Watch: Cannon blast marks start of 2022 RBC Heritage after 2 years of COVID-19 restrictions
The echoing bagpipes marked the return of what Hilton Head Island has grown accustomed to over the decades: the pomp and circumstance of the Heritage.
As the Citadel Regimental Pipe Band marched onto the 18th hole of Harbour Town Golf Links, and an excited crowd of tartan-clad fans applauded the musicians early Tuesday afternoon, one thing was clear: the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing was back to its old self.
Tuesday’s opening ceremony harkened back to the pre-pandemic times of 2019 and 2018, when COVID-19 was unheard of.
With the sun baking down around noon, and hardly a cloud in the sky, fans returned to the PGA Tour tournament’s ceremonial start to cheer on defending champion Stewart Cink, who was seemingly a bit nervous about his role in the festivities: hitting a golf ball out into the Calibogue Sound at the same time as a cannon blast.
After the cannon fired, Cink threw a wooden golf club high into the air, briefly put his hands on his head, then pumped his fists. Smoke drifted around the scene.
“I had the ear plugs really screwed in. ... There’s no way to be ready for that, to try to hit a ball into the air with that noise going on,” Cink, the world No. 74 golfer and a three-time winner of the Heritage, later told reporters. “It’s hard enough with a cellphone going off here and there. But that cannon is a new level.”
The 2020 tournament had no spectators due to the coronavirus. The 2021 event was limited to 20% of its usual capacity.
But those restrictions are now long gone. Organizers expect 120,000 fans to attend Hilton Head’s biggest event of the year between Tuesday and Sunday.
The pageantry has returned. Elected officials, including Mayor John McCann, and Heritage Classic Foundation leaders, covered in plaid, gathered together near the 18th green before the cannon blast. There was a parade to the course from Harbour Town. And spectators were able to pack into a set of public bleachers to watch all the fun.
“This is Hilton Head’s No. 1 event,” McCann said. “This is the event that shows who we are.”
It certainly felt more like a typical Heritage on Tuesday, even though the early days of the tournament are historically quieter than on the weekends.
Fans nursed beers and tried to find some shade. A group of kids waited near a fence, hoping to snag an autograph or two. And people watched silently as golfers walked down the 18th hole, practicing.
There were no masks in sight.
When asked about the tournament’s return to full capacity, Cink told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette, “We really love having the fans that we can play in front of. It gives us the energy.
“It just makes the place feel like a sporting event,” Cink said.
This story was originally published April 12, 2022 at 2:40 PM.
