Will golf’s top stars return to RBC Heritage? Here are 5 takeaways from a wild week
In case you missed it, Webb Simpson charged to his first victory at Harbour Town Golf Links with a barrage of birdies to beat the loaded PGA Tour field and the dark Sunday.
Simpson won for the seventh time on tour and the second time on Father’s Day. Tournament officials at the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing put the final touches on a strange year with an abbreviated ceremony to award Simpson the coveted tartan jacket.
The golf tournament should return to its date on the schedule next April, the week following the Masters. But before things resemble normal, here are five takeaways from a historic week on Hilton Head Island.
To those in a bubble, Hilton Head crowds were shocking
To PGA Tour players who had been largely isolated with much of the country for the past few months during the coronavirus pandemic, the sight of the summer tourist season on Hilton Head Island was a surprise.
Justin Thomas made waves during the tournament and seemed to touch a nerve with some locals on social media by describing the apparent relaxed attitude about COVID-19 on Hilton Head.
He wasn’t alone with that observation. PGA Tour player Carlos Ortiz said he had to leave restaurants early in the week because waits were too long and people were too tightly packed together.
Who will be back, who won’t
The RBC Heritage enjoyed an unbelievably loaded field as the top golfers returned to test their games after a long layoff.
The week was a chance for Harbour Town to woo players who have typically skipped the coastal destination after the pressure-packed Masters, while for others it affirmed why they have stayed away.
Rory McIlroy, the world’s top-ranked golfer, sounded doubtful about a return to Hilton Head after his round Sunday.
“Once I got here and I played the golf course, I sort of remembered why I haven’t been here for a while,” McIlroy said. “It’s tough. It’s a lovely place. There’s other courses on tour that probably fit my game a little bit better, and obviously the week after the Masters is always a tough one. Guys like to come here and decompress, but my idea of decompression is not seeing golf clubs for a week.”
South Carolina native Dustin Johnson said he would definitely be back in 2021. He’s sponsored by the tournament’s title sponsor, RBC, and said he likes the golf course.
“I definitely prefer it overseeded and in April,” he said. “I think it plays a lot tougher.”
Whether he can convince a return trip from buddy Brooks Koepka, who was making his first appearance at Harbour Town, remains to be seen. The four-time major champion gears up for the big events, and Harbour Town might not seem a natural fit for his bruising reputation. But he bullied it around to finish 18 under and in seventh place.
The public is itching to play Harbour Town
Golfers pining to play the Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus designed golf course will rush in when Harbour Town reopens to the public on Tuesday. The course had been closed since April 3 to prepare for the Heritage, even as Sea Pines’ other courses stayed booked with golfers looking to escape quarantine and sought outdoor activity.
Harbour Town had 240 rounds on the books for Tuesday, two days after the tournament ended. Demand is typically high after the Heritage in the spring, director of golf John Farrell said, with June typically a slower month because the golf course is aerified and holes punched in the turf require days to heal.
PGA Tour’s COVID-19 protocol might need tinkering
PGA Tour player Nick Watney became the first golfer to test positive for the coronavirus in the tour’s second week back. Watney said a fitness band alerted him to a high respiratory rate, and he consulted a doctor and was tested.
Watney had returned to the golf course and interacted with several people before his positive test result came back. He withdrew from the tournament and reported to isolation per tour protocol.
But 11 people had been identified as possibly in contact with Watney. The tour said those 11 people tested negative and that it was awaiting results of a secondary test to confirm.
No fans, no problems
A baby could be heard screaming from off the course while Bubba Watson putted. The course was so quiet during the final round that a caddie noted the potential distraction of the television network’s drone buzzing overhead to capture views of Calibogue Sound.
For a week with no spectators, though, there were no major issues reported with security breaches or unruly fans on porches and yards.
Those lucky enough to score a view from a patio or condo balcony cheered enthusiastically from a distance and welcomed their favorite players with homemade signs.
Bryson DeChambeau stopped his golf cart after his final round to engage fans in yards along the 18th hole. He signed golf balls and fist bumped a young boy. A woman thanked DeChambeau and said he had been the only player to stop.
