The Korn Ferry Tour and Compliance Solutions announced a five-year partnership to host a professional golf tournament, the Compliance Solutions Championship, beginning in June 2023. The inaugural Compliance Solutions Championship will be played June 22-25, at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club at The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
Compliance Solutions, an industry leader in providing comprehensive client-centered compliance, accounting, tax and business advisory services, will become the title sponsor through at least 2027. Anera Sports will serve as the host organization for the Compliance Solutions Championship.
“We are thrilled to partner with Compliance Solutions to bring Korn Ferry Tour golf to The Sooner State,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “Oklahoma is home to incredibly passionate golf fans, and this is a market we’ve been targeting for some time. Our membership is excited about the opportunity to compete at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club at The University of Oklahoma, and I know they’ll receive a warm welcome from the local community. We’re very grateful to Mark Lammert and the Compliance Solutions team for their commitment to the Korn Ferry Tour, and we look forward to making a positive impact in Norman and the greater Oklahoma City area for years to come.”
The Compliance Solutions Championship will be a 72-hole tournament featuring 156 players from around the world. The 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season will begin with The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay in January and conclude in October with the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, where 30 PGA TOUR cards will be awarded based on the points list.
“We are incredibly honored and excited to join the PGA TOUR family as the title sponsor of the Compliance Solutions Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour,” said Lammert, Compliance Solutions CEO and founder. “Our alignment with the PGA TOUR embraces shared values of hard work, commitment and making a positive impact in the community both locally and nationally, striving for excellence and promoting notable charitable work. This is paramount to Compliance Solutions’ commitment in creating a landmark impact with the Sales Tax Calculation, Sales Tax Reporting and FCC Compliance industry.”
The heritage of the grounds of the Jimmie Austin Golf Club at The University of Oklahoma dates to the early 1940s when the land was home to a U.S. Navy recreational facility. Situated on what was once called the Navy Air Technical Training Center, the facility served as an annex to the Norman Naval Air Station located north of town at what is now Max Westheimer Airport.
In 1949, in coordination with the Navy and with the leadership of University of Oklahoma President George Lynn Cross, construction began on the University of Oklahoma Golf Course. At that time, famous golf course architect and native Oklahoman Perry Maxwell was commissioned to build the project, and the course opened for play in January 1951.
In 1996, thanks to the generous contributions from University of Oklahoma supporters, especially that of namesake Jimmie Austin, an extensive renovation of the course was completed. World-renowned course architect Robert Cupp was chosen for the redesign, which remained true to features envisioned by Maxwell some 50 years earlier. Working with Tripp Davis, golf course architect and member of the Sooners’ 1989 national title-winning team, the club completed major renovations to the course, infrastructure, and facilities in 2017.
In recognition of this excellence, the course hosted the 1997 Oklahoma State Amateur, the 1998 and 2010 Big 12 Women’s Championships, and most notably the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship. The course hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship and NCAA Regional Championships in 2012, 2018, 2022 (men’s) and 2013, 2019 (women’s) and is already scheduled to host NCAA Regional Championships in 2023 and 2025.
Compliance Solutions, which is celebrating its 20-year anniversary this year after being founded by Lammert in 2002, is headquartered in Longwood, Fla.. For more information on Compliance Solutions, visit: www.csilongwood.com. For more information on the tournament, visit: https://compliancesolutionschampionship.com/.
