Record scores, few claps: A ‘surreal’ RBC Heritage closes with different feel
Dylan Frittelli’s scream broke the relative silence surrounding the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links. The noise surprised him.
He was encouraging his 13-foot putt to get to the hole. And after it dropped for a final round 62 — the low round of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing to give him the clubhouse lead Sunday — Frittelli was reminded of the strange circumstances of this PGA Tour event on Hilton Head Island.
“That was kind of surreal,” Frittelli said. “I shouted ‘Go!’ because I thought it was short into the grain, and I almost had to like check myself. ‘Whoa, why did I scream so loud?’ No background noise at all.”
Webb Simpson broke away from the pack Sunday evening, winning with a 22-under-par 262.
The tour’s second tournament of the restarted season closed with little fanfare Sunday despite a major championship field, as spectators are not allowed in the PGA Tour’s first events back during the coronavirus pandemic.
Well-executed shots were met with scattered applause from folding chairs and porches on houses along the course. Moments that would have elicited roars were met with chirping birds.
Brooks Koepka sneezed in the eighth fairway, and the response from a woman on a nearby porch was clear enough for all to hear: “Bless you!”
When Koepka’s mammoth drive on the following par-4 ninth settled 3 feet from the hole to set up an eagle, there were no filled grandstands surrounding the green to cheer as he approached. Instead, an older man in a folding chair on a lawn along the fairway clapped enthusiastically and correctly assessed that Koepka would like where his drive finished.
Thunder rolled moments later and one sound cut clearly across the course: the horn blast for a weather delay. Players walked calmly off the course to the clubhouse unimpeded.
The delay interrupted play for an hour and 45 minutes because of lightning in the area, with players racing daylight when play resumed at 5:21 p.m.
The different feel in June included docile conditions and enough wet weather to give everyone the green light in a tournament that can favor gritty players when the wind howls.
Koepka’s drive on No. 9 landed just off of the green on the fly before rolling gently to a stop. Under firmer conditions the shot might have bounded over the green.
“I’ve got to say, everything is playing softer, the fairways, the greens,” 2019 champion C.T. Pan said after a final round 69 to finish 9 under. “So it’s pretty easy and no wind. So it makes sense to me that people would shoot like 20 under to win.”
Frittelli didn’t expect his 17-under 267 to hold up to win with so many players behind him and an inviting course setup. Justin Thomas matched him at 17 under when finished his final hole after the delay. Koepka was charging around the turn.
“I’m going to go home and pack my bags,” Frittelli said. “I’ll have a spare set of clothes on standby in case I need to rush back for a playoff. I’ll probably be sipping something cold by the time they’re finishing.”
RBC Heritage final scores, payout
Purse: $7,100,000
Webb Simpson $1,278,000 ... 65-65-68-64—262 (-22)
Abraham Ancer $773,900 ... 69-64-65-65—263 (-21)
Daniel Berger $418,900 ... 67-69-63-65—264 (-20)
Tyrrell Hatton $418,900 ... 71-64-63-66—264 (-20)
Sergio Garcia $274,238 ... 70-65-65-65—265 (-19)
