Brandt Snedeker has committed to defend his title at the 44th annual RBC Heritage to be contested April 9-15 over the famed Harbour Town Golf Links, tournament officials announced Monday. Five other past champions have also made early commitments to play in the Hilton Head Island PGA TOUR event.
Scheduled to join Snedeker are two-time champions Stewart Cink and Boo Weekley, plus Jim Furyk, Brian Gay and Glen Day. The five former champions will join the field in shooting for the top prize of $1,026,000 from a purse of $5,700,000.
RBC is the new title sponsor of this year’s event under a five-year sponsorship agreement and the Boeing Company has made a five-year commitment as the tournament’s first presenting sponsor.
Snedeker already has a win this year in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He broke into the Harbour Town winner’s circle last April when he fired a final round seven-under par 64 to tie Player of the Year Luke Donald and then defeat him in a playoff.
Cink, former British Open Champion, captured the Heritage in 2000 and 2004. Weekley is the last to win back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008 and Gay was the 2009 winner. Furyk, the 2010 victor and 1999 champion Day both won after playoffs.
The Heritage was left without a title sponsor after Verizon decided not to renew but in June, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem to announce that RBC would be the new sponsor for the RBC Heritage.
The announcement ended a two-year search for a title sponsor for the Hilton Head tournament, the only PGA TOUR event in South Carolina. Haley was credited with playing a major role in helping secure the sponsorship to keep the tournament in the Palmetto State.
“This is a great day in South Carolina and we’re going to celebrate,” Haley said at the time of the announcement.
Examiner.com is providing coverage of the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island throughout tournament week with news, interviews with players and fans and stories about where to go off the golf course. Follow Rosalie Thompson on Twitter @RosalieT, on Facebook @ HiltonHeadNews or click for a direct link to her articles at BestHiltonHead.com.
Comments