Ron Romain, President and CEO of United Leasing & Finance, and the Evansville Sports Corporation brought professional golf to Southern Indiana for the first time in 2012 with the United Leasing & Finance Championship on the Web.com Tour. Mr. Romain did it for the love of golf, the love of his community and his favorite charity–Youth First.
The United Leasing & Finance Championship’s inaugural event in 2012 was played in triple digit heat, but that didn’t stop 10,000+ spectators from coming to watch the drama unfold at the world renowned Victoria National Golf Club. With a thunderstorm on the horizon and 108 degrees on the thermometer, Peter Tomasulo landed his third Web.com Tour victory, beating David Lingmerth in a four-hole playoff.
The 2013 United Leasing & Finance Championship saw another bizarre finish–four players in a one-hole playoff which was played during a rare Monday finish. Ben Martin emerged the winner.
In 2014, Greg Owen would cruise to victory on a beautiful June Sunday afternoon.
Smylie Kaufman, a 23 year-old rookie player on the Web.com Tour, would be named the champion of the 2015 United Leasing & Finance Championship. The tournament was played the last week in April and favorable weather made for a well-attended and enjoyable week at Victoria National.
In its four year existence, the United Leasing & Finance Championship has donated more than $630,000 to over 100 Tri-State charities and continues to be broadcast around the world on the Golf Channel network.