Brandt Snedeker’s role in staging of 44th RBC Heritage Golf Tournament – Golf News
The Royal Bank of Canada and the Boeing Co. will be sponsoring the 44th edition of the RBC Heritage Golf Tournament at the Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, scheduled to start from April 12 to 15, 2012.
At the time of announcement of the sponsorship deal, Jim Little, RBC’s Brand and Communication Officer said that the management of RBC is proud to be associated with the event that is considered be the best sporting event in Carolina state.
“You can feel the energy that’s coming back to the tournament,” Little said.
Verizon, the long-time sponsor for the tournament, announced its withdrawal from the event in 2010.
Therefore, the Heritage Classic Foundation had to spend all its reserve funds to stage the event in 2011.
That was a time when the tournament officials desperately needed a sponsor to stage the event in 2012. Otherwise, they did not have any choice but to call off the tournament.
Therefore, the defending champion, Brandt Snedeker, decided to spend time to find a sponsor for the event so that he can get a chance to defend his title on the PGA Tour.
For this purpose, he called his fellow professionals to help him find a sponsor for the tournament.
The Tournament Director, Steve Wilmot, showed his gratitude for the efforts made by the winner of the 2011 event.
According to Snedeker, many players on the PGA Tour supported his cause of saving the event from dissolution.
At last, they succeeded in finding the sponsors in June last year when the Royal Bank of Canada and Boeing Co. confirmed to bear all the cost of staging the event. The estimated amount, according to Wilmot, is $8 million.
Snedeker, at the time of announcing the sponsorship deal, said that he was happy to see such a strong support from the players as they give much consideration to the event in Harbour Town.
“I think the tour had never run into that kind of support for a tournament before,” Snedeker said.
Snedeker won the 2011 title in the three-hole playoff against the current world number one, Luke Donald.
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