RBC Heritage

Tournament information
Location	Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Established	1969
Course(s)	Harbour Town Golf Links
Par	71
Length	7,191 yards (6,575 m)[1]
Organized by	The Heritage Classic Foundation
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$20,000,000
Month played	April
Tournament record score
Aggregate	262 Webb Simpson (2020)
To par	−22 as above
Current champion
Matt Fitzpatrick
Location Map
Harbour Town Golf Links Location in the United States Show map of the United States Harbour Town Golf Links Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina

The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic or simply The Heritage, is a PGA Tour event in South Carolina, first played 55 years ago in 1969.^[2] It is currently played in mid-April, the week after The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

The venue for its entire existence has been the Harbour Town Golf Links at the Sea Pines Resort 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, with assistance from Jack Nicklaus. In 1972, 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,^[3] it moved to mid-September in 1973, March in 1974, and April in 1983. The inaugural champion in 1969 was forty-year-old Arnold Palmer, his first win in over a year.^[2][3] Course co-designer Nicklaus won in 1975,^[4] two weeks before his fifth Masters win. Davis Love III leads with five victories in the event, Hale Irwin and Stewart Cink have three, while seven others have won twice.

From 1987 through 2010, it was sponsored either by MCI (under both the "MCI" and "WorldCom" names) or its eventual purchaser, Verizon. The tournament operated without a title sponsor in 2011,^[5] and the Royal Bank of Canada has been the title sponsor of The Heritage since 2012.^[6] It is currently organized by The Heritage Classic Foundation.^[7]

Course

Source:^[1]

• The course length at the inaugural event in 1969 was 6,655 yards (6,085 m).^[3]

Invitational status

The Heritage is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour,^[8] 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 Charles Schwab Challenge, the Memorial Tournament, and the Genesis Invitational. 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:^[9]

1. RBC Heritage winners prior to 2000 and in the last five years
2. U.S. Open or PGA Championship winners prior to 2005 playing 15 events in prior year
3. The Players Championship and major championship winners in the last five years
4. The Tour Championship and World Golf Championships winners in the past three years
5. Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Memorial Tournament in the past three years
6. Prior year U.S. Amateur winner (if still amateur)
7. Winner FedEx Cup in the last five years
8. 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 team, and International Presidents Cup team
9. Top 50 Official World Golf Ranking through two weeks prior to the commitment deadline
10. 8 sponsors exemptions – 2 from Korn Ferry Tour finals, 2 members not otherwise exempt, and 4 unrestricted
11. Commissioner exemption - 2 foreign players
12. PGA Section (Carolinas) champion/player of the year
13. Career Money Exemption
14. Life members
15. Top 125 from prior year's FedEx Cup points list, including top 125 (medical)
16. 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
17. Tournament winners (PGA Tour eligibility category 10)^[10]
18. Top 20 on current FedEx Cup points list through Friday prior to the tournament
19. Next five available players not otherwise eligible from current year's FedEx Cup points list
20. 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.^[11]

