‘It’s nice to be back.’ 100,000 attend PGA Tour tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links
After two quiet years, crowds returned to the RBC Heritage in 2022.
“There’s been a little extra buzz and giddy-up in there,” tournament director Steve Wilmot said of this year’s PGA Tour event at Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head. “It’s incredible how this community works together.”
Between 100,000 and 110,000 people were expected to attend the PGA Tour event featuring the greatest golfers in the game by the tournament’s end, Wilmot said.
As of press time Sunday afternoon, the leading players in the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing were still on the course. Go to islandpacket.com for the final results.
The 2022 crowd estimate compares to 125,000 to 130,000 who attended in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the doors on the tournament, resulting in no spectators in 2020 and 20 percent capacity in 2021.
“It’s nice to be back,” Wilmot said.
This year’s lower attendance compared to 2019 was not a coincidence.
Discussion of reducing the number of tickets began before COVID-19 hit, following the big crowds in 2019. Attendance in 2019, Wilmot said, was too high. That year, he said, “we couldn’t have gotten another person in here.”
“We could have sold a lot more tickets this week,” Wilmot said of 2022, “but we didn’t want to. There’s something to be said about the overall experience — the enhanced experience.”
The Heritage Classic Foundation, a not-for-profit, hosts the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing to raise money for education and charities. During 2021’s limited capacity tournament, $1.2 million was raised. Wilmot expects the amount of money raised this year to be closer to $3 million because of the increase in numbers.
Digital tickets were introduced this year which Wilmot said was the biggest change the tournament has ever undertaken. A few hiccups occurred, he said, but overall it’s worked well. With digital tickets, information will be gathered about parking, entrances and concessions that will help in managing future events.
This story was originally published April 17, 2022 at 2:42 PM.
