Kaulig Companies Keeps Golf—And Its Benefits—Coming To Northeast Ohio

Firestone Country Club has been a faithful fixture in professional golf since 1954. Whether it’s hosted the Rubber City Open, World Series of Golf, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational or PGA Championship, Firestone and its iconic water tower are deeply woven into the fabric of pro golf.

That rich history, including eight victories by Tiger Woods and his infamous “Shot in the Dark,” were in jeopardy of fading away following the 2022 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship as the tournament and professional golf in Akron, Ohio, needed a new sponsor and spotlight. Just as Woods did 25 years ago, Matt Kaulig took a chance and it paid off.

“We had the opportunity to do it for the community,” said Kaulig, Kaulig Companies executive chairman and owner. “It’s really about the community and having a fun event. … You get to watch championship golf, have a blast and get to help people.”

Kaulig Companies took over as tournament title sponsor in 2023 via a four-year deal through 2026. Not only has Kaulig Companies revitalized professional golf in Akron, more importantly, it continues to uplift the local community.

While the year’s event boasted a star-studded field headlined by six World Golf Hall of Fame members—Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh—and 17 PGA Tour major winners, the tournament has grown into more than just golf.

With nightly concerts, food trucks and activities aplenty, the Kaulig Companies Championship is more like an annual county fair in Northeast Ohio than golf tournament.

“Matt Kaulig and (Kaulig Companies president and CEO) Tim Clepper are locals in the Akron community and they want to make a difference day in and day out, year round in the Akron community,” PGA Tour Champions president Miller Brady said. “That’s really the reason why I think Matt wanted to step up and support the tournament as title sponsor—it was to make sure that that was taking place and they could give back to the community through the golf tournament, and oh, by the way, let’s have a little fun along the way.”

Coming into this year’s event, the Kaulig Companies Championship has raised more than $2.6 million for 30+ local charities including Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, LeBron James Family Foundation and First Tee – Greater Akron.

A cocktail reception and fundraising dinner are also held annually during the tournament to present the Ambassador of Golf Award. Three-time Grammy-winning artist Darius Rucker was honored this year for his contributions to the game, joining an esteemed list including Jack Nicklaus, Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Lopez and Steph Curry.

Road to Rubber City

Matt Kaulig isn’t originally from Akron, the community he holds so near and dear to his heart.

It wasn’t until he attended the University of Akron on a football scholarship that Kaulig, who was born in Columbus, raised in Cincinnati and attended high school in Chicago, started to revere the Rubber City.

After graduating college, Matt and his wife Lisa established their roots in Northeast Ohio. It was from the basement of their home where Matt founded LeafFilter Gutter Protection in 2005. The company grew into Leaf Home, one of the largest direct to consumer home products companies in the United States and Canada, as Kaulig’s roots in Akron continued to spread.

He founded Kaulig Companies, his single member family office, which owns and operates brands across five verticals including sports and entertainment, marketing and event management, finance and financial services, consumer products, and philanthropy.

Kaulig wasn’t done there. Founded in 2016, Kaulig Racing fields multiple cars in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. In June 2022, Kaulig joined a group of investors led by David Blitzer that purchased a 25% ownership stake in the Cleveland Guardians.

As Kaulig builds out his empire, Akron remains at the core of everything he does. The Kaulig Companies Charitable Giving Programs known as Kaulig Giving has partnered with nearly 300 non-profit organizations since 2018.

“Somebody has to make the community better,” Kaulig said. “Somebody has to get involved. Somebody has to be a leader in the community and that’s what we try to do in Akron.”

Getting into Golf

As someone who loves golf, Kaulig has traveled to a lot of tournaments and courses. When the opportunity to take over as the presenting sponsor of the event in his own backyard came up, Kaulig couldn’t think of anyone better to step up to the plate—or tee box.

Not just wanting to slap their name on the PGA Tour Champions major, which awards the winner exemption to the following year’s Players’ Championship at TPC Sawgrass, Kaulig set out to grow and evolve the tournament.

Introducing other elements and activities to complement the golf made the week-long tournament a week-long party that not only attracts golf fans, but anyone in the region looking for a fun evening out.

“We always want a title sponsor that’s engaged because if you have one that’s not engaged, then there’s no enthusiasm and no passion to make things better,” Brady said. “They are fully engaged. They have different ideas they want to try. Sometimes things work, sometimes things don’t and that’s OK. We’re going to take the things that work and make them bigger and better, and the ones that don’t, we throw them off to the side and come up with new ideas.

“That’s what’s great about Kaulig Companies—they’re willing to try anything and everything to have fun and support the tournament and the players while supporting the community.”

Just prior to this year’s event, Kaulig teamed up with Els, whose son, Ben, is on the autism spectrum, to celebrate the future home of the Tom and Jill Zidian Family Autism Center at Akron Children’s Hospital.

The day after Miguel Ángel Jiménez defeated Steven Alker in a playoff to hoist this year’s trophy, Kaulig Companies was at the 46th Annual Michael Clegg Memorial Pro-Am Golf Tournament to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Ohio.

“This is what Kaulig does—they don’t want to just donate to a cause, they want to be involved with your cause,” said PGA Tour Champions professional Dicky Pride. “They’re now the title sponsor of this Pro-Am. … Every single one of these charities they do the same thing: ‘We don’t want to help, we want to be involved and help you long term.’ That’s just amazing.”

While the current Kaulig Companies Championship sponsorship deal expires after next year’s event, unsurprisingly, Akron’s favorite adopted son confirmed he’s interested in continuing his role leading the charge for change.

“We’d love nothing more than to continue the event,” Kaulig said. “It’s become bigger and bigger every year. Honestly, I think we’re getting more and more people and companies involved in Northeast Ohio, so I think it will be a collaboration moving forward that makes an impact.

“We have every intention—100%—of continuing to have the tournament at Firestone.”