IJGA Newsletter: The Oaks April 2018 | Page 4

IJGA Student-Athletes Inside the Ropes at RBC Heritage “It’s a great experience to see how a pro takes his time and what goes into the decision making process. It was great watching a player who was of similar build to see how he goes around on the course and how he reacts to a bad shot.”  Have you ever wanted to go inside the ropes during a PGA Tour event and walk alongside the players as they compete for a champion- ship? At this year’s RBC Heritage Tournament, 38 IJGA students get to do just that. IJGA student-athletes have the honor of represent- ing IJGA at the event acting as standard bearers throughout the tournament. In its golden fifty year history, the RBC Heritage has grown in stature, is widely considered one of the premier stops on the PGA Tour and the Harbour Town Golf Links one of the loveliest. Its unique landscape and narrow fairways rep- resent a challenge like no other on the Tour. – Alex Lamarca With a $6.7 million purse and a total atten- dance of more than 130,000, the Heritage represents the dream to which many IJGA students aspire. A standard bearer is essentially a walking scoreboard… 4 4 …showing the gallery who is playing in their assigned player group and displaying their current scores relative to par. As each player finishes a hole, a walking scorer instructs the standard bearer to update the board, if neces- sary. The bearer then rustles through the oversized pockets of their apron finding the proper numerals and slides them into position beside the player’s name. This seemingly simple task can be challenging at times if conditions are windy or wet, with the standard