WARRICK CO., IN (WFIE) -
The idea of bringing a PGA tournament to Victoria National Golf Club started a long time ago.
It obviously takes a team of people to put on an event like this, but just to get the chance to host this weekend's event, it took time to build a reputation. A reputation that started with one man. The club's founder, the late, Terry Friedman.
"Terry's dream always was to have a major golf tournament or a U.S. Open here at this golf course, and we're taking steps to get in that direction," said Steve Munch, the general manger at Victoria National.
Two years after Friedman passed away in 2004, Victoria National hosted the USGA Senior Amateur Championship.
The volunteer effort was a major reason for its success.
"Everything associated with that event set the bar for those events. And that was another factor that played into bringing this tournament to Victoria National because they knew the people here would do it right," said tournament director, Becky Kasha.
"When a community gets excited about an event that has a lot to do with bringing other events into a local community because they're going to embrace it," Munch said.
Along with the enthusiasm of the people throughout this community, it doesn't hurt to have a top-40 ranked golf course to help bring a tournament to town.
"Maybe the best way to describe it is, each hole is effectively a signature hole. There are 18 holes out there that are very dynamic. They're gorgeous in perspective, and it really was key in attracting the PGA here to host an event," said Jeff Whiteside with Evansville Sports Corporation.
So with the key elements already in place, the Evansville Sports Corporation got to work when the PGA approached last summer.
"There was a fair amount of consideration and deliberation done. Ron Romain and United Leasing responded very quickly. Contracts were firmed up late in the summer, and we were off to the races to bring the tournament here," Whiteside said.
"Between the PGA Tour, the Champions Tour, and the Nationwide Tour, there's about 100 events that go on throughout the year, and we're now one of them in Evansville. So if you think about it from that standpoint, bringing professional golf to this community is a real big deal," Munch said.
If this week's tournament ends up going smoothly, the course could host an even bigger event at some point in the future.
"We've had a tremendous response in terms of volunteers and interest, and financial support. All those same things would need to take place for a PGA Tour stop," Whiteside said.
"These folks travel around and next thing you know, the name Victoria National begins to get bantered around in competitive golf. There may be a day when we take this event to another level," Munch said.
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