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse ($)	Winner's share ($)
RBC Heritage
2023	Matt Fitzpatrick	267	−17	Playoff	Jordan Spieth	20,000,000	3,600,000
2022	Jordan Spieth	271	−13	Playoff	Patrick Cantlay	8,000,000	1,440,000
2021	Stewart Cink (3)	265	−19	4 strokes	Emiliano Grillo Harold Varner III	7,100,000	1,278,000
2020	Webb Simpson	262	−22	1 stroke	Abraham Ancer	7,100,000	1,278,000
2019	Pan Cheng-tsung	272	−12	1 stroke	Matt Kuchar	6,900,000	1,242,000
2018	Satoshi Kodaira	272	−12	Playoff	Kim Si-woo	6,700,000	1,206,000
2017	Wesley Bryan	271	−13	1 stroke	Luke Donald	6,500,000	1,170,000
2016	Branden Grace	275	−9	2 strokes	Luke Donald Russell Knox	5,900,000	1,062,000
2015	Jim Furyk (2)	266	−18	Playoff	Kevin Kisner	5,900,000	1,062,000
2014	Matt Kuchar	273	−11	1 stroke	Luke Donald	5,800,000	1,044,000
2013	Graeme McDowell	275	−9	Playoff	Webb Simpson	5,800,000	1,044,000
2012	Carl Pettersson	270	−14	5 strokes	Zach Johnson	5,700,000	1,026,000
The Heritage
2011	Brandt Snedeker	272	−12	Playoff	Luke Donald	5,700,000	1,026,000
Verizon Heritage
2010	Jim Furyk	271	−13	Playoff	Brian Davis	5,700,000	1,026,000
2009	Brian Gay	264	−20	10 strokes	Briny Baird Luke Donald	5,700,000	1,026,000
2008	Boo Weekley (2)	269	−15	3 strokes	Aaron Baddeley Anthony Kim	5,500,000	990,000
2007	Boo Weekley	270	−14	1 stroke	Ernie Els	5,400,000	972,000
2006	Aaron Baddeley	269	−15	1 stroke	Jim Furyk	5,300,000	954,000
MCI Heritage
2005	Peter Lonard	277	−7	2 strokes	Billy Andrade Darren Clarke Jim Furyk Davis Love III	5,200,000	936,000
2004	Stewart Cink (2)	274	−10	Playoff	Ted Purdy	4,800,000	864,000
2003	Davis Love III (5)	271	−13	Playoff	Woody Austin	4,500,000	810,000
WorldCom Classic - The Heritage of Golf
2002	Justin Leonard	270	−14	1 stroke	Heath Slocum	4,000,000	720,000
2001	José Cóceres	273	−11	Playoff	Billy Mayfair	3,500,000	630,000
MCI Classic
2000	Stewart Cink	270	−14	2 strokes	Tom Lehman	3,000,000	540,000
1999	Glen Day	274	−10	Playoff	Jeff Sluman Payne Stewart	2,500,000	450,000
1998	Davis Love III (4)	266	−18	7 strokes	Glen Day	1,900,000	342,000
1997	Nick Price	269	−15	6 strokes	Brad Faxon Jesper Parnevik	1,500,000	270,000
1996	Loren Roberts	265	−19	3 strokes	Mark O'Meara	1,400,000	252,000
1995	Bob Tway	275	−9	Playoff	David Frost Nolan Henke	1,300,000	234,000
MCI Heritage Golf Classic
1994	Hale Irwin (3)	266	−18	2 strokes	Greg Norman	1,250,000	225,000
1993	David Edwards	273	−11	2 strokes	David Frost	1,125,000	202,500
1992	Davis Love III (3)	269	−15	4 strokes	Chip Beck	1,000,000	180,000
1991	Davis Love III (2)	271	−13	2 strokes	Ian Baker-Finch	1,000,000	180,000
1990	Payne Stewart (2)	276	−8	Playoff	Steve Jones Larry Mize	1,000,000	180,000
1989	Payne Stewart	268	−16	5 strokes	Kenny Perry	800,000	144,000
1988	Greg Norman	271	−13	1 stroke	David Frost Gil Morgan	700,000	126,000
1987	Davis Love III	271	−13	1 stroke	Steve Jones	650,000	117,000
Sea Pines Heritage
1986	Fuzzy Zoeller (2)	276	−8	1 stroke	Chip Beck Roger Maltbie Greg Norman	450,000	81,000
1985	Bernhard Langer	273	−11	Playoff	Bobby Wadkins	400,000	72,000
1984	Nick Faldo	270	−14	1 stroke	Tom Kite	400,000	72,000
1983	Fuzzy Zoeller	275	−9	2 strokes	Jim Nelford	350,000	63,000
1982	Tom Watson (2)	280	−4	Playoff	Frank Conner	300,000	54,000
1981	Bill Rogers	278	−6	1 stroke	Bruce Devlin Hale Irwin Gil Morgan Craig Stadler	300,000	54,000
1980	Doug Tewell	280	−4	Playoff	Jerry Pate	300,000	54,000
Sea Pines Heritage Classic
1979	Tom Watson	270	−14	5 strokes	Ed Sneed	300,000	54,000
Heritage Classic
1978	Hubert Green (2)	277	−7	3 strokes	Hale Irwin	225,000	45,000
1977	Graham Marsh	273	−11	1 stroke	Tom Watson	225,000	45,000
Sea Pines Heritage Classic
1976	Hubert Green	274	−10	5 strokes	Jerry McGee	215,000	43,000
1975	Jack Nicklaus	271	−13	3 strokes	Tom Weiskopf	200,000	40,000
1974	Johnny Miller (2)	276	−8	3 strokes	Gibby Gilbert	200,000	40,000
1973	Hale Irwin (2)	272	−12	5 strokes	Jerry Heard Grier Jones	150,000	30,000
1972	Johnny Miller	281	−3	1 stroke	Tom Weiskopf	125,000	25,000
1971	Hale Irwin	279	−5	1 stroke	Bob Lunn	110,000	22,000
Heritage Golf Classic
1970	Bob Goalby	280	−4	4 strokes	Lanny Wadkins	100,000	20,000
1969	Arnold Palmer	283	−1	3 strokes	Richard Crawford Bert Yancey	100,000	20,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:^[12][13]

