Ask any golf nut: it’s hard to think of a professional golfer shining brighter on a single stage than Tiger Woods at Akron’s Firestone Country Club, where he dominantly won seven events from 1999 to 2009. Understanding the significance of keeping alive the spirit of elite-level golf in one of Ohio’s premier courses, Hudson-based financial consulting firm Kaulig Companies Limited seized on the opportunity to become the sponsor of a PGA event, after the PGA announced in 2022 that Bridgestone would no longer be affiliated with the PGA Senior Players Championship tournament that has been hosted there since 2019.
“When the tournament sponsorship became available, we had to jump all over it,” says Matt Kaulig, the Executive Chairman of Kaulig Companies. “I’ve been coming to the tournament for over 30 years since I was a quarterback at the University of Akron. It’s a little bit of a surreal experience to be the title sponsor, and we couldn't be more excited.”
Thursday begins the inaugural Kaulig Companies Championship, a four-day competition drawing fans of the PGA’s legendary ranks. Entering the weekend, reigning champion Jerry Kelly, looking for his third win at Firestone in four years, challenges the circuit’s red-hot Steve Stricker, whose four wins, including two majors — and earnings in upward of $3 million more than double those of second-place leader Bernhard Langer — place Stricker comfortably atop this season’s Schwab Cup leaderboard. From the field of 78, PGA fan favorites such as Ernie Els, John Daly and Vijay Singh will also be in the hunt.
With Kaulig’s sponsorship comes fresh initiatives to inject new life into the venue’s hallowed legacy. On July 8, NBA star Stephen Curry returned to his birthplace to receive the 2023 Ambassador of Golf award and promote UNDERRATED Golf, a youth organization founded by Curry that seeks to provide equity and access to the sport for student-athletes in underprivileged communities.
This year’s event will feature a 15,000 square foot fan area, dubbed the Kaulig Infinity Zone, which includes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stage, where acts such as Bon Jovi tribute band Wanted and Youngstown alt-rock group The Vindys will play after rounds have finished. Additional appeals to a more youthful crowd include sponsorship collaborations with Celsius Fitness Drinks and LA Golf, which claims to be “the most provocative brand in golf.”
As golf and beer go hand-in-hand, the gimmick behind the “Monster Deck,” presented by Westfield, should come as no surprise: near this viewing deck, where fans are offered a better look of the signature 667-yard 16th hole’s green, a window of opportunity to purchase half-priced beer is opened for each birdie carded on the behemoth.