{"id":36167,"date":"2026-07-14T03:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T03:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/36167\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T03:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T03:21:11","slug":"firestone-country-club-bids-farewell-to-professional-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/36167\/","title":{"rendered":"Firestone Country Club bids farewell to professional golf"},"content":{"rendered":"

July 13, 2026, 1:00 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Firestone Country Club’s 72-year affiliation with the PGA Tour has ended after the 2026 Kaulig Companies Championship.The Champions Tour major will move to Newport Beach, California, in 2027 after its sponsor declined to extend the contract.Players, volunteers, and community members shared fond memories of the tournament, including many involving golf legend Tiger Woods.Despite the event’s departure, some officials and players expressed hope that professional golf could return to the historic Akron course.<\/p>\n

For the first time in my life, I wore waterproof mascara to a golf tournament.<\/p>\n

Not because of the heat, but because of the tears.<\/p>\n

Sunday, July 12, was the conclusion of the Kaulig Companies Championship<\/a>, ending Firestone Country Club<\/a>\u2019s 72-year affiliation with the PGA Tour. Many associated with the event saw its doom coming for months but still prayed for a miracle. Dave Shedloski of Golf Digest reported on July 8 that Kaulig Companies declined to extend its sponsorship<\/a> two years ago.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet during Zach Johnson\u2019s victory celebration<\/a>, tournament officials declined to bid farewell to Akron. David Utlak, the event\u2019s interim executive director, said they wanted to celebrate 2026, thank the sponsors and volunteers, and were trying to remain positive.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty of the week certainly made PGA Tour Champions players, their spouses and longtime volunteers<\/a> willing to reminisce.<\/p>\n

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n

Glenda Buchanan of Green spent 32 years with the golf tournament, serving as administrator of Northern Ohio Golf Charities from 2001-2017 and bookending that job with 15 years as a volunteer, including the last nine. Buchanan was among those who felt the event\u2019s impending departure, but hoped someone would save it.<\/p>\n

PGA decision another loss for Akron: I thought golf was here for good. Then the PGA dumped Akron | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so sad that the tournament\u2019s leaving,\u201d Buchanan said.<\/p>\n

That was the universal sentiment as the Champions Tour major moves to Newport Beach<\/a> (California) Country Club in 2027.<\/p>\n

But, like Buchanan, all found happy memories. Close, lasting friendships formed at Firestone. One blind date 26 years ago that resulted in marriage. Connections with nonprofits that relied heavily on grants provided through the tournament \u2014 $8 million raised for charity in four years, Kaulig Companies president and CEO Tim Clepper said. Dinners at Ken Stewart\u2019s, Bakers, Vaccaro\u2019s Trattoria and the Diamond Grille \u2014 \u201cThey used to take your address and send you a bill, which is hilarious,\u201d Rocco Mediate<\/a> said. Brushes with glory in many forms.<\/p>\n

\"Glenda<\/p>\n

\u201cThe neatest thing was having the Larry O\u2019Brien trophy sitting on my desk. That was definitely cool,\u201d Buchanan said of the NBA championship trophy won by the Cavs in June 2016. \u201cThe guy came in wearing gloves and everything. There was a guard with it. We all had our picture taken. Then they had it out at the tournament and people could get their picture taken with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two-time Kaulig champion Jerry Kelly<\/a>, who played his first World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational at Firestone in 2003, recalled one of his \u201cwelcome to the tour\u201d moments in Akron.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrank Chirkinian, Verne Lundquist \u2026 those two are huge names for me. I liked to ask them where to eat,\u201d Kelly said of late World Golf Hall of Famer Chirkinian, a producer-director, and Lundquist, two legends at CBS Sports. \u201cThey\u2019re at that back table in the Diamond Grille, which is actually the front table because we always go in the back door. I come over and they treat me like I\u2019m one of the crew. I still get chills thinking about it. I really enjoyed that moment with all those big guys.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was starstruck. Always hit the Diamond Grille ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

That same year brought a special moment for Ben Curtis and Candace Beatty, former Kent State University golfers. Unknown Curtis stunned the world with his victory in the Open Championship at Royal St. George\u2019s on July 20. He had no idea he would qualify for the NEC Invitational a month later. The rare opportunity forced them to push back the start of their wedding after he played Saturday at Firestone.<\/p>\n

Curtis finished his third round at 3:29 p.m. Three hours later, he got married at the United Methodist Church of Kent and rode away with \u201cFore Love\u201d on the windows of the limo.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the only touching love story involving Firestone.<\/p>\n

