How government, Haley, the RBC, Boeing, and a bit of luck saved S.C.'s only PGA golf tournament

While there's been a good bit of buzz about the 2012 PGA Championship coming to Kiawah Island Golf Resort, there was also a lot of handwringing over the future of South Carolina's only regular PGA tournament, the Heritage Classic on Hilton Head.

With the 43-year-old tournament having previously lost Verizon as its premier sponsor, it had to spend much of its reserves (and some local government contributions) to stay afloat in 2011. And so it was with much rejoicing that word broke that the tournament was here to stay thanks to a trio of new sponsors: the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Boeing, and the Town of Hilton Head.

But after having gone more than a year without a sponsor, securing one was no simple matter, and it involved a lot of intervention at the top level of state government and, certainly, a lot of good luck. 

The Post and Courier has put together an upbeat narrative on how the efforts of tournament leaders, Gov. Nikki Haley, RBC officials, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R), and Boeing officials worked together to make it happen; take a read here.

And get the backstory on the long tail of the deal and the tournament over here.

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