United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National Golf Club
June 25 – July 1, 2012
The Nationwide Tour added a new tournament to its 2012 schedule today with the announcement of the United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National Golf Club. The event will be played June 25 – July 1, 2012 at Indiana’s top-ranked and one of the country’s top-50 golf courses, Victoria National Golf Club, near Evansville, IN in southwestern Indiana. A three-year agreement has been signed.
The United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National GC will feature a field of 156 golfers competing over 72 holes of stroke play for a purse of $550,000. Victoria National GC is a 7,239-yard par-72 layout designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio, which opened in 1998. A Pro-Am will be played at Victoria National on Wednesday, June 27.
All four rounds of the United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National GC will air on Golf Channel in the U.S. The tournament will be distributed in 176 countries and territories, including Japan, Korea and parts of Latin America and Europe.
”The PGA TOUR is thrilled to be in Evansville today to make this new tournament announcement in conjunction with United Leasing & Finance, Victoria National Golf Club and the Evansville Sports Corporation,” said Nationwide Tour president Bill Calfee. “We look forward to engaging the business community and the golf fans of the greater Evansville area in growing the Championship into one of the best tournaments on the Nationwide Tour. We appreciate the commitment of United Leasing & Finance in launching and supporting the event and the leadership of their CEO Ron Romain. The Tour players are going to love Victoria National and become big fans of Evansville at the same time.”
“Bringing a Nationwide Tour event to Victoria National is good for Evansville, the broader region and the business community,” said Ron Romain, chief executive officer of United Leasing & Finance “I truly believe this tournament will help showcase the region, and we are very pleased to play a small part in making it happen, especially with the added bonus that the tournament will benefit many local charities, including Youth First.”
“Victoria National Golf Club is very pleased to host the Nationwide Tour’s United Leasing & Finance Championship in Evansville,” said Mike McCann, president of Victoria Partners. “The talents of the up and coming professional golfers of the world will certainly be tested by Tom Fazio’s dramatic design and Victoria National’s pristine conditioning. Since opening in 1998 Victoria National has been rated in the top-35 courses in the United States.
“The entire Victoria National staff and ownership is excited to bring TOUR-quality golf competition to Newburgh/Evansville area fans,” McCann said. “Our members in this area and our National Members, as well, are making plans for this to be the premier venue on the Nationwide Tour.”
“Our owner group at Suddath and Landology is being tremendously supportive of this event as a way to showcase Victoria National to the world, while also supporting the great community leadership we have found here,” added Suddath CEO Barry Vaughn.
“This type of event is exactly why we created the Evansville Sports Corporation,” said Bob Jones, CEO of Old National Bank Corporation and Chairman of the ESC. “Southwestern Indiana has tremendous sports facilities and a community of volunteers and hospitality that will ensure the success of events like this while also raising the community brand and quality of life for our entire region. The Sports Corporation looks forward to attracting additional sports opportunities for our community in the near future. The Evansville Sports Corporation is pleased to host this event linking outstanding golf with giving back to local youth organizations and charities. We will partner with other community leaders and volunteers to make sure this is a family-oriented event that makes our community proud.”
“This is great news that the Nationwide Tour is coming to my hometown, with Evansville-based United Leasing & Finance being the title sponsor,” said PGA TOUR member and Nationwide Tour alumnus Jeff Overton, who attended today’s press conference. “I am a huge fan of Victoria National Golf Club. I think it will be one of the best golf courses Nationwide Tour players see all year, if not the best.
“The Nationwide Tour is a fantastic tour that features some of the most talented players in the world. A majority of the leading players came to the PGA TOUR by way of the Nationwide Tour. Their impact on the PGA TOUR seems to grow every year. Just look at Keegan Bradley, Gary Woodland and Tommy Gainey, to name a few. All three were on the Nationwide Tour last year. Evansville and southern Indiana golf fans are in for a great week next year when the Nationwide Tour comes to town.”
