The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply the Heritage, is a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

event in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, first played in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. It is currently played in mid-April, the week after

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

. The venue for its entire existence has been the

Harbour Town Golf Links Harbour Town Golf Links is a public golf course in the eastern United States, located in South Carolina in Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County. Since 1969, it has hosted the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour, usually in mid- ...

at the

Sea Pines Resort The Sea Pines Resort or Sea Pines is located in Sea Pines Plantation, a 5,200-acre private residential gated community located on the southern tip of the island which comprises the town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Sea Pines is home to ...

on Hilton Head Island. The Harbour Town course, which frequently appears on several "Best Courses" lists, was designed by famed golf course architect

Pete Dye Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), known as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye. Early life Dye was ...

, with assistance from Jack Nicklaus. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, the first two rounds were played on both the Harbour Town Golf Links and the Ocean course at Sea Pines, with the final two rounds at Harbour Town. Originally played in late November, it moved to mid-September in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, March in 1974, and April in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

. The inaugural champion in 1969 was forty-year-old

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

, his first win in over a year. Course co-designer Nicklaus won in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, two weeks before his fifth Masters win.

Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer who has won 21 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship: the 1997 PGA Championship. He won the Players Championship in 1992 and 2003. He was in the ...

leads with five victories in the event,

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

and Stewart Cink have three, while seven others have won twice. From

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

through 2010, it was sponsored either by MCI (under both the "MCI" and "WorldCom" names) or its eventual purchaser,

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas ...

. The tournament operated without a title sponsor in 2011, and the Royal Bank of Canada has been the title sponsor of The Heritage since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. It is currently organized by The Heritage Classic Foundation.

Course

*The course length at the inaugural event in 1969 was .

Invitational status

The Heritage is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the

, and consequently it has a reduced field of only 132 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the

Arnold Palmer Invitational The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...

, the

Charles Schwab Challenge The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organi ...

, the

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large n ...

, and the

Genesis Invitational The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually i ...

. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).

Field

The field consists of 132 players invited using the following criteria: # RBC Heritage winners prior to 2000 and in the last five years # U.S. Open or

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

winners prior to 2005 playing 15 events in prior year #

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...

and major championship winners in the last five years #

The Tour Championship The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...

and

World Golf Championships The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

winners in the past three years # Winners of the

and

in the past three years # Prior year

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

winner (if still amateur) # Winner FedEx Cup in the last five years # Playing member of last named U.S. Ryder Cup team; current PGA Tour members who were playing members on last named European Ryder Cup team, U.S.

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

team, and International Presidents Cup team # Top 50 Official World Golf Ranking through two weeks prior to the commitment deadline # 8 sponsors exemptions – 2 from

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. T ...

finals, 2 members not otherwise exempt, and 4 unrestricted # Commissioner exemption - 2 foreign players # PGA Section (Carolinas) champion/player of the year # Career Money Exemption # Life members # Top 125 from prior year's

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. T ...

points list, including top 125 (medical) # Members in the top 125 non-member category whose non-WGC points equal or exceed the points by the player finishing in 125th on the prior year FedEx Cup points list # Tournament winners (PGA Tour eligibility category 10) # Top 20 on current FedEx Cup points list through Friday prior to the tournament # Next five available players not otherwise eligible from current year's FedEx Cup points list # Remaining positions filled using standard PGA Tour eligibility ranking after top 125 non-member category

Playing history

The tournament has been played in the month of * November (1969–72) * September (1973) * March (1974–82) - usually two weeks before the Masters Tournament. * April (1983–2019, 2021–) - usually the week after the Masters Tournament. * June (2020) - Originally scheduled for April, but eventually rescheduled to June due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Winners

''Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.''
Source

Multiple winners

Ten men have won this tournament more than once through 2021. *5 wins **

: 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2003 *3 wins **

: 1971, 1973, 1994 ** Stewart Cink: 2000, 2004, 2021 *2 wins **

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

: 1972, 1974 **

Hubert Green Hubert Myatt Green (December 28, 1946 – June 19, 2018) was an American professional golfer who won 29 professional golf tournaments, including two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open and the 1985 PGA Championship. He was inducted into the ...

: 1976, 1978 ** Tom Watson: 1979, 1982 ** Fuzzy Zoeller: 1983, 1986 **

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...

: 1989, 1990 **

Boo Weekley Thomas Brent "Boo" Weekley (born July 23, 1973) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Overview Born in Milton, Florida, Weekley turned professional in 1997 and played on mini-tours until 2002, when he qualified for the ...

: 2007, 2008 **

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 200 ...

: 2010, 2015

Highlights

* 1969:

wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. He finishes three shots ahead of Richard Crawford and

Bert Yancey Albert Winsborough Yancey (August 6, 1938 – August 26, 1994) was an American professional golfer who won seven times on the PGA Tour and later played on the Senior PGA Tour. Biography Born in Chipley, Florida, Yancey lived much of his adult ...

