Chip Shots; The Compliance Solutions Championship, a new Korn Ferry Tour event, comes to Oklahoma for at least

by ken macleod

There were smiles all around as the Korn Ferry Tour officially announced the new Compliance Solutions Championship for a five-year run at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course Tuesday, with the first event coming up June 22-25, 2023.

University of Oklahoma golf coach Ryan Hybl raved about what the event will mean for his program and the course on which the Sooners practice daily. Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell talked about what the event will mean for the area and the state’s standing as a bastion of golf and business.

Title sponsor Mark Lammert, CEO of Compliance Solutions and an Oral Roberts University graduate, is excited about the golf and the potential to expand his Florida-based accounting, tax and business advisory services in his former state. The tournament will have a purse of $1 million for 2023.

The tournament’s official charity will be Autism Oklahoma and board member Mike Panas and founder and executive director Melina Laufferburger were both on hand to showcase the noble work of that entity.

With the huge number of players with Oklahoma ties typically vying for their PGA Tour cards on the Korn Ferry Tour and the extremely high level of play, it would seem an event ripe for Oklahomans to embrace and quickly establish as one of the highlights of the Korn Ferry Tour schedule. The Oklahoma Sooners and OSU Cowboys are unquestionably two of the top five collegiate programs in the country and are a pipeline of talent for the Korn Ferry Tour, much of it homegrown.

For example, as the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs begin this week, Austin Eckroat from Edmond and OSU and Quade Cummins from OU and Weatherford will both be seeking PGA Tour cards for 2023, as will former OSU star Sam Stevens from Wichita. They were among the players ranked 26 through 75 on the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour points list who will compete against the players ranked 126 through 200 on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings for 25 PGA Tour cards in the three-event series.

“The Compliance Solutions Championship will be an incredible showcase of 156 of the world’s best up-and-coming players,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “You will see a depth of talent and level of competition that is among the best in the world. Outside the ropes we’ll see this community and the entire Sooner state rally around this champion-

ship in order to generate significant charitable and economic impact for the community.”

“I’m very proud to stand up here and tell you how big of a deal this is,” Pinnell said. “The PGA Championship just had over $158 million in economic impact not just for Northeast Oklahoma but the entire state. What I’m looking forward to with this relationship and partnership is demonstrating that Oklahoma brand.”

“I have eight current guys on the Korn Ferry Tour and for them to be able to come home and play in their back yard will be truly special,” Hybl said. “This is truly a special day for all of us and I can’t thank everyone enough who has made this a reality for all of us.”

Former University of Oklahoma standout Max McGreevy, who earned his first PGA TOUR card with a No. 14 finish on the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, is excited about the Korn Ferry Tour coming to The Sooner State and his alma mater. “It’s amazing. I know we’ve been vying for a Korn Ferry Tour event at Jimmie Austin for a long time now,” said McGreevy, who grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma and won the 2017 and 2019 Oklahoma Opens. “I know [Sooners coach [Ryan] Hybl is very excited about this. I’ve talked to some of the grounds crew, and they’re super thrilled. It’s a golf state; I think you saw that at Southern Hills a little bit, and I think you’ll see it at Jimmie Austin, as well.” “This will be great for the state and the guys out there on tour,” said Rhein Gibson

of Edmond, who has gone back and forth between the Korn Ferry and PGA Tours since 2015. “We have so many guys from OU and OSU out there that to be able to play closer to home and for the state fans will be a really good event.”

A typical week on the Korn Ferry Tour finds 10 or more players with strong Oklahoma ties in the field. For instance, this week at the Utah Championship will be Austin Eckroat (Edmond, OSU), Quade Cummins (Edmond, OU), Jonathan Brightwell (Edmond, OU), Charlie Saxon (Tulsa, OU), Sam Stephens (OSU), Garett Reband (OU), Grant Hirschman (OU), Kevin Dougherty (OSU), Tag Ridings (grew up Tulsa), Kris Ventura (OSU) and Gibson, a native of Australia who stayed here after his collegiate career at Oklahoma Christian.

Tyler Woodward, PGA general manager and director of club operations at Jimmie Austin.

“This is exciting for the state and for the city,” said Tyler Woodward, PGA general manager and director of club operations at Jimmie Austin. “This couldn’t happen at a better time and the dates will be great for us, as it happens soon after the NCAA Championship and with the PGA University players just out on tour. Our goal is to bring championship golf to the state. We’ve done it on a collegiate level and now the professional level.”

“I can’t think of any golf course in the Oklahoma City area that would be better,” said architect Tripp Davis, who performed the major renovation on Jimmie Austin. “We can stretch it to 7,500 yards if we need to. It will be a good test. The

main thing is we can set it up in a lot of ways to really make it a good test.”

OU coach Ryan Hybl was not immediately available but OSU coach Alan Bratton said it would be a great venue and the state will support a Korn Ferry Tour event strongly.

“That wil be great,” Bratton said. “The state of Oklahoma has proven to really turn out for tournaments, whether that be an amateur event or any of the majors that we’ve held here. I expect it to be get fantastic support.”

The rich 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. Worldrenowned 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.

“We just did a renovation my senior year of college, so unfortunately, I missed out on it, but it’s in really good shape,” added McGreevy. “They always take great care of the course and facilities. I know if we have regionals or any tournaments, people are just excited to play it and have a lot of fun. It’s tricky, but you can get after it if you get it going. You can get some Oklahoma winds rolling in there in the summertime, though. We’ll see, hopefully it won’t be too hot, but it will be a lot of fun.”

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, Florida. For more information on Compliance Solutions, please visit: www.csilongwood. com. For more information on the tournament, please visit: https://compliancesolutionschampionship.com/.

The Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame Classic, a fundraiser to support the 501 C3 organization’s scholarship and Everett Dobson Award programs, will be held Monday Oct, 24 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, site of the 2022 PGA Championship and seven other major championships. Sign up now for this amazing event which will include great tee gifts, prizes, breakfast and lunch and many special guests, including members of the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame and rofessionals from around the state.

Entry fee is $4,000 per team of four amateurs and bring your own professional, or $5,000 for a team of five amateurs. Other levels of sponsorship are available as follows:

Scholarship Sponsor - $10,000 for one year

Scholarship sponsors help sponsor the two $5,000 scholarships the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame presents to high school golfers annually as well as the $5,000 Everett Dobson Award.

Hole Sponsor - $1,000. Includes signage for your company on a particular hole and in the pre-tournament media.

Visit www.oklahomagolfhof.org for entry forms and more information.

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