No, Tiger Woods isn’t coming to Hilton Head, but field still one of Heritage’s best
The RBC Heritage can make a case for featuring one of the strongest fields in tournament golf this year.
Tiger Woods’ decision to bypass this week’s PGA Tour stop at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island might have disappointed some folks, yet only a couple of events this year will feature more high-profile players.
Indeed, the reconfigured schedule caused by the coronavirus outbreak puts the South Carolina tournament on the dates usually reserved for the U.S. Open, and the competition that begins Thursday will feature a national championship-caliber field.
Woods will be among the handful of “names” missing. Despite his absence, the tee sheet glitters as the strongest contingent in the tournament’s 52-year history.
The top five players in the world rankings — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson — headline the star-studded cast. And on Friday it was revealed they’d be joined by Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose and Xander Schauffele. RBC Ambassadors Webb Simpson and Matt Kuchar also will be in the field.
The only drawback: No spectators will be allowed due to coronavirus protocols. But tournament officials see a silver lining in the television ratings, even without the lure of Woods.
The pandemic forced the cancellation of this year’s Heritage in April, but officials agreed to stage a made-for-TV event in the revised schedule. The Tour resumed play last week in the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tournament officials had been hopeful that Woods would make his return to Hilton Head this year, and pundits speculated he would play in either the Heritage or in the Travelers the following week in Connecticut. The reasoning: He needed competitive golf prior to playing in the Memorial and the majors later in the year.
The possibility that the Heritage would be his choice grew with the news that his yacht had begun steaming up the Atlantic coast with a stop scheduled in Georgia, a couple of hours from Hilton Head. He stayed on his yacht during the 2018 U.S. Open on Long Island.
But the speculation did not come to fruition and the Friday deadline passed without Woods’ entering.
Woods’ agent signaled his 1999 appearance in the Heritage by inquiring about accommodations a week prior to the tournament. Perhaps questions this time centered if there were a big enough slip for his yacht at Harbour Town or would the vessel need to drop anchor in the Sound.
Woods, No. 11 in the world rankings, has played in three events this season, winning in Japan, sharing ninth in the Farmers in San Diego and struggling to 68th in the Genesis at Riviera. In addition, he captained the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team and looked sharp in a recent charity match that included Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
C.T. Pan, who won the 2019 Heritage, is back in this year’s field.
World Golf Rankings
No. 1 Rory McIlroy: Has not competed at Harbour Town since 2009.
No. 2 Jon Rahm: The 25-year-old is making his first start at the RBC Heritage.
No. 3 Brooks Koepka: Also making his first start at the Heritage.
No. 4 Justin Thomas: The 27-year-old will be competing at Harbour Town for the third time.
No. 5 Dustin Johnson: SC native joined Team RBC in 2018, competed at the RBC Heritage that year for the first time since 2009.
RBC Heritage schedule, TV info
How to watch the event:
The Golf Channel: Thursday-Friday from 3-6 pm, Saturday-Sunday from 1-2:30 pm
CBS Sports: Saturday-Sunday from 3-6 pm
Full 2020 RBC Heritage tournament field
Byeong Hun An
Abraham Ancer
Ryan Armour
Aaron Baddely
Daniel Berger
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Scott Brown
Wesley Bryan
Bronson Burgoon
Sam Burns
Rafa Cabrera Bello
Bud Cauley
Kevin Chappell
KJ Choi
Stewart Cink
Wyndham Clark
Corey Conners
Austin Cook
Joel Dahmen
Glen Day
Jason Day
Bryson DeChambeau
Luke Donald
Jason Dufner
Tyler Duncan
Ernie Els
Harris English
Matt Every
Tony Finau
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Rickie Fowler
Dylan Frittelli
Jim Furyk
Sergio Garcia
Brice Garnett
Brian Gay
Michael Gligic
Lucas Glover
Talor Gooch
Branden Grace
Lanto Griffin
Emiliano Grillo
Bill Haas
Chesson Hadley
Adam Hadwin
Brian Harman
Tyrrell Hatton
David Hearn
Russell Henley
Jim Herman
Harry Higgs
Charley Hoffman
Tom Hoge
Max Homa
Billy Horschel
Viktor Hovland
Charles Howell III
Mark Hubbard
Mackenzie Hughes
Sungjae Im
Jazz Janewattananond
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Matt Jones
Sung Kang
Michael Kim
Si Woo Kim
Kevin Kisner
Patton Kizzire
Russell Knox
Brooks Koepka
Jason Kokrak
Matt Kuchar
Andrew Landry
Bernhard Langer
Nate Lashley
Danny Lee
Kyoung-Hoon Lee
Luke List
Adam Long
Davis Love III
Shane Lowry
Peter Malnati
Hideki Matsuyama
Denny McCarthy
Graeme McDowell
Rory McIlroy
Maverick McNealy
Troy Merritt
Keith Mitchell
Ryan Moore
Collin Morikawa
Sebastian Munoz
Kevin Na
Matthew NeSmith
Joaquin Niemann
Alex Noren
Andy Ogletree
Louis Oosthuizen
Carlos Ortiz
Ryan Palmer
CT Pan
Pat Perez
Victor Perez
Scott Piercy
JT Poston
Ted Potter Jr.
Ian Poulter
Andrew Putnam
Jon Rahm
Spencer Ralston
Chez Reavie
Doc Redman
Patrick Reed
Patrick Rodgers
Justin Rose
Sam Ryder
Rory Sabbatini
Xander Schauffele
Scottie Scheffler
Adam Schenk
Charl Schwartzel
Webb Simpson
Vijay Singh
Roger Sloan
Cameron Smith
Brandt Snedeker
JJ Spaun
Jordan Spieth
Scott Stallings
Kyle Stanley
Sepp Straka
Kevin Streelman
Chris Stroud
Brian Stuard
Vaughn Taylor
Justin Thomas
Michael Thompson
Brendon Todd
Martin Trainer
Cameron Tringale
Kevin Tway
Bo Van Pelt
Erik Van Rooyen
Harold Varner III
Jhonattan Vegas
Jimmy Walker
Matt Wallace
Nick Watney
Bubba Watson
Danny Willett
Aaron Wise
Matthew Wolff
Gary Woodland
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 5:22 PM.