Who is the Kaulig Companies, sponsor of the PGA Tour stop at Firestone Country Club?

Craig Webb, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·2 min read
Matt Kaulig, executive chairman of Kaulig Companies, speaks during a press conference at Firestone Country Club on June 15, 2022. Kaulig Companies will become the title sponsor of the PGA Tour Champions' Senior Players Championship starting in 2023.
Matt Kaulig, executive chairman of Kaulig Companies, speaks during a press conference at Firestone Country Club on June 15, 2022. Kaulig Companies will become the title sponsor of the PGA Tour Champions' Senior Players Championship starting in 2023.

The new title sponsor of the PGA Tour Champions' Senior Players Championship at the Firestone Country Club is no stranger to Northeast Ohio and the famed Akron golf course.

The Kaulig Companies has signed on to be signature sponsor of the Akron tournament over the next four years.

Kaulig and its Executive Chairman Matt Kaulig call the Greater Akron area home and have created a national footprint through its various subsidiaries and sponsorships and charitable endeavors.

The tournament runs from July 13 to 16 and will feature the likes of returning champion Jerry Kelly and other golf legends including Ernie Els, Berhard Langer and Jim Furyk.

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What is the Kaulig Company?

The title sponsor for the PGA Tour Champions' Senior Players Championship has been around for a couple decades.

The Hudson-based private company made its fortune through LeafFilter and other home services, but has branched out into marketing and sporting endeavors.

Matt Kaulig also became part of a minority investment group in the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.

The Kaulig Companies has five different business pillars including sports and entertainment, marketing and event management, finance and financial services, consumer products and philanthropy.

The company's philanthropic endeavors include the LeBron James Family Foundation, Cleveland Guardians Charities, Akron Children’s Hospital, NASCAR Foundation and CC Sabathia's PitCCh In Foundation and the Ben Curtis Family Foundation.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series driver AJ Allmendinger (16) and Matt Kaulig, owner of Kaulig Racing, pose for a photo after winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on Saturday, July 30, 2022 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver AJ Allmendinger (16) and Matt Kaulig, owner of Kaulig Racing, pose for a photo after winning the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard on Saturday, July 30, 2022 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.

Who is Matt Kaulig?

Born in Columbus, Matt Kaulig grew up in Cincinnati and moved to the Chicago area when he was a teen.

He came home to Ohio to attend the University of Akron.

He was quarterback at UA under coach Gerry Faust in the 1990s and he met his wife Lisa who was a cheerleader.

He founded LeafFilter in 2005 from the basement of their home.

The family resides in Hudson.

The couple started Samantha’s Gift of Hope − named after their daughter Samantha and their own struggle to conceive − to support and provide for couples struggling with infertility.

Matt was a tournament volunteer during his UA days at Firestone, driving a van at the PGA Tour event.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who is Matt Kaulig and the Kaulig Companies, sponsor at Firestone?