RBC Heritage planning 2021 not knowing what new year, COVID-19 impacts will bring
It’s mid-July and time for Steve Wilmot and the gang to begin preparations for the 2021 RBC Heritage, the PGA Tour’s annual April stop on Hilton Head Island.
Let’ see. They need to arrange for security personnel, determine the number of buses to transport fans from parking areas to the golf course, design and order shirts for volunteers, work out ticket packages, figure spectator and hospitality areas and ... the list is endless.
But a giant-sized obstacle looms.
“We don’t know what to plan for,” said Wilmot, the long-time tournament director. “We don’t know what the ‘new normal’ will be.”
Although the coronavirus outbreak plays no favorites in upsetting ways of life, golf has fared better than most in the world of sports. The Memorial Tournament that ends Sunday will be the sixth PGA Tour event — all without fans — since play resumed in early June after a three-month layoff.
Nevertheless ...
“The right thing today might be the wrong thing tomorrow; the situation is that fluid,” Wilmot said. “We have to plan to play in April, but what will the tournament look like? Will there be a pro-am? Spectators? Sky boxes? Hospitality?”
Wilmot is chairman of the Tour Advisory Council and consults regularly with other tournament directors. They exchange ideas, but they’re shooting at moving targets. One fall tournament on the 2020-21 schedule is selling pro-am spaces, but that’s subject to change. The Tour has said no fans will be allowed the remainder of the 2019-20 season that ends in early September, including the playoffs.
“We have to plan; it’s easier to plan and postpone than to wait until we ‘know’ to begin planning,” Wilmot said. “We saw that this spring. But right now, we don’t know what we’re up against.”
The virus forced postponement of the 2020 RBC Heritage in April. Then the tournament, played annually at Sea Pines Resort’s Harbour Town Golf Links since 1969, became part of the revised PGA Tour schedule, the second event after the restart.
“We wanted to be part of the solution,” Wilmot said of the decision to play in June. “We had a good week. Unique but good. The television coverage provided great advertisement for the state of South Carolina. We had great golf but a different scene. I’d look out and think, ‘Hey, there’s DJ (Dustin Johnson) or Rory (McIlroy) or Jordan (Spieth) and they’re out there with no fans around.’
“It was strange, but we got a lot of good feedback from the players. We heard a lot of comments like, ‘I’m surprised I haven’t been here before.’ They liked what we have here.”
The tournament is operated by the Heritage Classic Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, and the organization took a financial hit of more than $1 million from the April cancellation. Tickets, pro-am positions and sponsorships could be refunded, donated or deferred.
“We’re just a golf tournament, but it’s something that means so much to the community, and it’s hard to emphasize that the tournament means to so many people in terms of financial impact,” Wilmot said.
Surveys report the tournament generates a $102 million annual economic impact. Charities reap more than $3 million each year.
“This is the time of year we start planning for the next year’s tournament, and we have to see what tomorrow brings,” Wilmot said. “We had a unique week in June, and it worked. Next year could be completely different. We’ll plan, figure out our deadlines and adjust if necessary.”
Chip shots. Wofford golfer Walker Jones (Sumter) tied for second, leading the Palmetto State contingent in the Carolinas Amateur in Wilmington, North Carolina. Jordan Sease (Lexington) tied for sixth, and Rafe Reynolds (Greenville/USC signee) and Logan Sowell (Kershaw/College of Charleston) shared 10th). ... Georgia Tech golfer Tyler Strafaci won the Palmetto Amateur in Aiken. ... William Jennings (Greenville) won the boys’ title and Chloe Holder (Williamston) captured the girls’ crown in the SCJGA’s Blade Junior Classic in Greer. ... Trey Crenshaw (Lancaster) and Alexia Siehl (Fort Mill) won the championships in the CGA’s South Carolina Junior Match-Play in Conway. ... Stan Still (Spartanburg) and Jeff Stephens (Ware Shoals) charged from behind to win the SCGA’s Senior Four-Ball in Orangeburg.