Jim Furyk is among earliest RBC Heritage entries, armed with new titles

With injury leaving Jim Furyk unable to defend his crown at last year’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, it should come as no surprise that the new U.S. Ryder Cup captain would be among the first to sign up for the 2017 edition.

Furyk, a two-time winner at Harbour Town Golf Links, and 2013 champion Graeme McDowell were the headliners among five former winners announced Friday among the earliest commitments to the PGA Tour’s annual visit.

Rounding out the list are Stewart Cink, like Furyk the owner of two tartan jackets, along with 2006 winner Aaron Baddeley and 2012 champion Carl Pettersson.

The 49th RBC Heritage will be played April 13-16, as Hilton Head Island celebrates the tour’s first return since Hurricane Matthew hammered the area last October. Heritage Week begins April 10 with the Opening Ceremony and Monday Pro-Am Presented by Boeing.

Furyk captured his second RBC Heritage title in 2015 when he outlasted Aiken’s Kevin Kisner on the second hole of a playoff. A nagging wrist injury, though, forced him into surgery that kept him out until early May.

That left the former U.S. Open champion as the first Heritage titleholder to be unable to defend.

“I love the course,” Furyk said during a cameo appearance at Harbour Town last year. “It’s my favorite on tour. There’s no secret about that.”

He’ll return, though, with a couple of new titles to his name. That includes “Mr. 58,” earning the moniker at last summer’s Travelers Championship when he became the first to shoot that number in a PGA Tour event.

And last month, he was given the task of leading the United States’ Ryder Cup defense next year in France.

“It’s the ultimate compliment,” Furyk said when the secret was unveiled. “We’re going to have a good mix, I’m sure, of some veteran players and some young players, and there will be some great guys in the team room.”

Baddeley ended a five-year victory drought when he captured last year’s Barbasol Championship in Alabama, coming three months after a tie for ninth at the RBC Heritage. McDowell is less than two years removed from his most recent victory, coming at the OHL Classic in Mexico in late 2015.

Cink, who won Heritage crowns in 2000 and ’04, has seen an uptick in performance this season after several dry years. He placed 10th at the RSM Classic at Sea Island, Ga., and was in weekend contention at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open before a closing 73.

Daily tickets and weeklong badges can be purchased online at RBCHeritage.com or by calling the tournament office at 843-671-2448.

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Jim Furyk is among earliest RBC Heritage entries, armed with new titles."