Overton is a five-year veteran of the PGA TOUR who has four runner-up finishes and earnings of almost $8.3 million. The 2005 Indiana University graduate was born in Evansville and resides in Bloomington where he went to college. While at IU, Overton won eight individual collegiate titles and earned second-team All-American honors in 2004-2005. In September 2005, he secured the winning point in singles to recapture the Walker Cup for the United States. Overton was also a member of the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team in Wales.
Youth First will be one of the primary beneficiaries of the tournament proceeds. An Evansville organization, its mission is to strengthen youth and families through evidenced-based programs that prevent substance abuse, promote healthy behaviors, and maximize student success.
The United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National Golf Club will also feature the “TICKETS Fore CHARITY™ program that has had much success in various Nationwide Tour markets. Area charities will have the opportunity to sell and receive 100% of all tournament ticket sales. Details will be announced in the future.
The number one goal of every player on the Nationwide Tour is to finish the season as one of “The 25” leading money winners, which secures a PGA TOUR card for the following year. In 2011, six players who competed on the Nationwide Tour last year have won a total of sevenPGA TOUR titles – Jhonattan Vegas, Gary Woodland, Brendan Steele, Keegan Bradley (two wins), Chris Kirk and Scott Stallings.
The United Leasing & Finance Championship at Victoria National GC will be organized and managed by the Evansville Sports Corporation.
About United Leasing & Finance
Since 1964, United Leasing & Finance (ULI) has been committed to providing comprehensive asset leasing and financing services to a growing customer base throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. We attribute our success to delivering superior services while maintaining our customer focus, all supported by the reputation and integrity of our employees.
United Leasing & Finance, along with Professional Transportation, Inc. and the Romain Automotive Group, are operating units of United Companies, headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, and named in past years by Indiana Business Magazine as one of Indiana’s Top 50 Largest Private Companies. For additional information about our companies visit our website a www.unitedcompanies.com
About Victoria National Golf Club
Created and maintained for the golf purist, this Tom Fazio-designed golf course is one of the nation’s top-ranked courses, currently #35 in “America’s Greatest 100 Golf Courses” in 2010 by Golf Digest. It was best described by one finalist in the USGA Senior-Am Championship, “It’s the toughest, most fair course I have ever played.” Set among 418 acres of striking terrain, native vegetation and deep, spring-fed lakes of Southern Indiana, hidden cart paths and trails wind through this unique setting for secluded play of 18 challenging holes. The course is free from encroachment of homes or development. Along with its adjacent 550 acres of untouched land, Victoria National is a Certified Audubon Sanctuary. For more information, please visit www.victorianational.com.
About the Evansville Sports Corporation
The ESC is a non-profit created to enhance Southwestern Indiana’s economy, image and quality of life through the attraction, promotion and development of family oriented regional and national sporting events.
About the Nationwide Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Nationwide Tour identifies those players who are ready to compete and win on golf’s biggest stage. As the official proving ground of the PGA TOUR, two out of three PGA TOUR members are Nationwide Tour alumni. Tour alumni have won 317 PGA TOUR titles, including 14 majors and four PLAYERS Championships. Twenty-five PGA TOUR cards will be at stake over the course of 26 events in 2011. Nationwide Insurance is the Tour’s umbrella sponsor through 2012. The PGA TOUR, through the efforts of its three tours and their tournaments, sponsors, players and volunteers, supports over 2,000 local charities and has surpassed $1.6 billion in charitable giving. To learn more about the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGA TOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM, Twitter and Facebook.
About Nationwide
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by A.M. Best. The company provides a full range of personalized insurance and financial services, including auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions and long-term savings plans. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
About Allied Insurance
Allied Insurance, based in Des Moines, Iowa, is a member of the Nationwide family of companies. At some Nationwide Tour events you will see Allied Insurance-branded tournament signage reflecting a strong local presence of Allied Insurance Operations. Nationwide, Allied Insurance, the Nationwide Framemark and On Your Side are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
