Furyk starts RBC Heritage with a boom and a splash

Jim Furyk, last year’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing champion, teed up his ball, took a couple of practice swings, then got the tournament underway with a shot into Calibogue Sound.

It's as close as he'll come to a competitive swing at Harbour Town Golf Links this season — Furyk is nursing a wrist injury and won't defend his title.

Nonetheless, the opening ceremony for the tournament's 48th installment was excuse enough to return to Hilton Head Island.

Furyk’s shot, accompanied by the boom of a nearby cannon, was the culmination of Monday morning’s opening ceremonies for South Carolina’s only annual PGA Tour golf tournament.

“The ground shook (from the cannon blast) right after I made impact,” he said. “I jumped — it was quite loud.”

Draped in a tartan jacket, Furyk was joined on the 18th fairway for Monday’s opening ceremonies by a host of dignitaries including Heritage Classic Foundation chairman Simon Fraser, the mayors of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“I really enjoy being on the fairway — it might be the only fairway I’m on today,” Graham said, joking about his hit-or-miss golf game.

The RBC Heritage, an event “that the whole golf world will be watching,” makes Graham “proud of his state,” he said.

Hilton Head Mayor David Bennett welcomed visitors to an event that he said represents “grace, Southern hospitality and a relaxed atmosphere.”

Last year’s champ, who is recovering from a wrist injury, will not play in the 2016 event.

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to compete,” Furyk said. “...This is my favorite course on the PGA Tour and this is my favorite stop on the PGA Tour.”

“I love the golf course,” Furyk said. “I love the fact that you really have to maneuver the golf ball and hit a lot of different types of shots around this place.”

Furyk said he is “starting to get some of (his) strength back” and he would love to be back playing tournaments by “sometime in May.”

“I need to make some progress in the next couple of weeks, but (the wrist) is starting to feel a little better,” he said.

Furyk chimed in on the Masters, which wrapped up a bizarre final round in Augusta less than 24 hours before Monday’s RBC Heritage kick-off.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth carried a five-stroke lead into the back nine, only to collapse and allow Danny Willett to win and don his first green jacket.

“Obviously for Jordan (Speith), it was a tough finish. With a five-shot lead making the turn, it looked to all of us like it was going to be a boring Masters. But we all know better; something exciting always happens on the back nine,” Furyk said.

“I felt bad for him,” Furyk, who has twice finished fourth in the Masters, said.

Speith is a “really a wonderful person and obviously one of the best players in the game right now,” he said. “... I know (Sunday’s result) was a huge disappointment, but I think he will become a better player and better person because of it.”

As for the RBC Heritage tournament, which begins Thursday, Furyk said he will be keeping an eye out for Brandt Snedeker, Graeme McDowell and Matt Kuchar as potential winners.

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Furyk starts RBC Heritage with a boom and a splash."