September 29 - October 6, 2024
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick will host the Korn Ferry’s annual season-ending tournament, highlighted by the celebratory PGA Tour Card Ceremony.
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance has announced a five-year partnership with French Lick Resort to host the Korn Ferry Tour’s annual season-ending tournament and the hallowed PGA Tour Card Ceremony at the Pete Dye Course.
The partnership will begin with the 2024 playing of the event and will run through at least 2028. Competition dates for the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Championship will be announced following the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season.
“We are looking forward to our partnership with French Lick Resort and working with their team of great people,” said Ronald D. Romain, Executive Chairman of United Leasing & Finance, an official sponsor of Korn Ferry Tour events since 2012. “While we have certainly enjoyed our years at Victoria National, I am very pleased and excited to announce this new partnership with Steve Ferguson, Joe Vezzoso and Dave Harner from the French Lick Resort organization. The Pete Dye Course is a world-class venue, and I am anxious to see how Korn Ferry Tour players navigate their way around this difficult golf course.”
Founded in 1990 and owned and operated by the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry is the developmental circuit of the PGA Tour. It awards 30 PGA Tour cards based off its points list in 2023, with the No. 1 player earning exemptions into the following year’s Players Championship and U.S. Open. With more than 600 PGA Tour titles, 28 major championships and six FedEx Cup champions, Korn Ferry Tour alumni make up 88 percent of the PGA Tour’s current membership.
“It’s truly a thrill for French Lick Resort to be the new home of the Korn Ferry Tour’s season-ending tournament and PGA Tour Card Ceremony,” said Joe Vezzoso, Vice President of Sales at French Lick Resort. “To continue hosting this tournament in southern Indiana is a major point of pride for our resort and community. Our brand of Hoosier hospitality is second to none, and we’re eager for both the golfers and fans to experience our beautiful historic hotels and award-winning Pete Dye Course. We’re already excited for 2024 and the opportunity to welcome the Korn Ferry Tour to French Lick Resort in the coming years.”
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick was named Jemsek National Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owners Association in 2009 and 2017. The course was also No. 19 on the most recent edition of Golf Digest’s ranking of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses.
“We are so proud to partner with United Leasing & Finance to bring the Korn Ferry Tour’s premier event to The Pete Dye Course,” said Dave Harner, Director of Golf at French Lick Resort. “We have hosted scores of championship golf events in the last 13 years, and partnering with the Korn Ferry Tour brings us to the next level of championship golf. Without fail, The Pete Dye Course stands its own against even the greatest players. The challenges are unique, and the winner of this event will be the player who is patient, accurate, and has every kind of shot in their arsenal.”
The tournament remaining in southern Indiana ensures Golf Gives Back, a non-profit organization aimed at generating substantial charitable and economic impact and promoting positive brand awareness for communities in southern Indiana, will continue to be the host organization for the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance. Since 2012, Golf Gives Back donated over $2.2 million to regional charitable organizations, including its signature charity for net tournament proceeds, Building Blocks, which funds early childhood education for disadvantaged families across 28 counties in southern Indiana.
The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance will be held October 5-8 at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana. Victoria National has hosted a Korn Ferry Tour event annually since 2012.
“We are incredibly excited for the future of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance as it moves to The Pete Dye Course at French Lick,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “Adding a demanding, championship-caliber golf course to our schedule, especially for our season-ending event, ensures the top-performing players on the Korn Ferry Tour will be put to the test as they compete to earn PGA Tour membership. We are very appreciative of Victoria National Golf Club’s hospitality over the last decade, and we are thrilled for what the future holds at French Lick Resort.”