How the RBC Heritage came back, and what it might look like on Hilton Head in June
Early last week, Steve Wilmot answered a call from PGA Tour headquarters.
It had not been a month since the tour had canceled the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing over coronavirus concerns, a necessary move that ultimately cost the tournament more than $2 million in setup costs and ticket sales.
But then Wilmot’s phone rang with a proposal for the longtime Heritage tournament director from Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour’s vice president of competitions. The PGA Tour wants to start back in June. Would the RBC Heritage be interested in filling an open spot?
“We said we certainly would explore it,” Wilmot said.
Details were hammered during the next 10 days. Tournament staff were told of the possibility April 10 and began planning.
The Heritage would fill the June 18-21 slot vacated by the U.S. Open being postponed until September. No spectators, no concessions, no sponsors.
The new date was announced Thursday, when tournament play would have been beginning.
The tournament forfeits its money-making opportunities, but Sea Pines, Hilton Head and South Carolina would still receive valuable television coverage and an audience craving live sports.
Tournament officials say they will work with health officials and appropriate authorities to take proper health precautions. PGA Tour executives said they were encouraged by the progress of available COVID-19 testing and will evaluate the possibility of on-site testing.
“It gives us confidence that we will be able to develop a strong testing protocol that will mitigate risk as much as we possibly can,” Andy Pazder, the PGA Tour’s chief tournament and competitions officer, said on a call with reporters Thursday. “We know that there will also be further developments over the next eight weeks before we were to resume play.”
The Heritage would be the second event back for the PGA Tour. The first four events will be closed to the public, and the tour will continue to monitor recommendations on COVID-19 “to determine the most appropriate on-site access in each market,” a release said.
Hilton Head and the state of South Carolina typically benefit from the tournament’s economic boost, which last year was more than $100 million.
“Hosting the RBC Heritage tournament is an important tradition in South Carolina, and while this year will be different, we’re pleased with the PGA TOUR’s decision to include it on their revised schedule,” Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement. “Some may regret that it will be a broadcast-only event this year, but it’s the right decision for the safety of our people and for the well-being of the Hilton Head Island community, which will remain our top priority.”
Harbour Town, the 18-hole course in Sea Pines that has played host to the Heritage since 1969, is closed to the public during the pandemic, director of golf John Farrell said. The course is still being maintained.
Among the considerations for bringing back the Heritage was whether the course would be in proper shape and sufficiently transitioned from the ryegrass grown during the cooler months to the warm-weather bermuda grass, Pazder said.
Ninety percent of the grandstands, tents and other infrastructure needed for the April event had been built before the cancellation was official March 17, Wilmot said. That has all been taken down and won’t go back up for a June event.
“We look at it as an opportunity.,” Wilmot said. “Yes, there’s no revenue that will be generated that week, but for the exposure of this community, for the exposure of getting back on track, golf out there, what it means for South Carolina — it’s a win, win, win for many.”
Some tournament sponsors have paid; others have not. Charitable organizations, including the tournament host Heritage Classic Foundation, and school groups that benefit from the tournament each year will miss out on that money.
Heritage typically follows the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, each year and is lauded as a low-key venue following a high-pressure major championship.
The PGA Tour has stipulated that the Heritage field a full 144 players in June. The tournament is traditionally a limited-field event, with 132 players.
“Heritage in June I think would be fantastic,” PGA Tour veteran and Augusta native Charles Howell III said. “You would get warm weather; the golf course will be in great shape in June. “
The revised professional golf schedule includes a whirlwind of major events later in the year, with the PGA Championship in August, the U.S. Open and Ryder Cup in September and the Masters in November.
Revised 2019-20 PGA TOUR Season schedule
June 8-14: Charles Schwab Challenge, Colonial Country Club, Fort Worth, Texas
June 15-21: RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head
June 22-28: Travelers Championship, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut
July 2-5: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, Detroit, Michigan
July 6-12: John Deere Classic, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
July 13-19: the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio
July 20-26: 3M Open, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minnesota
July 27-Aug. 2: World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee
July 27-Aug. 2: Barracuda Championship, Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California
Aug. 3-9: PGA Championship, TPC Harding Park, San Francisco, California
Aug. 10-16: Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina
Aug. 17-23: THE NORTHERN TRUST, TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts
Aug. 24-30: BMW Championship, Olympia Fields Country Club (North), Olympia Fields, Illinois
Aug. 31-Sept. 7: TOUR Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 9:34 AM.
