Korn Ferry Tour Championship makes one more Newburgh appearance
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship, in which 75 golfers compete for a $1.5 million purse and a chance to join the PGA tour, will be hosted one more time in Newburgh before moving next year to French Lick.
The event, presented by United Leasing & Finance, will be Oct. 5-8 in Newburgh, ending a 12-year run at Victoria National Golf Club. Over four days each fall, it typically brings about 25,000 people to the Evansville region.
Next year, the tournament will move to The Pete Dye Course in French Lick as part of a new five-year partnership with the French Lick Resort. Dave Harner, the resort’s director of golf operations, told Inside INdiana Business the Orange County venue was an ideal choice for the next chapter of the season-ending tournament.
“They were looking for a place in southern Indiana that could handle an event of that size with the right amount of lodging and community support. That’s how we arrived at having it here,” he said.
The transition to French Lick resulted from Dormie Network, owner of Victoria National, using an opt-out clause to exit its 10-year contract with the tournament after five years.
“After five years of a successful Korn Ferry Tour Championship and supporting the Golf Gives Back organization, exercising our ability to exit the 10-year contract enables Dormie Network to give Victoria National Golf Club back to our membership,” Chris Graham, the network’s chief hospitality officer, explained in written remarks. “We are excited for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to continue in Indiana at French Lick!”
Patrick Nichol—CEO and president of TOUR Vision Promotion, which manages the event—said organizers were committed to keeping the tournament in southern Indiana. “Everything worked out where we never had to explore any other options,” he said.
The Victoria National era
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship came to Victoria National in 2012, when it was called the United Leasing & Finance Championship. The name changed to Korn Ferry in 2019.
Ronald Romain, executive chairman of United Cos., told Inside INdiana Business the goal was to do something notable for Evansville and southwest Indiana.
“We wanted to raise money for charity; we had multiple charities involved. We also wanted to do something where families could go out and have a day or an afternoon and enjoy themselves. And branding for United Cos. was also certainly a part of that, so we’re going to miss some of that,” he said.
Over the years, the tournament has drawn worldwide attention and tourism dollars to the area. “If you think about the hotels, the restaurants and bars and just outside visitors coming in, spending money at the mall and all that sort of thing, there certainly was an economic impact to the region,” Romain said. “It puts a spotlight, at least for that week because of the Golf Channel broadcast, in a significant way on our part of the world. It put Victoria National on the map.”
Jack Pate—chairman of Golf Gives Back, the nonprofit that hosts the event—expects the economic impact to grow after the championship relocates to French Lick. “We’ve estimated the direct impact in our area in the past has been around $12 million. We anticipate when we move to French Lick, we’ll draw from more areas,” he said.
Dormie Network’s contract required two years’ notice of its decision to stop hosting the tournament, so organizers had ample time to make other arrangements.
Moving to French Lick
When it was time to find a new home for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, organizers found the amenities at French Lick Resort and the prestige of The Pete Dye Course to be a perfect fit for the tournament.
“We’ve heard from a lot of our sponsors that they look forward to the opportunities to spend the weekend at the hotels, the other things to do around the resort,” Nichol said. “It’ll be a great opportunity for the players to include their families at the event.” Romain added, “There are all kinds of activities from indoor bowling to skeet shooting to horseback riding, you name it.”
Harner believes having everyone in the same location will help elevate the event. “The fans will get to see more of the players rather than dispersing out to a large metro area. They’re pretty much going to be contained to the resort,” said Harner. “And the golf course speaks for itself.”
French Lick is accustomed to holding large golf events. The 2015 Senior PGA Championship, Senior LPGA Championships and Big Ten Conference Championships have all been held at The Pete Dye Course. Romain said adding this tournament to the roster is a no-brainer.
“French Lick was always at the top of our list,” he said. “You’re going to have hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of people, all in one relatively small community at a fairly big resort, who are going to spend money that’s going to stay in the state of Indiana.”
“It’ll become much more of a destination event for our customers with the amenities that French Lick has between the two hotels,” added Nichol. “With the casino, an additional golf course [The Donald Ross Course], there’ll be a lot more opportunities for our sponsors and spectators to do things that we currently don’t have available to us when playing at Victoria National.”