\"Ashley<\/p>\n

In 2003, Stuart Appleby arrived in Akron after marrying Canton\u2019s Ashley Saleet the previous December. Their matchmaker was the late Guido Ianni, a North Canton retiree who traveled the PGA Tour selling golf equipment. Ianni\u2019s wife, Janet, worked with Saleet\u2019s mother, Marilyn, for 10 years at Altman Hospital, and Guido thought Stuart and Ashley would make a good pair. So he set them up on a blind date during the 2000 tournament.<\/p>\n

At the end of Appleby\u2019s round, his caddie, Joe Damiano, gave Ashley a golf ball with an apple on it to have Stuart sign. Knowing nothing about golf, she thought the practice was weird, but went to her alma mater Mount Union to buy one so they could exchange them.<\/p>\n

\"Ashley<\/p>\n

\u201cTo this day, it\u2019s on our shelf in our office at home,\u201d Ashley said.<\/p>\n

Thinking back on that time and what could be the last PGA Tour event at Firestone, Stuart practically teared up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting her here, I didn\u2019t know it was going to be a big deal. It felt pretty cool at the time,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I fast forward 26 years, it was probably the most memorable thing that happened. I\u2019m a bit emotional thinking we\u2019re never going to be here again. I like this place. Great golf course, the people are fantastic. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve played a golf course more than this, out of the two tours. I would love to think there\u2019s a way for us to get back here. It truly has a special place in my heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget Guido, his old, old clubs. His interaction with me, his knowing Ashley, \u2018You guys should hook up.\u2019 When I met her, I was just like, \u2018Wow, I\u2019ve got to get this girl\u2019s phone number, we\u2019ve got to talk.\u2019 I never played well at this place. I think I finished second once, me and Lee Westwood behind Vijay [Singh, in 2008]. But I\u2019ll never ever forget this place, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ryan Armour<\/a>, 50, an Akron native and Silver Lake resident who attended Walsh Jesuit High School and Ohio State, starting begging his father to drop him off at the course in grade school. Corey Pavin gave Armour a bunker lesson when he was in the fourth or fifth grade. Armour saw Fulton Allem win the NEC World Series of Golf in 1993, giving the South African a much-needed 10-year exemption. Armour, a good friend of Craig Stadler\u2019s son, watched \u201cThe Walrus\u201d win in 1992.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved Tuesday and Wednesday more than I loved the competition because I liked watching what the pros were working on,\u201d said Armour, who earned his PGA Tour card in 2007. \u201cI wanted to become better. I used it as a chance to learn more so than a chance to be entertained.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Armour finished his fourth Kaulig round, he applauded the gallery, then patted his heart.<\/p>\n

There were plenty of personal stories when the PGA Tour Champions arrived in Akron in 2019.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Kelly and his wife, Carol, shared details of her battle with kidney cancer. In July 2022, Steve Stricker<\/a> talked of his frightening health crisis in October 2021 that kept him away from the game for six months as Stricker\u2019s wife, Nicki, said, \u201cWe were pretty close to losing him.\u201d In 2024, John Senden<\/a> opened up about playing with Parkinson\u2019s disease. In 2021, Kirk Triplett<\/a> explained what inspired his social justice activism.<\/p>\n

\"Tiger<\/p>\n

But as the curtain closes on 72 years of Firestone golf, what I remember most will be what history remembers most \u2014 Tiger Woods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Woods recorded eight victories here \u2014 in 1999-2001, 2005-07, 2009, and 2013 \u2014 tying his personal best at one course with the eight he captured in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Akron witnessed many of the biggest moments of Woods\u2019 career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Shot in the Dark<\/a>,\u201d which I didn\u2019t see (did anyone?) in the 2000 NEC Invitational because I was furiously writing on deadline and sent then-ABJ staffer Michael Weinreb to the 18th hole.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 epic seven-hole playoff victory over Jim Furyk<\/a> in 2001 when Furyk missed on birdie attempts of 12, 10 and 10 feet. The two-hour playoff was the longest on the PGA Tour in 10 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Woods hitting the ball over the clubhouse with his approach at No. 9 (his final hole) in 2006, which landed in the golf cart of chef Joshua Stuber, who was unloading crunchy cream pies. Woods was given a drop between the first tee and the driving range, where I scurried, while fellow staffer Tom Reed interviewed Stuber and night switchboard receptionist Matt Varca, who was taking phone calls from all over the country during the search for Woods\u2019 ball.<\/p>\n

