The burden of being Hideki Matsuyama was lifted at the Masters

When you think about fashion at the RBC Heritage, the first thing that comes to mind is likely the plaid jacket that is presented to the winner of the event. In 2019, an additional layer of style will be added to the festivities as lifestyle and apparel brand Southern Tide is now the official style sponsor of the tournament. Based in Greenville, South Carolina, Southern Tide is known for its laidback coastal vibe, which is a perfect complement for the Harbour Town Golf Links’ seaside location on Hilton Head Island. This marks the first time the Heritage Classic Foundation, the general sponsor of the tournament, has partnered with a lifestyle apparel brand. “The Heritage Classic Foundation is grateful to be partnering with this elite lifestyle brand,� said Steve Wilmot, President of the Heritage Classic Foundation. “We are proud of our South Carolina heritage as we celebrate fifty-one years and jumped at the chance to be styled by this well-known Palmetto State brand.� The partnership will kick off efforts in 2018 leading up to and beyond the tournament. As part of the partnership, RBC Heritage staff will be outfitted in pieces from Southern Tide’s high-performance T3 golf collection. RBC Heritage volunteers will also wear the newest performance tops from Southern Tide, including the Jack (for men) and Jackee (for women) polos. To honor the tradition of the tournament, Southern Tide is also launching a custom Heritage-inspired design with a fun take on the tournament’s signature tartan plaid. Southern Tide will also be extending some southern hospitality to patrons of the tournament. The brand is expected to host the “Southern Tide Experience� on the Heritage Lawn with complimentary swag. Advertising and participation in the Pro-Am shopping spree are also included in the partnership. “The RBC Heritage is a celebrated tradition among golf enthusiasts and a must-experience event in the Southeast,� said Christopher Heyn, CEO of Southern Tide. “In all that we do, our goal is to have fun with family and friends while looking great. Golf is a pastime enjoyed by many of our fans and has played a special role in the Southern Tide identity throughout the years. We’re excited to bring our fresh take on coastal lifestyle sportswear to the PGA TOUR and to embrace what we are all about.� Founded in 2006, Southern Tide is known for its effortless good looks. Its Skipjack Polo epitomizes the brand’s DNA. The classically styled shirt features a two-button placket, a rib knit collar and cuffs, and pique fabric. Laser engraved logo buttons, signature taping at the neck, and a hint of stretch add a modern touch. The 51st annual RBC Heritage will be played the week following the Masters, April 15-21, 2019, at the famed Harbour Town Golf Links.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Each day at THE PLAYERS Championship, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Spoiler alert — we don’t always agree. Dustin Johnson has never had a top-10 finish at THE PLAYERS. Will he remain in contention after his co-leading 6-under 66? Mike McAllister (Managing Editor) – Difficult to think the world No. 1 won’t stay in the hunt but consider me skeptical. Track record’s just not there. But if he shoots another 66 on Friday… Sean Martin (Senior Editor) – I think so. He’s the No. 1 player in the world, so there’s no reason to think that he won’t. He just has to remain disciplined and stick to his game plan. Ben Everill (Staff Writer) – Contention… Yes. Will he win? No. I don’t think his putting will stay as solid over the next three rounds. Cameron Morfit (Staff Writer) – It seems likely. He believes he’s found something with his putting with the new putter and his new use of the Aimpoint system of green-reading. And that self-belief should carry him through to some more solid rounds. What kind of odds would you give Si Woo Kim to repeat after his opening 67? McAllister – Still not good, but he continues to impress me at the TOUR’s signature course. Hit 12 fairways and 14 greens on Thursday. Martin – No one has ever repeated at this event, so history is against him. This course is so penal, and field so strong, that it’s no surprise that no one has gone back-to-back. Everill – I’ll offer 30-1. Si Woo certainly loves this place and is an almost robotic talent at times but history and the quality of others who also started well are against him. Morfit – Around here I’d say maybe 5-10 percent. No one has ever repeated. Kim played well enough to win at RBC Heritage, and he looks imminently comfortable at TPC Sawgrass, but we were reminded how quickly the course can strike back when he made those back-to-back bogeys on 7 and 8. In 10 words or less, describe the Tiger-Phil-Rickie performance. McAllister – Misconceive, underachieve and long sleeves. Martin – Underwhelming. Everill – A tough day at the office. Morfit – A mild letdown, but the afternoon conditions were tougher. Biggest surprise of the opening round? McAllister – The kneejerk reaction is Steve Stricker but he talked me off the ledge after his 67. “I’m not surprised,â€� he said. “I feel like I’m capable of putting up a round like this.â€� Gotta love the last-man-in shoots 67 story. Nice job, Keith Mitchell. Martin – Phil’s 79 is definitely up there, but I think that Keith Mitchell’s 67 deserves this honor. The rookie was the last man in the field. He didn’t get in the event until Wednesday. Nice debut. Everill – The obvious one is Keith Mitchell but to be honest Adam Scott’s 69 surprised me a bunch given his recent lack of form. The former PLAYERS champ is free-falling down the world rankings but now has a chance to arrest the slide. Hope he does. Morfit – Given the fact that Dustin Johnson had no top-10 finishes in nine starts here, his 66 was pretty surprising. Funny how quickly we forgot about the world No. 1. Keith Mitchell’s 67 was unexpected, as well. Biggest non-surprise of the opening round? McAllister – Matt Kuchar off to a strong start. He’s won here before, and though he denies it, I suspect he wanted to make amends for his last trip around TPC Sawgrass (an 81 in third round last year). Martin – Sergio Garcia’s 68. Playing the final three holes in 3 over par was a surprise, but the guy is a perennial contender at TPC Sawgrass. Everill – That Phil Mickelson struggled while wearing his new button-down office shirt. I just can’t get used to it. Morfit – This is a tie between past champions Sergio Garcia (68) and Matt Kuchar (66). They love TPC Sawgrass, and they showed it yet again.

