| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina |
| Established | 1969 |
| Course(s) | Harbour Town Golf Links |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 6,973 yards (6,376 m) |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | $5,700,000 |
| Month played | April |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 264 Brian Gay (2009) |
| To par | -20 Brian Gay (2009) |
| Current champion | |
| Brandt Snedeker | |
The RBC Heritage, known for much of its history as the Heritage Classic, is a PGA Tour FedEx Cup event, first played in 1969. The venue has been the Harbour Town Golf Links at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 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.
From 1987 through 2010, it was sponsored either by MCI (under both the "MCI" and "WorldCom" names) or its eventual purchaser, Verizon. In 2011, the tournament operated without a title sponsor.[1] On June 16, 2011, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced in a press conference at the Payne Stewart Ballroom at Harbour Town that Royal Bank of Canada will sponsor The Heritage until 2016.[2]
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The Heritage Classic Foundation, general sponsor of The Heritage, provides the financial stability, guidance, and direction to the tournament. After each tournament, the Foundation distributes revenue produced by the event to a wide variety of charitable organizations, universities, and medical institutions. In 2005, the Heritage Classic Foundation donated $1.55 million dollars, bringing the total to close to $13 million since it was organized.
The Heritage is one of only five tournaments given "invitational" status by the PGA Tour,[3] and consequently it has a reduced field of only 132 players (as opposed to most full-field open tournaments with a field of 156 players). The other four tournaments with invitational status are the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the Memorial Tournament, and the AT&T National. Invitational tournaments have smaller fields (between 120 and 132 players), and have more freedom than full-field open tournaments in determining which players are eligible to participate in their event, as invitational tournaments are not required to fill their fields using the PGA Tour Priority Ranking System. Furthermore, unlike full-field open tournaments, invitational tournaments do not offer open qualifying (aka Monday qualifying).
The tournament has been played in the month of
| Year | Player | Country | Score | To par | 1st Prize ($) | Purse ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RBC Heritage | ||||||
| 2012 | ||||||
| The Heritage | ||||||
| 2011 | Brandt Snedeker | United States | 272 | -12 | 1,026,000 | 5,700,000 |
| Verizon Heritage | ||||||
| 2010 | Jim Furyk | United States | 271 | -13 | 1,026,000 | 5,700,000 |
| 2009 | Brian Gay | United States | 264 | -20 | 1,026,000 | 5,700,000 |
| 2008 | Boo Weekley | United States | 269 | -15 | 990,000 | 5,500,000 |
| 2007 | Boo Weekley | United States | 270 | -14 | 972,000 | 5,400,000 |
| 2006 | Aaron Baddeley | Australia | 269 | -15 | 954,000 | 5,300,000 |
| MCI Heritage | ||||||
| 2005 | Peter Lonard | Australia | 277 | -7 | 936,000 | 5,200,000 |
| 2004 | Stewart Cink | United States | 274 | -10 | 864,000 | 4,800,000 |
| 2003 | Davis Love III | United States | 271 | -13 | 810,000 | 4,500,000 |
| WorldCom Classic - The Heritage of Golf | ||||||
| 2002 | Justin Leonard | United States | 270 | -14 | 720,000 | 4,000,000 |
| 2001 | José Cóceres | Argentina | 273 | -11 | 630,000 | 3,500,000 |
| MCI Classic | ||||||
| 2000 | Stewart Cink | United States | 270 | -14 | 540,000 | 3,000,000 |
| 1999 | Glen Day | United States | 274 | -10 | 450,000 | 2,500,000 |
| 1998 | Davis Love III | United States | 266 | -18 | 342,000 | 1,900,000 |
| 1997 | Nick Price | Zimbabwe | 269 | -15 | 270,000 | 1,500,000 |
| 1996 | Loren Roberts | United States | 265 | -19 | 252,000 | 1,400,000 |
| 1995 | Bob Tway | United States | 275 | -9 | 234,000 | 1,300,000 |
| MCI Heritage Golf Classic | ||||||
| 1994 | Hale Irwin | United States | 266 | -18 | 225,000 | 1,250,000 |
| 1993 | David Edwards | United States | 273 | -11 | 202,500 | 1,125,000 |
| 1992 | Davis Love III | United States | 269 | -15 | 180,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 1991 | Davis Love III | United States | 271 | -13 | 180,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 1990 | Payne Stewart | United States | 276 | -8 | 180,000 | 1,000,000 |
| 1989 | Payne Stewart | United States | 268 | -16 | 144,000 | 800,000 |
| 1988 | Greg Norman | Australia | 271 | -13 | 126,000 | 700,000 |
| 1987 | Davis Love III | United States | 271 | -13 | 117,000 | 650,000 |
| Sea Pines Heritage | ||||||
| 1986 | Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 276 | -8 | 81,000 | 450,000 |
| 1985 | Bernhard Langer | West Germany | 273 | -11 | 72,000 | 400,000 |
| 1984 | Nick Faldo | England | 270 | -14 | 72,000 | 400,000 |
| 1983 | Fuzzy Zoeller | United States | 275 | -9 | 63,000 | 350,000 |
| 1982 | Tom Watson | United States | 280 | -4 | 54,000 | 300,000 |
| 1981 | Bill Rogers | United States | 278 | -6 | 54,000 | 300,000 |
| 1980 | Doug Tewell | United States | 280 | -4 | 54,000 | 300,000 |
| Sea Pines Heritage Classic | ||||||
| 1979 | Tom Watson | United States | 270 | -14 | 54,000 | 300,000 |
| Heritage Classic | ||||||
| 1978 | Hubert Green | United States | 277 | -7 | 45,000 | 225,000 |
| 1977 | Graham Marsh | Australia | 273 | -11 | 45,000 | 225,000 |
| Sea Pines Heritage Classic | ||||||
| 1976 | Hubert Green | United States | 274 | -10 | 43,000 | 215,000 |
| 1975 | Jack Nicklaus | United States | 271 | -13 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1974 | Johnny Miller | United States | 276 | -8 | 40,000 | 200,000 |
| 1973 | Hale Irwin | United States | 272 | -12 | 30,000 | 150,000 |
| 1972 | Johnny Miller | United States | 281 | -4 | 25,000 | 125,000 |
| 1971 | Hale Irwin | United States | 279 | -5 | 22,000 | 110,000 |
| Heritage Golf Classic | ||||||
| 1970 | Bob Goalby | United States | 280 | -4 | 20,000 | 100,000 |
| 1969 | Arnold Palmer | United States | 283 | -1 | 20,000 | 100,000 |
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Source[4][5]
Nine men have won this tournament more than once through 2011.