Woods\u2019 playing partner, Jason Gore, said he was told in the scoring trailer that the 32 minutes of chaos was the longest ruling in the history of the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

\"Firestone<\/p>\n

During Woods\u2019 last appearance at Firestone in the 2018 Bridgestone Invitational, I asked Woods nearly every day if he would return to Akron to play the Champions Tour event. Every time, he said yes. He\u2019s now 50. That adds to the disappointment that this may be the end. Through Woods\u2019 car accidents and 14 known surgeries in the eight years since, there was always hope that Woods might come back to his personal playground, even if he needed a cart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to thank Tiger Woods for not playing,\u201d Johnson joked during the celebration on the 18th green.<\/p>\n

Tiger tales were the first things Kenny Perry<\/a> thought of on Friday, July 10, 35 years removed from his first appearance in Akron.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in final groups with Tiger. He did the finger point on 16, he was running after it when he won, I was in that last group with him,\u201d Perry said. \u201cI remember the roof shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce Lagios of Fairlawn, the former vice president of marketing at WAKR radio who is in her 49th year as a volunteer, remembered when she served on the tournament\u2019s board of trustees for one of Woods\u2019 early victories. All wore jackets and stood in a line behind the trophy presentation. After the ceremony, Woods stayed back to gaze at the yellow Wedgewood Jasperware piece that would become a collection and Lagios approached to congratulate him. He thanked her, and a photographer nearby caught the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked like I was giving him the trophy,\u201d Lagios said. \u201c[The photographer] said, \u2018I got the shot. It was my last frame. I will send it to you.\u2019 I never got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add that memory to similar ones we all treasure. Now we can only look back at Woods\u2019 wonders on YouTube and sigh.<\/p>\n

As one golf insider told me last month, \u201cWhen the PGA Tour leaves, it doesn\u2019t come back.\u201d Perhaps that\u2019s why World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els<\/a> called the decision to abandon Akron \u201ccrushing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The failure to give Firestone a fitting farewell on the 18th green Sunday felt like a travesty, disrespectful of its history. But that silence and lack of finality also provided a smidgen of hope. So, too, did Els when he said he would work \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d to bring some kind of professional golf event back to Akron.<\/p>\n

A longtime volunteer said there was speculation about Firestone hosting an LPGA tournament in 2028.<\/p>\n

\"Zach<\/p>\n

Akron Mayor Shammas Malik attended Johnson\u2019s trophy presentation and said he thought Johnson might join Els in his support for the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to have a champion who has such an affinity for the course,\u201d Malik said. \u201cHe told me he\u2019d been to Diamond Grille twice and how much he loves this community. I think that pull will keep professional golf coming back in one form or another. What that is remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t this this is going to be the end. I think it\u2019s just the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nancy Bird, a Tallmadge resident serving as tournament chairperson in her 25th year as a volunteer, called 2026 \u201ca little bit bittersweet.\u201d But her message to marshals and volunteers was, \u201cIt\u2019s not goodbye, it\u2019s until we meet again.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of America\u2019s most storied courses needs a tournament sponsor. Cleveland\u2019s most respected professional team owner, Cavaliers chairman Dan Gilbert<\/a>, is ending his title sponsorship of the PGA Tour\u2019s Rocket Classic in Detroit next month after an eight-year run.<\/p>\n

Is Gilbert getting out of the golf business? If so, where are you Sherwin-Williams? Progressive insurance? Jimmy and Dee Haslam? LeBron James? Taylor and Travis?<\/p>\n

I left Firestone with my mascara intact. My eyes watered only when I approached Johnson to thank him for his help over the years and he said, \u201cGood to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, like me, was not ready to say we\u2019ve set foot on the hallowed course on Warner Road for the last time.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

The Akron Beacon\u00a0Journal\u00a0sports department can be contacted via email at\u00a0bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 13, 2026, 1:00 p.m. ET Firestone Country Club’s 72-year affiliation with the PGA Tour has ended after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[58,1443,1424,4256,3595,3596,4257,10272,65,68,69,193,1384,67,187,353,62],"class_list":["post-36167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bmw-championship","tag-accessfree","tag-bmw-championship","tag-oh","tag-sourceakron-beacon-journal","tag-sstssportsgolfchampions","tag-sstsnchampions","tag-tagakron","tag-tagben-curtis","tag-taggolf","tag-taginternational-sports-competitions","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagpga-tour","tag-tagpga-tour-champions","tag-tagsports-news","tag-tagstory-highlights-ai-enabled","tag-tagtiger-woods","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/golf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}