2024 RBC Heritage to Clash With Another PGA Tour Event This Week; Here’s Why

This week, the PGA Tour will be played at two different sites. One group of pros will be playing at Hilton Head Island, while many will be playing in the Republic of Dominica. Often, the PGA Tour may clash its events with other leagues or with its arch-rival LIV Golf. However, the unique clash with its events is a one-of-a-kind thing.

But this is not the first time that the PGA Tour has scheduled two events on the same dates. Last month, the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Puerto Rico Open were scheduled for the same week. The RBC Heritage and Corales Puntacana Championships will start on April 18th. And the PGA Tour has a valid reason to have both events on the same date.

Why did the PGA Tour announce two events for one week?

To put it simply, the PGA Tour is making ways for the less recognized and low-ranked players on the Tour to shine more without getting overshadowed by the current greats of the American League. Events coinciding with elevated events are called alternate events and these have lower purse sizes with low field strength.

Comparatively, the RBC Heritage has a prize pool of $20 million with 700 FedExCup and $3.6 million up for grabs for the winner. Whereas, the Corales Puntacana Championship has a purse of $4 million, with the winner getting $684,000 and 300 FedExCup points. Moreover, the new faces on the PGA Tour will get a chance to get their maiden win with many benefits.

Additionally, the winner will get a two-year exemption to play on the PGA Tour and will be eligible to play the next big event on the PGA Tour. So, whoever enters the field of these alternate events gets the spotlight he could have missed if the top players were in the field. After the Puntacana Championship and RBC Heritage, there will be two more pairs of events clashing in the future.

The first will be the Myrtle Beach Classic and Wells Fargo Championship in May. Then, the Barracuda Championship in Truckee will be played the same week as the Open Championship in July. At the Corales Puntacana Championship and the RBC Heritage, there is a seeable difference in what’s at stake. However, there is one more thing that differs between the two events.

The contrasting field size of the RBC Heritage Corales Puntacana Championship

Unlike the usual events of the PGA Tour, the signature events will have a limited field, and that’s what the RBC Heritage has as well. Only 69 players will be admitted to the Harbour Town Golf Links course. On the other hand, at the Puntacana Championship, a whopping 132 players will be playing for the coveted prize purse and trophy.

Significantly, the field at Hilton Head Island is highlighted by the best of the golf world, like 2024 Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, 2024 Masters solo runner-up Ludvig Aberg, defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick, and all the top 50 players from OWGR except one. The one missing from the field of RBC Heritage has rather chosen the event in Dominic.

It is the Norwegian prodigy, Nicolai Hojgaard. The pro was T16th at the Masters and is the only highest-ranked player (34th) in the field at the Corales Golf Course. Nonetheless, both events will be action-packed and filled with drama, as two winners will be announced by the end of the week.