The PGA TOUR is coming off one of the most memorable Masters Tournaments in many years, and this week most of the top pros will be right back in action for a Signature Event at the RBC Heritage. The 2025 RBC Heritage gets underway on Thursday at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Let’s take a quick look at the history of this event and the course that will welcome this week’s Signature Event.
The history of the event
Harbour Town Golf Links has hosted this event since 1969. The name has changed as sponsors shifted until becoming the RBC Heritage in 2012.
The inaugural champion in 1969 was forty-year-old Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus won in 1975 just two weeks before he won the 1975 Masters that was honored and highlighted throughout this year’s coverage to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his victory.
While it was originally held in the fall and then moved to before the Masters, the event has become the standard stop on the PGA TOUR for the week after Augusta. This year, the event will serve as the fifth of the PGA TOUR’s eight signature events and will feature a field of 72 players in a no-cut format where all players will play four rounds barring withdrawal or disqualification. 2025 will be the third straight year that the RBC Heritage has Signature Event status.
While the winner doesn’t get a green jacket, they do earn the Tartan Jacket, which is an homage to the heritage of golf, which originated in Scotland. The Tartan Jacket dates back to the early ’70s and provides a great photo op for the winner with the iconic lighthouse in the background.
Last year, Scottie Scheffler followed up his win at the Masters with another victory at this event the following week. Inclement weather forced the final few groups to finish their rounds on Monday morning, but Scottie cruised to a three-shot victory over Sahith Theegala who finished alone in second just ahead of Wyndham Clark and Patrick Cantlay.
This year, the event will again feature an elite field with only Rory McIlroy and Hideki Matsuyama qualifying but opting to pass up this week at Hilton Head Island.
Since it is a Signature Event, the event has a huge $20 million total purse with $3.6 million for the winner along with 700 FedExCup points.
A closer look at the course
Harbour Town Golf links isn’t as well-known as Augusta National, but it isn’t that far behind either. It regularly appears in the lists of top courses in the United States and is a favorite for many PGA TOUR pros who reside in the area. While it is definitely a difficult track, some pros consider it to be a bit of a “break” after grinding all week at the Masters.
That doesn’t mean it’s an easy course, though, with plenty of waste areas, marshes and difficult bunkers to navigate. Here are a few great links to check out to remind yourself of how hard and how exciting the course can be. Here are the all-time greatest shots from the RBC Heritage, the highlights from last year’s event, and an all-time edition of “Golf is Hard” based on shots from this tournament over the years.
The course is very different than Augusta National in many ways, including length. It’s a par 71 layout that only stretches 7,213 yards. It’s a shorter course that demands players drive it accurately, knock mid-iron shots in close, and scramble out of trouble without getting unlucky in the bunkers or waste areas.
The course is a very positional course that typically takes length out of the equation and rewards excellent work on approach and around the greens. Experience and patience usually pays off at the RBC Heritage. The last ten champions averaged 32 years old, with six winning at over 35 and none under the age of 27.
As we look to predict the outcome of the 2025 RBC Heritage, some of the top stat factors to consider when filling out your fantasy golf lineups and betting cards are Strokes Gained: Approach, Stroked Gained: Around the Green, Scrambling, and experience at Harbour Town and other Pete Dye designs.
