World’s top golfers drawing first-time spectators to RBC Heritage on Hilton Head
Roland Van Espe picked the perfect Tuesday afternoon to return to South Carolina’s Lowcountry for the first time in over 50 years.
Formerly a Charleston-based airman, Van Espe’s time in South Carolina ended when he left military service in 1969. An “avid golfer,” Van Espe said he’d always wanted to come back and visit Hilton Head.
A parade of plaid celebrating the first day of RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, bolstered by a lineup of the world’s top golfers, gave him more than enough reason.
Clear skies and breezy 60-degree weather for the event made his return sweeter, even after the nearly 5,000-mile trip from his native Hawaii.
“That’s why I’m here, specifically for the RBC,” Van Espe told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. “I wanted to see if I could get to the Masters but couldn’t. When I found out RBC Heritage was right after that, that’s when I decided, and obviously the purse this year is bigger than the Masters, so that was really impressive.”
Van Espe is just one of the hundreds who poured through the Harbour Town Golf Links’ gates Tuesday, hoping to get a glimpse of a field that includes world No. 1 Jon Rahm, fresh off his first Masters victory and second major championship. Heritage’s elevated status on the PGA Tour has encouraged those who visited Hilton Head before but never came to the tournament to grab tickets of their own.
Aaron Margo and his son Ben, who is a member of the PGA Junior League, have been visiting the island for about five years. This year’s field of top-10 names like Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland drew the Pittsburgh natives to Sea Pines for a first-time tournament visit.
“Seeing more names that the kids know is big,” Aaron Margo said. “That definitely had us say ‘Hey, might as well go check this out.’ It definitely elevates the event some, the excitement and the buzz around the tournament.”
Ben Margo and his siblings spent much of the morning near the clubhouse practice area, eagerly waiting with hats and banners to grab autographs as pros left for the course.
“There’s a lot of bigger names here that I look up to because they’re good influences and they play golf really well,” Ben Margo said. “I’d like to snag (autographs of defending Heritage champion) Jordan Spieth or Justin Thomas. Those are my main ones.”
Even for return spectators like Wesley Wilder and his son, Davis, big names were a particular draw to this year’s event. Both attended last year’s Heritage tournament during play.
“This is just a practice round, so I didn’t expect it would be this busy,” Wilder said, “but as the day goes on, we’re seeing a lot more people walking around, and definitely catching a glimpse of those players we’re hoping to get to see.”
Tournament play will begin Thursday at 7:20 a.m.
This story was originally published April 11, 2023 at 12:22 PM.
