2013.

Hadley, who won the eGolf Gateway Tour’s River Landing Open in 2012, used the Rex Hospital Open win as a springboard to the 2013-14 PGA TOUR, where he notched “Rookie of the Year” honors after winning the Puerto Rico Open presented by seepuertorico.com.

For more information on the eGolf Gateway Tour, please visit www.egolf.com.

For more information on the Rex Hospital Open, please visit www.rexhostiptalopen.com.