Many sponsors fled. RBC stayed. Starting in 2028, the PGA Tour will operate a two-tier competitive structure. There will be a top-level Championship Series and a second-tier Challenger Series, with promotion and relegation between them. This change won’t affect professionals alone; it may also affect the sponsorship landscape. In fact, many partners, including Rocket Companies and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, chose not to renew their title deals under the new economics.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Rory McIlroy had warned about this when he gave his two cents on the new model. He had said that some sponsors would not spend $30 million to have a position in the Championship Series. But amid that churn, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), which has a net worth of around $291 billion, decided to continue its 15-year-long run with the PGA Tour. It has secured its place in the elite tier.
“Big news for the RBC Heritage! ⛳🌴,” RBC Heritage wrote in an X post from its official handle. “Beginning in 2028, the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing will join the PGA Tour Championship Series, bringing the Tour’s top performers back to Hilton Head Island as part of an exciting new competitive era. See you in Harbour Town! 🏆”
This means continuity of the elite status for the Hilton Head event. The RBC Heritage has been a part of the PGA Tour Signature Events since 2024. Now, it will transition to the Championship Series starting in 2028. Reports suggest this top-tier series will feature purses of $20 million or more.
As RBC Heritage’s X post notes, the Championship Series will also feature the top performers. The top-tier list will feature 120-player fields, with no alternate lists and no sponsor exemptions.
This represents an extension of a stable partnership between the Royal Bank of Canada and the PGA Tour. RBC has been the title sponsor of the Heritage for 15 years now. The company renewed its contract last year in a multi-year agreement.
“As the title sponsor of two events on the PGA TOUR schedule, RBC plays an essential role in golf, providing both critical development at the amateur level and life-changing moments for the world’s greatest players,” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp said. “We are grateful to extend our relationship with RBC, Canada’s national championship at the RBC Canadian Open, as well as the RBC Heritage, the Signature Event culminating across the marina from Harbour Town’s iconic lighthouse.”
The event draws many golf fans annually, and the PGA Tour ranks it among the most-watched (both on- and off-course). This makes it one of the largest single-week drivers of tourism in Harbour Town. Along with the RBC Canadian Open, another title sponsored by RBC, the event generated $56 million for local charities across North America in 2024 alone. The two events collectively created an economic impact of around $250 million in 2024.
Unlike the RBC Heritage, there’s no confirmation about the RBC Canadian Open. Therefore, it is uncertain whether RBC will continue to sponsor both titles or discontinue the RBC Canadian Open and the money spent on both events to sponsor only the Harbour Town event from 2028.
Many other sponsors decided not to spend that much money. Reports claim that sponsors might have to come up with around $30 million to stay on the Championship Series. Rocket Companies, for instance, cut all ties with the PGA Tour after 13 years of partnership. It clearly stated that it didn’t want to be in tier two and didn’t see any point in spending $30 million to reach the top tier.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also concluded its 20-year run as a title sponsor of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro. Reportedly, the company didn’t want to continue under the PGA Tour’s new model.
However, the PGA Tour has already found new sponsors for both events. Sompo, a Japanese insurance and reinsurance group, will replace Rocket Companies for a South Carolina event. Raymond James will replace Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
RBC’s decision to keep the RBC Heritage in the PGA Tour’s top tier provides a major boost for the event. However, the contrasting decisions by other long-standing sponsors show that the Championship Series will entail significant financial considerations.