Three PGA Tour golfers sponsored by the Kiawah Island Club to play at the RBC Heritage
April 12, 2017
On Thursday, April 13th, the first round of the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island begins, and three Kiawah Island Club-sponsored players with ties to South Carolina will be included in the field of 142 PGA Tour golfers. Russell Henley, Ben Martin and Wesley Bryan are all sponsored by the Kiawah Island Club and will tee off at the 2017 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links this week.
After recent million-dollar renovations to Cassique and the River Course and the construction of the Kiawah Island Club Golf Learning Center, slated to open in May, the Kiawah Island Club is attracting young golf talent.
“With the improvements completed on the golf courses, and the construction of a state-of-the art Golf Learning Center, we have an active sponsorship program that is attracting young players who live in the region and are on a trajectory for a bright future in golf,” says Chris Randolph, partner at Kiawah Partners. “The fact that touring professionals are spending their time off on Kiawah with their their families is a testament to what a special place the Island is, and it’s confirmation of the caliber of our Club’s two amazing courses.”
The players are each profiled below, including details regarding their unique affiliation with the Kiawah Island Club.
Russell Henley:
Henley has been sponsored by the Kiawah Island Club since 2014 and has been on the professional circuit since 2011. The RBC Heritage will be Henley’s ninth tournament of 2017. He is currently ranked 11th in the FedExCup standings and 55th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Henley is coming off a recent win at the Shell Houston Open and an 11th place finish at last week’s Masters Tournament in Augusta, which earned him an automatic invitation back to Augusta in 2018.
Henley and his very accomplished wife, Teil Duncan Henley, a recent Kiawah Island Club Resident Artist, live in Mt Pleasant and are active Members of the Kiawah Island Club, and enjoy their time on Island. “The River Course is my favorite course to play to prepare for tournaments. The fairways are tight and make the ball sit up on top of the grass just like tour events,” Russell noted on a recent visit. “The greens have minimal grain and the ball rolls so true. I love the lay out and how the greens and fairways are a challenge to hit.” On April 4th, he also posted a picture of the Tom Watson designed Cassique Golf Course, a 7,050-yard links-style course, and future site of the Kiawah Island Club Golf Learning Center, along with a statement on Twitter saying, “Thank you Kiawah Island Club for helping me prepare for tournaments on the PGA Tour. Courses are always a great test and in perfect condition.”
Henley will tee off on April 13th in round one from hole number 10 at 8:00am and on April 14th in round two from hole number one at 12:40pm.
Ben Martin:
A Clemson University graduate and Kiawah Island Club ambassador since 2015, Martin has been on the professional circuit since 2010 and has posted a number of strong finishes throughout his career including a win at the 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and top-10s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship and Colonial.
He is currently ranked 162 in the FedExCup standings and 227 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Martin, who resides in Greenville, SC, uses his visits to Kiawah to relax from the tour with his family and work on his game from the practice bunkers and greens at the River Course.
“On my weeks off, I typically come to Kiawah Island and spend the first part of my trip relaxing and the second getting my game into shape,” said Martin. “I will spend three to four days not golfing, then hop right over to the beautifully renovated River Course to train and be ready to go back on Tour.”
Martin will tee off on April 13th in round one from hole number one at 12:20pm and on April 14th in round two from hole number ten at 7:40am.
Wesley Bryan:
The RBC Heritage will be the first time Wesley Bryan will appear on the PGA Tour as a Kiawah Island Club-sponsored player. While he and his brother, George, built a brand and notoriety for YouTube trick shot shows, Bryan is quickly making a name for himself on the professional circuit. Wesley won three Web.com Tour events in 2016, which earned him the 2016 Web.com Tour Player of the Year award as well as a promotion to the PGA Tour.
Bryan, a native of Columbia, SC and a former South Carolina Gamecock golfer, posted three straight top-10 finishes earlier this year on the PGA Tour and is currently ranked 59th in the FedExCup standings and 73rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Bryan will tee off on April 13th in round one from hole number ten at 7:20am and on April 14th in round two from hole number one at 12:00pm.
About Kiawah Island
Kiawah Partners is the master developer of Kiawah Island, a 10,000-acre barrier island located 21 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. The company’s subsidiaries include Kiawah Island Real Estate and The Kiawah Island Club, which encompasses the Tom Fazio-designed River Course, the Tom Watson-designed Cassique, the Kiawah Island Club Golf Learning Center, The Beach Club by Robert A.M. Stern and Sasanqua, the Members-only spa. Home to ten miles of pristine beach, a world-class resort and seven elite golf courses, the Island is known for the preservation the natural environment.
Kiawah Island Real Estate is the sole real estate broker with offices on Kiawah Island. Its 25 agents exclusively offer homesites, villas, cottages and single-family residences, many with views of the Atlantic Ocean or Kiawah River and the surrounding marshlands. To view current listings, developments and learn more about the island visit www.kiawahisland.com.
About the RBC Heritage
But in 1969, Sea Pines developer Charles Fraser announced a PGA-level Tournament to be held at the newly created Harbour Town Golf Links. Both Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus helped legendary golf course designer Pete Dye lay out the course and also committed to play. Palmer went on to win the inaugural Heritage Classic, his first victory in 14 months. Since then, the RBC Heritage is now held the week after the Masters, and the original purse of $100,000 has jumped to $6.5 million. The fan base has grown too, thanks in part to extensive TV coverage by both CBS and The Golf Channel. Each year, more than 100,000 spectators arrive from across the US and around the globe, bringing an estimated $96 million annually to the state. And each year, the RBC Heritage leaderboard features some of the biggest names and brightest stars in the sport. The list of past winners include the who’s who of golf’s greatest players—Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Bernhard Langer, Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Tom Watson, Davis Love III and Payne Stewart are just a few of the names inscribed upon our champions’ trophy.
