Hilton Head’s RBC Heritage is at risk of losing its longtime sponsor, new reports say
New reports indicate an uncertain financial relationship between the PGA Tour and the league’s longtime sponsor, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), calling into question the future of Hilton Head Island’s signature RBC Heritage tournament.
RBC’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer Mary DePaoli detailed the company’s “frustrations” with the state of the sport at a press conference ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, according to reporting from SCOREGolf.
“We are all watching the PGA Tour right now trying to sort through a business model that has been under some significant strain and has still not fully resolved itself,” DePaoli said, adding that it was “really important for (the bank) to see the PGA Tour stabilize men’s professional golf.”
RBC began its stint as the title sponsor of Hilton Head’s annual PGA Tour event in 2012, saving the tournament from an uncertain future after Verizon pulled away from their sponsorship after 2010. The 2011 tournament was played without a title sponsor.
Valued at $2 trillion, the multinational bank has also served as the title sponsor of the Canadian Open since 2008. RBC paid the PGA Tour a reported $25 million to hold the top sponsorship for 2024’s Heritage and Canadian Open tournament. Both deals were one year in length.
The PGA Tour has entered an unusually precarious competitive situation in recent years, struggling against reports of gradually dwindling viewership and new competition from rival league LIV Golf, which was founded in 2022 and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Reaching “elevated status” for the first time in 2023, the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing brings millions of dollars every year to Beaufort County’s economy, especially in the Sea Pines community on southern Hilton Head. Local officials have long advocated for the tournament’s venue at the Harbour Town Golf Links course. The Town of Hilton Head Island spent $400,000 this year to sponsor the 56th annual event.
This is not unprecedented territory for the PGA Tour, which has regularly seen corporate sponsors withdraw while others come forward. As recently as 2023, Honda withdrew their sponsorship of the annual tournament held in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a few weeks before the Heritage. The technology company Cognizant stepped in to become the title sponsor for the 2024 event.
Representatives from the Heritage Classic Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email on Monday afternoon.