Multiple winners

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

• 5 wins
  • Davis Love III: 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998, 2003
• 3 wins
  • Hale Irwin: 1971, 1973, 1994
  • Stewart Cink: 2000, 2004, 2021
• 2 wins
  • Johnny Miller: 1972, 1974
  • Hubert Green: 1976, 1978
  • Tom Watson: 1979, 1982
  • Fuzzy Zoeller: 1983, 1986
  • Payne Stewart: 1989, 1990
  • Boo Weekley: 2007, 2008
  • Jim Furyk: 2010, 2015

Highlights

• 1969: Arnold Palmer wins the inaugural edition of the tournament. He finishes three shots ahead of Richard Crawford and Bert Yancey.^[14]
• 1971: Future three-time U.S. Open Champion, Hale Irwin, makes Heritage his first ever PGA Tour victory. He beats Bob Lunn by one shot.^[15]
• 1976: Hubert Green wins by five shots over Jerry McGee. It was Green's third consecutive win in as many weeks.^[16]
• 1980: George Archer sets a PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole tournament, 94. The previous mark was 99 set by Bob Menne.^[17] Kenny Knox would subsequently break Archer's record at the 1989 MCI Heritage Golf Classic.^[18]
• 1984: Nick Faldo wins his first PGA Tour event by one shot over Tom Kite. He is the first Englishman to win on United States soil since Tony Jacklin at the 1972 Greater Jacksonville Open.^[19]
• 1987: Davis Love III 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.^[20]
• 1990: Payne Stewart becomes the first Heritage champion to successfully defend his title. He beats Larry Mize and Steve Jones in a sudden death playoff.^[21]
• 1994: Hale Irwin collects his 20th overall and last PGA Tour win at Harbour Town. He wins by two shots over Greg Norman.^[22]
• 1998: Davis Love III becomes the first four-time Heritage winner. He wins by seven shots over Glen Day. Day would avenge his loss the next season for his only PGA Tour win.^[23]
• 2003: Davis Love III wins his fifth Heritage by defeating Woody Austin in a sudden death playoff. To get in the playoff, Love chipped in from off the green at the 72nd hole.^[24]
• 2005: Peter Lonard wins by two shots over Darren Clarke, Jim Furyk, Billy Andrade, 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.^[25] David Frost breaks Mark Calcavecchia's record of 93 putts in a 72-hole tournament by hitting only 92 putts.^[26]
• 2007 Boo Weekley chips in on the last two holes for his first ever PGA Tour victory. He wins by one shot over Ernie Els.^[27]
• 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.^[28]
• 2013: A PGA Tour record-tying 91 players make the 36-hole cut, (a record set at the 1981 Greater Hartford Open). Jesper Parnevik bogeyed the 18th hole, giving Parnevik and 21 additional golfers entry into the third round.^[29]