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GUYANCOURT, France – Tiger Woods has been paired with Patrick Reed in the opening Four-Ball session of the Ryder Cup, breaking up the equal best team in American Ryder Cup history. Coming off his win at the TOUR Championship, Woods joins Masters champion Reed – nicknamed Captain America for his heroics in his first two Ryder Cups – in the anchor slot of the morning session. They will play against Open Champion Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. Reed had previously been part of an ominous duo with Jordan Spieth who combined for a 4-1-2 over the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups in team play and with their five total points sit tied with Arnold Palmer and Gardner Dickinson as the greatest teams in USA Ryder Cup history. The pair have also combined to be 4-0-1 in Presidents Cup team play. “With Tiger and Patrick and Jordan and J.T. we kind of looked at our options,â€� American captain Jim Furyk said. “We had one very good pairing. I think we came out of it with two very good pairings. The idea was to double up and try to get two. “Patrick’s a guy that really enjoys that moment and enjoys that big stage, and Tiger’s the one that brings it. We thought it would be a good pair.â€� Furyk pointed to the chemistry between Woods and Reed, even at the last Ryder Cup where Woods played the role of vice-captain while injured, as a major factor. “It’s going to be fun for both of us. We’ve been looking forward to teaming up and doing something like this together,â€� Woods said. “We finally have our opportunity to go against two great competitors. One is The Open Champion, and Tommy’s played obviously extremely well and very consistently all year.â€� Furyk didn’t rule out the Spieth Reed team getting back together over the three days with confirmation they remain part of a four-man pod with Justin Thomas and Woods. Thomas and Spieth will play together against Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton. Reed clearly had no problem getting a new partner. “Any time you get to tee it up with Big Cat, it’s always fun,â€� Reed said. “It’s going to be energetic. We look to anchor the team tomorrow morning and get going and hopefully start things off right.â€� BJORN PUTS EARLY FAITH IN ROOKIES European captain Thomas Bjorn raised some eyebrows with his morning Four-Ball selections, sending four of his five rookies out into the cauldron in France. Along with Fleetwood, Jon Rahm will join Justin Rose in the opening match against Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau; Thorbjorn Olesen teams up with Rory McIlroy against Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler and Tyrrell Hatton joins Paul Casey to take on Spieth and Justin Thomas. “They have been just itching to go, especially Thorbjørn and Jon and Tyrrell, they are just really desperate to get out on that golf course. I wanted to get them out there,â€� Bjorn said. Rahm has the added pressure and privilege of being in the opening match. “Jon wants to be out there. He wants to have a responsibility,â€� Bjorn added. “It’s not every rookie in the world, you take and put them on the first tee in the first match of The Ryder Cup, but this one is pretty special.â€� Bjorn drew from personal experience. He was asked to sit out the entire first day of his Ryder Cup debut in 1997 and remembered how difficult that was. “You work so hard for so long to get in the team, and you want to be out on that golf course, and that’s how you are as a player,â€� Bjorn said. “When you look at this group of guys that’s come into this team they are really hard competitors, and I believe in them so much. And I wanted to give them that responsibility of standing up and go out there and enjoy it. “I just don’t think there’s any weaknesses on this team, and that kind of makes me really happy, but it also makes the decisions very difficult.â€� VETERANS SIT ON BOTH SIDES A combined 33 Ryder Cups and 133 matches of experience will be riding the pine in the morning Four-Ball session in Paris. American Phil Mickelson will start his 12th Ryder Cup from the bench, forced to wait till at least the afternoon Foursomes to notch up his 46th match. The 48-year-old currently sits just one match behind Sir Nick Faldo for all-time most in the Ryder Cup. “Phil is 100 per cent on board. We had a great talk,â€� USA captain Jim Furyk said of the decision. “We’ve played a lot of these team events together. It’s special for him to have the opportunity at 48 years old. He wants whatever is best for the team.â€� Joining him on the American team to sit out are Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson, who have played two and three previous Ryder Cups respectively and rookie Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau and Mickelson are expected to pair up in Foursomes in the afternoon as are Simpson and Watson – who went undefeated as a team in the 2011 Presidents Cup. The European side surprised plenty by sitting veterans Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia. Rookie Alex Noren, who won the French Open at this venue earlier this year, will also sit out the morning. “They are all difficult to leave out, especially guys that have played in so many. I’m quite sure that you’ll see them on the golf course at some stage before Sunday,â€� European captain Thomas Bjorn said. “It’s the worst part of being Ryder Cup Captain; it’s the picks, and it is leaving guys out for the matches, but that’s what makes this event so great. “We don’t go into a room and just draw names out of a hat. I sit with five extremely experienced vice captains, and we have a conversation. I make the decisions in the end, but, we don’t just come up with it for fun. We go with what we see and what we feel and what we think is right for this team.â€�

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