RBC is opening its wallet and lending its name to another PGA Tour event.
The bank announced a five-year agreement to take over title sponsorship of The Heritage on Thursday, giving it one more major golf property to go with the RBC Canadian Open.
“The benefit of two tournaments in two different countries is we’ll get different people following us,” Jim Little, RBC’s chief brand and communications officer, said from Hilton Head, S.C. “We’ll also get a little relationship benefit with the PGA Tour. We’re now a significant and growing partner of theirs.”
RBC has shown a strong commitment to the sport since taking over title sponsorship of the Canadian Open in November 2007.
Little insists that having a second tournament in the company’s portfolio won’t negatively affect the Canadian Open — “absolutely the opposite” — and indicated that RBC will now turn its attention to working out an extension with Golf Canada.
The current title sponsorship deal for the Canadian Open expires next year.
The Heritage has been played at the Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina since 1969. The tournament is held in April shortly after the Masters.
It was operated without a title sponsor this year after having its previous deal with Verizon expire — not unlike what happened with the Canadian Open when Bell walked away in 2005.