Joaquin Niemann $274,238 ... 69-68-63-65—265 (-19)
Brooks Koepka $239,625 ... 67-66-68-65—266 (-18)
Bryson DeChambeau $186,375 ... 67-64-70-66—267 (-17)
Dylan Frittelli $186,375 ... 65-69-71-62—267 (-17)
Ryan Palmer $186,375 ... 65-67-66-69—267 (-17)
J.T. Poston $186,375 ... 67-69-66-65—267 (-17)
Justin Thomas $186,375 ... 72-66-66-63—267 (-17)
Michael Thompson $186,375 ... 65-69-66-67—267 (-17)
Matthew Fitzpatrick $129,575 ... 66-66-68-68—268 (-16)
Ian Poulter $129,575 ... 64-69-67-68—268 (-16)
Justin Rose $129,575 ... 70-67-66-65—268 (-16)
Harris English $104,725 ... 67-70-68-64—269 (-15)
Brice Garnett $104,725 ... 65-71-65-68—269 (-15)
Dustin Johnson $104,725 ... 68-66-67-68—269 (-15)
Jhonattan Vegas $104,725 ... 70-63-69-67—269 (-15)
Corey Conners $69,225 ... 68-63-69-70—270 (-14)
Lucas Glover $69,225 ... 69-68-66-67—270 (-14)
Viktor Hovland $69,225 ... 65-71-68-66—270 (-14)
Alex Noren $69,225 ... 69-66-66-69—270 (-14)
Doc Redman $69,225 ... 72-66-65-67—270 (-14)
Rory Sabbatini $69,225 ... 70-67-68-65—270 (-14)
Erik van Rooyen $69,225 ... 66-68-66-70—270 (-14)
Christiaan Bezuidenhout $48,635 ... 67-69-68-67—271 (-13)
Tyler Duncan $48,635 ... 71-63-68-69—271 (-13)
Brian Harman $48,635 ... 70-67-69-65—271 (-13)
Sebastián Muñoz $48,635 ... 65-69-69-68—271 (-13)
Chris Stroud $48,635 ... 68-69-63-71—271 (-13)
Tony Finau $36,299 ... 66-68-68-70—272 (-12)
Jim Herman $36,299 ... 68-69-69-66—272 (-12)
Mark Hubbard $36,299 ... 64-72-68-68—272 (-12)
Andrew Landry $36,299 ... 68-67-66-71—272 (-12)
Matthew NeSmith $36,299 ... 66-67-73-66—272 (-12)
Carlos Ortiz $36,299 ... 69-67-63-73—272 (-12)
Jon Rahm $36,299 ... 71-67-66-68—272 (-12)
Sepp Straka $36,299 ... 67-71-67-67—272 (-12)
Jason Dufner $25,205 ... 69-66-70-68—273 (-11)
Adam Hadwin $25,205 ... 72-65-67-69—273 (-11)
Max Homa $25,205 ... 67-69-69-68—273 (-11)
Matt Kuchar $25,205 ... 70-66-67-70—273 (-11)
Rory McIlroy $25,205 ... 72-65-66-70—273 (-11)
Sam Ryder $25,205 ... 69-65-68-71—273 (-11)
Charl Schwartzel $25,205 ... 71-67-66-69—273 (-11)
Joel Dahmen $18,673 ... 68-68-63-75—274 (-10)
Ernie Els $18,673 ... 67-67-72-68—274 (-10)
Bill Haas $18,673 ... 71-66-68-69—274 (-10)
Scott Stallings $18,673 ... 70-68-65-71—274 (-10)
Harry Higgs $16,827 ... 69-68-70-68—275 (-9)
Matt Jones $16,827 ... 69-69-66-71—275 (-9)
C.T. Pan $16,827 ... 68-68-70-69—275 (-9)
Brian Stuard $16,827 ... 68-70-70-67—275 (-9)
Vaughn Taylor $16,827 ... 67-69-70-69—275 (-9)
Bubba Watson $16,827 ... 69-68-73-65—275 (-9)
Chesson Hadley $16,117 ... 68-68-68-72—276 (-8)
Bernhard Langer $16,117 ... 69-67-71-69—276 (-8)
Maverick McNealy $16,117 ... 72-66-66-72—276 (-8)
Branden Grace $15,833 ... 69-69-67-72—277 (-7)
Stewart Cink $15,620 ... 68-68-72-70—278 (-6)
Gary Woodland $15,620 ... 69-68-71-70—278 (-6)
Wyndham Clark $15,194 ... 68-66-70-75—279 (-5)
Collin Morikawa $15,194 ... 68-69-68-74—279 (-5)
Xander Schauffele $15,194 ... 72-66-75-66—279 (-5)
Matt Wallace $15,194 ... 68-68-66-77—279 (-5)
Wesley Bryan $14,768 ... 69-68-73-70—280 (-4)
Jordan Spieth $14,768 ... 66-70-75-69—280 (-4)
Mackenzie Hughes $14,342 ... 66-68-69-78—281 (-3)
Danny Lee $14,342 ... 68-67-76-70—281 (-3)
Peter Malnati $14,342 ... 71-67-69-74—281 (-3)
Troy Merritt $14,342 ... 70-68-72-71—281 (-3)
Ryan Armour $13,916 ... 69-68-71-74—282 (-2)
Chez Reavie $13,916 ... 68-70-68-76—282 (-2)
This story was originally published June 21, 2020 at 3:53 PM.
