‘Different for all of us’: New-look RBC Heritage kicks off with downscaled pageantry
C.T. Pan raised both arms in the air Wednesday morning as a cloud of cannon smoke wafted over him.
What seemed improbable a few months earlier had completed its 180-degree turn — The RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing had ceremoniously begun.
The defending champion Pan slipped on the champion’s tartan jacket as his wife quickly straightened the lapels. He took a hickory golf club in his hands and considered its weight.
“This will be the most difficult shot this week,” he said.
A few moments later, he approached a ball teed up on a small pile of sand on a lawn beyond the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links. The wind blew in from Calibogue Sound and a young couple braced themselves on the bow of a nearby catamaran.
Cannoneers fired the artillery while Pan hit his tee shot towards the water. The boom could be felt throughout the small crowd that had gathered for a scaled-down version of the traditional ceremony.
The PGA Tour found a June date for the Heritage after the April event was canceled during the initial coronavirus outbreak. The virus has set the stage for an unusual 2020 tournament with no fans permitted entry and a list of new safety measures for golfers and staff.
“It’s so different for all of us,” tournament director Steve Wilmot said. “I’m kind of like ‘What’s going on? The pro-am should be going on.’”
The Harbour Town Yacht Basin was quiet early Wednesday, as a crowd of about 10 people gathered outside the Quarterdeck restaurant to watch the cannon fire from across the water.
Chris Holbrook, 21, was there with his grandparents, who were visiting from Virginia.
Holbrook, who lives in Moss Creek just off of Hilton Head Island, said he was going to intern at the Heritage in April, but that program was cut due to COVID-19.
“I’m obviously upset that the fans won’t be there,” said Holbrook, who is studying golf management at the Professional Golfers Career College. “But standing here to watch the cannon has always been a dream.”
He moved to the area last fall and said his goal is to work at the Heritage someday. Holbrook will watch all of the tournament coverage on TV, he said.
Just before the cannon went off at 9 a.m., Journey’s song, “Don’t Stop Believin” echoed out from somewhere near the row of marina shops, and a few people stopped to take photos.
Ben Granger, 57, and Andrea Granger, 51, who were visiting the island from Richmond, Virginia, stopped by to watch the ceremony. They’ve never been to the Heritage, but heard about the Wednesday event.
“(It’s) not every day you see a cannon,” Andrea Granger said.
They drove around Sea Pines earlier this week, trying to catch a glimpse of a few pros. They saw someone on the 14th hole. They weren’t sure who.
Some slips were still open in the marina Wednesday morning, but Nancy Cappelmann, the harbormaster, on Monday told The Island Packet the marina will be as packed as usual this week.
Some regulars who come for the Heritage won’t be docking, she said, because they scheduled to come in April. Boaters are headed up the coast from Florida, though, and stopping in before continuing north.
That’s normal during the spring, she said, but the coronavirus seemed to push that travel pattern back a bit. Parts of the northeast were hit hard by COVID-19.
By 9:30 a.m., only a handful of people were walking along the edge of the water at Harbour Town.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 11:41 AM with the headline "‘Different for all of us’: New-look RBC Heritage kicks off with downscaled pageantry."