‘A significant charitable giving aspect’
Since the Korn Ferry Tour Championship is only moving 90 minutes away from Newburgh, Golf Gives Back will continue its involvement in the event. “It was very important to our board members that the proceeds from the tournament remain in the Evansville market,” Nichol said.
“Our mission is to create a world-class experience for spectators and these PGA Tour professionals, highlight the state of Indiana and have a significant charitable giving aspect,” Pate said. “What we do is sell the sponsorships and the Pro-Am teams and all the hospitality that you see around the course. We’re in charge of all those sales and operations. Then out of that, we hope to have money left over for charitable giving.”
Building Blocks of Southwestern Indiana, which provides pre-K education for disadvantaged families in 28 southern Indiana counties, will remain the primary charity. In September, the nonprofit received $225,000 from the 2022 championship won by Justin Suh. Other organizations that have been helped in the past include Folds of Honor, Boy Scouts and Youth First.
“We’ve raised over $2 million for local charities over that period at Victoria National. This past year was amazing in terms of that nonprofit component,” said Romain. “Now, instead of one course for Pro-Ams, where we raise a lot of money for charity, we’re going to have two courses. That’s going to be a huge boost because we sell out every year.”
“We think we can double the charitable impact, and it will be a better customer experience for our Pro-Am teams and the sponsors that come in because it’s self-contained in the resort atmosphere,” added Pate.
More than 300 volunteers worked for Golf Gives Back during the Newburgh tournament, and Pate expects many of them to continue at French Lick. “I was amazed when I first got involved. It’s pretty complicated. You’ve got all these volunteers, you have to feed them and you have to think about what all needs to be done. There are a lot of different duties they handle,” he said.
“We’re also going to work with French Lick Resort. They have a whole database of volunteers. So between the two of us, we’re going to have plenty,” he added.
A ‘bittersweet’ goodbye
As the final Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Newburgh approaches, Nichol reflected on the time spent at the Warrick County course. “We certainly enjoyed our relationship and all that Victoria National has done over the twelve years,” he said.
“We appreciate the support from all of our sponsors and spectators in Evansville, and our hope, and what we’ve been hearing in the marketplace, is most of them plan on joining us in French Lick in 2024 and beyond,” he added.
Though Romain is excited about the event staying in southern Indiana, he also acknowledged the impact on the Evansville area.
“I was happy we could go to a place like French Lick. They’re welcoming us with open arms, which has been very satisfying to know that somebody really does want us as a partner. But, at the same, losing it out of Evansville and Newburgh is a little bittersweet,” he said. “Still, for southwest Indiana, at least there’ll be good exposure for the state. I’m real happy about that.”
Brad Wilson, general manager at Victoria National, said it was “special to help create a memorable experience for those who played in the pro-ams to be able to compete on that same course.”
Romain said the move to French Lick is a step forward in the tournament. “I view it as a real positive. You’ve got to continue to grow, and this is certainly a venue where we can grow. We’re looking forward to it,” he said.
Harner can’t wait to see the action on the course next year. “I always like to see how the really good players fare against Pete Dye’s course. Pete never intended for them to play well. One of his most famous quotes is, ‘Golf is not a fair game, so why build a fair golf course?’ He’s pretty much lived up to that with that golf course. It’s not easy. It’s doable, but you have to think your way around it. So it’ll be fun to see,” he said.
For Pate, the thrill is finding out who makes the PGA Tour. The top 30 players of the Korn Ferry Tour’s season-long standings earn spots on the 2024 schedule. “This is the championship year-ending event,” said Pate. “Thirty PGA Tour cards are awarded after play. That’s a big deal. It’s a life-changing event for these professionals who are on this tour to make it to the big tour. It could be the difference between living out of a car or being a millionaire.”
“The Korn Ferry Tour Championship is a world-class sporting event. The caliber of play out there is just spectacular. And the young men that have gone on from this tour do extremely well on the PGA Tour,” Romain added.
Ticket information for this year’s tournament at Victoria National can be found online. Next year’s event in French Lick is expected to be held the week of Sept. 30.