On Grand Strand Golf: Spieth maintains RBC Heritage commitment, headlines field

The biggest news regarding the field received by RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing tournament director Steve Wilmot in the past few days didn’t come from any late commitments.

Instead, it came from one particular player who confirmed his commitment despite some last minute changes to his travel plans early tournament week.

Masters champion Jordan Spieth has told PGA Tour and tournament officials that he plans to honor his commitment to play at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island this week.

He is making the usual media rounds and television appearances that come in the immediate aftermath of winning the green jacket, including an appearance on CBS’s David Letterman Show in New York on Monday.

Spieth was granted a release from the Wednesday pro-am, but he plans to tee it up in Thursday’s opening round.

Spieth has played in the RBC Heritage in each of the past two years. He was granted a sponsor exemption as a 19-year-old in 2013 and tied for ninth, and tied for 12th last year the week after finishing as the runner-up to Bubba Watson in the 78th Masters.

Spieth said during the Masters that he didn’t want people to think this period of really good golf was a streak or a run, that this is how people should expect him to play all the time. He was asked after winning Sunday what people should expect now.

“Maybe not as much next week,” he joked. “I'm planning to play Hilton Head. I don't know, I'm a little tired.”

Because the RBC Heritage is an invitational, the field is a little smaller and more exclusive than some other PGA Tour events. The tournament has used some of its sponsor exemptions wisely.

The last three were awarded last week to Corey Conners, Sam Saunders and Marcel Siem.

Conners, a Canadian who shared medalist honors in the 2014 General Jim Hackler Championship at the TPC Myrtle Beach as a senior at Kent State, shot a 69 Friday in the Masters in his final round as an amateur. He received an invitation to Augusta National as the 2014 U.S. Amateur runner-up.

Saunders, who is Arnold Palmer’s grandson, is a Clemson alum who earlier this year lost in a three-man playoff at the Puerto Rico Open. He played at Harbour Town in 2011 as a sponsor exemption. Siem is German and his four international victories include the 2014 BMW Masters.

Other exemptions previously announced were Jonathan Byrd, Adam Hadwin, Jeff Maggert, Cameron Smith, Scott Vincent and Johnson Wagner.

Players had until 5 p.m. Friday to register for the RBC Heritage. Late commitments included Ian Poulter, the Englishman ranked 26th in the world who is making his fifth Heritage appearance and first since 2011, and Colombian Camilo Villegas, who has played every year since 2006 with three top-10s.

They are part of a strong field that includes an impressive list of RBC Golf ambassadors including defending champion Matt Kuchar, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell, Brandt Snedeker, as well as Canadians Graham DeLaet, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir.

The RBC ambassadors have endorsement and banking and financial services agreements with the Heritage title sponsor.

Others committed this week include past champions Aaron Baddeley, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Carl Pettersson, Tom Watson and Boo Weekley, as well as reigning FedExCup champion Billy Horschel, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed, Jason Dufner, Bill Haas, Charley Hoffman, K.J. Choi, Zach Johnson, Ryo Ishikawa, Kevin Na, Charl Schwartzel, Webb Simpson, Vijay Singh, David Toms and Jeff Maggert, who recently signed a deal to represent Sea Pines Resort in Hilton Head when he competes in PGA Tour and Champions Tour events.

Daily tickets and weeklong badges for this year’s tournament are now on sale online at www.rbcheritage.com.

Pro-am canceled

With its Monday and Wednesday pro-ams sold out, RBC Heritage organizers attempted to add an off-site pro-am on Wednesday at The Club at Savannah Harbor in Savannah, Ga., but have canceled it because of a lack of participation.

The event was going to benefit select Savannah charities.

It was a rare and bold move to attempt to add an off-site pro-am late in the game, as it was announced Feb. 27. The participant fee was $1,500 and came with a gift package that included the round with a PGA Tour pro in the field and a Heritage ticket package.

Homeless in Myrtle?

Dustin Johnson has sold his home in Myrtle Beach … he thinks.

“I sold it, but I think I still kind of own it,” Johnson somewhat explained last week during the Masters. “I'm like an owner-financer. I don't know, you'd have to ask my accountant.”

Johnson bought the home in 2008, his rookie year on the PGA Tour and a year after his four-year career at Coastal Carolina ended, and lived in it for a couple years before purchasing a home in the Jupiter, Fla., area in early 2011 and relocating there.

He has been renting out the Myrtle Beach house off S.C. 707 for a few years and still has ties to the area, including the Dustin Johnson Golf School at the TPC Myrtle Beach that is operated by his former college coach, Allen Terrell.

Late last year, Johnson reportedly sold his original Florida home and purchased and moved to another one in North Palm Beach, Fla.

Though he spent much of his six-month break from the PGA Tour from August through January to address “personal challenges” in Thousand Oaks, Calif., down the street from his prospective in-laws Wayne and Janet Gretzky, Johnson said he plans to maintain a residence in Florida, which doesn’t have a state income tax.

“I like Florida,” Johnson said. “I'll visit California a lot, but I'm not going to live there.”

TOC adds golf

The eighth annual Taste of the Coast on Saturday, May 2 at the North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex is adding a golf tournament on May 4 at the Grande Dunes Members Club to the fundraising events.

The inaugural Risen Christ Taste of the Coast Charity Golf Tournament has a four-person team scramble format and 1 p.m. shotgun start. Entry fee is $125 per player or $400 per arranged team and includes prizes, range balls, non-alcoholic beverages and dinner following play. Mulligans, a 50-50 drawing and sponsorships are available.

Proceeds benefit the Risen Christ Lutheran School Growth Fund, which financially assists families seeking a Christian education and provides for upgrades in educational technology and the campus. Interested players can call the school office at 843-272-8163.

Taste of the Coast festival features food samplings from many area restaurants and a family-friendly atmosphere at a cost of $3 per adult. Children 12 and under are free. Organizers request attendees bring canned food items to support the North Strand Helping Hands.

Veterans Classic approaching

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is accepting entries to the 16th annual Veterans Golf Classic, a two-person team event being played from May 17-20 on eight Grand Strand courses.

The entry fee of $270 for new players and $250 for returning players includes three rounds on three different courses, flights based on team handicap, a welcome reception with open bar and awards banquet with plated dinner and open bar.

Participating courses are International Club of Myrtle Beach, Man O’War, The Wizard, Meadowlands, Panther’s Run, The Pearl, Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club and River Oaks.

Players must be active duty military or veterans or be playing with one to participate. More than 400 players are expected. Interested players can visit veteransclassicgolf.com, call 1-800-833-8798 or email vclassic@golfholiday.com.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 6:09 PM with the headline "On Grand Strand Golf: Spieth maintains RBC Heritage commitment, headlines field."