Some of PGA Tour’s big names are making rare stop at Harbour Town. Can they tame it?
Rory McIlroy can look down the range at Harbour Town Golf Links and tell this isn’t a typical week.
The top-ranked player in the world is on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing for the first time since his only other appearance in 2009. He’s joined by the next five players on the Official World Golf Ranking and the most winners in a PGA Tour field since the number started being tracked.
That’s encouraging as the tour resumes with the first round of the Heritage on Thursday, McIlroy said. The tournament is the tour’s second event following a hiatus during the coronavirus outbreak.
“That’s what we all want,” McIlroy said. “We all want to play against the best fields week in, week out.”
Harbour Town has the reputation of a vacation destination after a high-pressure major championship. For some, the Heritage doesn’t make their schedule because it’s a week off following the grind to prepare for the Masters the week before.
For others, the tree-lined golf course suited to imagination and shot-making might not fit their eye.
With everyone itching to tee it up after the season was put on hold because of coronavirus, those considerations aren’t in play as some see Harbour Town for the first time and others are returning for the first time in years.
Five-time champion Davis Love was stopped this week on the driving range by Tony Finau, who like a younger Love has a reputation as a big hitter. Finau, who played the Heritage in 2015 and 2016 with a missed cut, asked Love for secrets solving Harbour Town.
They talked about how Love approached the course when he was having success and how the strategy was similar to the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, also by architect Pete Dye.
“We always wonder, a Tony Finau or a Dustin Johnson — boy, this would really suit them once you think about, well, you don’t have to hit driver every hole, and you get to use every club in your bag,” Love said. “A powerful player could play a strategy around here, like the Players Championship, that would work.”
Players unfamiliar with Harbour Town might be surprised at the small greens, Love said. They might underestimate a smaller course that can turn fierce when the wind gets up, with some of the higher winning scores on tour.
“This is not a place where you’re going to tee it up as high as you can and see how high your ball speed can get off the tee,” said two-time champion Jim Furyk. “It’s about placement. For those guys that like to work the ball a lot — right to left, left to right, high shot, low shot — for your creative players, good ball strikers, they have an advantage at this golf course.“
The Heritage was Rickie Fowler’s first PGA Tour event when he earned a spot in the 2008 tournament after winning the Players Amateur in Bluffton. The timing after the Masters made scheduling tough, Fowler said, and he’s back this week for the first time since 2012.
Fowler has missed cuts in three of his four appearances at Harbour Town, with a top-10 finish in 2010.
“I love the golf course. It’s fun and different,” Fowler said. “It’s not just bombs away and find it. You’ve got to play in certain spots.”
RBC Heritage schedule, TV, stream info
The Golf Channel: Thursday-Friday from 3-6 pm, Saturday-Sunday from 1-2:30 pm
CBS Sports: Saturday-Sunday from 3-6 pm
Live stream at PGAtour.com/live Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. (featured groups), Saturday-Sunday 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 to 6 p.m. (featured holes).
RBC Heritage featured groups
The four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday
▪ Rory McIlroy, C.T. Pan, Rickie Fowler (Thursday, 7:40 a.m., No. 10 tee; Friday, 1:05 p.m., No. 1 tee)
▪ Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed (Thursday, 7:29 a.m., No. 10 tee; Friday, 12:54 p.m., No. 1 tee)
▪ Jon Rahm, Justin Rose, Justin Thomas (Thursday, 1:05 p.m., No. 1 tee; Friday, 7:40 a.m., No. 10 tee)
▪ Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland (Thursday, 12:54 p.m., No. 1 tee; Friday, 7:29 a.m., No. 10 tee)
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Some of PGA Tour’s big names are making rare stop at Harbour Town. Can they tame it?."