. * 1971: Future three-time U.S. Open Champion,

, makes Heritage his first ever PGA Tour victory. He beats

Bob Lunn Robert J. Lunn (born April 24, 1945) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. Lunn was born in San Francisco, California. He was the 1963 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion. He turned pro in 1965 and w ...

by one shot. * 1976:

wins by five shots over Jerry McGee. It was Green's third consecutive win in as many weeks. * 1980:

George Archer George William Archer (October 1, 1939 – September 25, 2005) was an American professional golfer who won 13 events on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the Masters in 1969. Early years Born in San Francisco, California, Arc ...

sets a PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole tournament, 94. The previous mark was 99 set by

Bob Menne Robert Menne (February 19, 1942 – June 2, 2023) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, and the European Seniors Tour. Menne was born and raised in Gardner, Massachusetts, where he was graduated from ...

Kenny Knox Edward Kenneth Knox (born August 15, 1956) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and the Champions Tour. Knox was born in Columbus, Georgia. He and his brother were introduced to the game of golf b ...

would subsequently break Archer's record at the 1989 MCI Heritage Golf Classic. * 1984: Nick Faldo wins his first PGA Tour event by one shot over

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite w ...

. He is the first Englishman to win on

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

soil since

Tony Jacklin Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captai ...

at the 1972

Greater Jacksonville Open The Greater Jacksonville Open was a PGA Tour event that was played from 1945 until 1976. Shortly after World War II, the Jacksonville Open began play as a PGA Tour event in Jacksonville, Florida at the Hyde Park Golf Club until it was discontinue ...

. * 1987:

wins by one shot over Steve Jones. Jones had come to the 72nd hole leading by one but made a double bogey after his tee shot went out of bounds. * 1990:

becomes the first Heritage champion to successfully defend his title. He beats

Larry Mize Lawrence Hogan Mize (born September 23, 1958) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour. He is well known for one career-defining shot – a chip from off the green at the 11th hole at ...

and Steve Jones in a sudden death playoff. * 1994: Hale Irwin collects his 20th overall and last PGA Tour win at Harbour Town. He wins by two shots over

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

. * 1998: Davis Love III becomes the first four-time Heritage winner. He wins by seven shots over

Glen Day Glen Edward Day (born November 16, 1965) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was formerly a member of the PGA Tour. Day was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Poplarville, Mississippi, by his mother ...

. Day would avenge his loss the next season for his only PGA Tour win. * 2003: Davis Love III wins his fifth Heritage by defeating

Woody Austin Albert Woody Austin II (born January 27, 1964) is an American professional golfer who played the majority of his career on the PGA Tour, but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Austin was born in Tampa, Florida. He attended the University of Mi ...

in a sudden death playoff. To get in the playoff, Love chipped in from off the green at the 72nd hole. * 2005:

Peter Lonard Peter Lawrence Lonard (born 17 July 1967) is an Australian professional golfer who has played mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour. Early life Lonard was born at Epping, Sydney. Professional career Lonard turned professional in 1989 and began ...

wins by two shots over

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke, (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on a ...

Billy Andrade William Thomas Andrade (born January 25, 1964) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time winner. Early life Andrade was born in Bri ...

, and Davis Love III. Clarke was tied for the lead when teeing off on the 72nd hole, but like Steve Jones did in 1987, he hit his tee shot out of bounds and made double bogey. David Frost breaks

Mark Calcavecchia Mark John Calcavecchia (born June 12, 1960) is an American professional golfer and a former PGA Tour member. During his professional career, he won 13 PGA Tour events, including the 1989 Open Championship. He plays on the Champions Tour as well a ...

's record of 93 putts in a 72-hole tournament by hitting only 92 putts. * 2007

chips in on the last two holes for his first ever PGA Tour victory. He wins by one shot over

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

. * 2010: Jim Furyk defeats Brian Davis in a sudden death playoff. On the first playoff hole, Davis calls a two-shot penalty on himself after he touched a loose impediment in a hazard with his golf club. * 2013: A PGA Tour record-tying 91 players make the 36-hole cut, (a record set at the 1981

Greater Hartford Open Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

Jesper Parnevik Jesper Bo Parnevik (; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2000 and 2001. Early years and amateur career Parnevik was born in Botkyrka, Stockholm County, a ...

bogeyed the 18th hole, giving Parnevik and 21 additional golfers entry into the third round.

References

External links

*
Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
{{coord, 32.136, N, 80.810, W, display=t, type:event PGA Tour events Golf in South Carolina Recurring sporting events established in 1969 MCI Communications 1969 establishments in South Carolina