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United Way of Genesee County named primary beneficiary of the 2020 Ally Challenge presented by McLaren

Birdies for Charity presented by Ally program returns for third annual tournament

GRAND BLANC, Mich.– Tournament officials announced today, that as a result of the ongoing health and safety issues related to the Coronavirus pandemic and in accordance with the state of Michigan’s Safe Start Plan, it has been determined that competition rounds for the 2020 Ally Challenge presented by McLaren, Friday, July 31 through Sunday August 2, will be played without general public or corporate hospitality attendance at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club.

The decision to play the third installment of the official PGA TOUR Champions event without spectators was made as a result of Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-133 signed on June 25 and in collaboration with the PGA TOUR, the tournament’s title sponsor Ally Financial and presenting sponsor McLaren Health Care, with the health and safety of all involved the absolute focus.

Additionally, all special events traditionally surrounding the tournament, including the 2020 Ally Challenge Community Concert, will not be staged this year. These events are scheduled to return to tournament week in 2021.

“We are looking forward to hosting the third installment of The Ally Challenge in just a few weeks,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer, Ally. “While it will look a bit different this year, the tournament’s overall impact on this community through charitable giving and boosting the local economy remains its ultimate purpose. We can’t wait for the greatest fans in golf to join us again at Warwick Hills in 2021.”

In related news, the official Pro-Am tournaments on Wednesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 30 will be staged as scheduled, with additional safety protocols in place for participants.

“McLaren welcomes the return of professional golf to Genesee County,” said Phil Incarnati, President/CEO of McLaren Health Care. “I am very pleased to announce that at this year’s tournament we will be showcasing McLaren’s frontline healthcare heroes who have served patient and community needs throughout this unprecedented health crisis. Every tour player’s caddie will wear the name of one of our clinical professionals on their bib throughout tournament play symbolically representing the thousands of nurses, doctors and allied health professionals who suit up every day to restore health and save lives. While this 2020 tournament is different in many ways, it remains the same in its focus on philanthropy, community support and world class golf competition, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

One element of this year’s The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren that will not be disrupted is the charitable initiatives and fundraising platforms that are the foundation of this community focused event. The tournament has established a legacy of giving in southeastern Michigan in its first two years, including raising nearly $2.4 million in support of local charities in the greater Flint area and beyond. The Ally Challenge will continue to positively impact the community in Genesee County and beyond in 2020 through its support of the United Way of Genesee County (UWGC), as well as the return of Birdies for Charity presented by Ally.

The 2020 tournament will mark the second consecutive year that UWGC has been included as a primary beneficiary of The Ally Challenge.

“Supporting the United Way of Genesee County again this year allows the tournament proceeds to be put to work across a number of organizations throughout this community,” said Alison Summerville, business administration executive and head of Corporate Citizenship, Ally. “Seeing the tournament’s impact has been one of the most satisfying elements of its growth over the past two years and we aren’t going to let COVID-19 stop us from raising funds, which are needed more now than ever before.”

UWGC has operated in the community for over 97 years providing support to residents of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Focusing on addressing educational outcomes, health access, financial stability and the basic needs of its residents; the UWGC leverages donations from more than 200 workplace campaigns and individual investors to support over 150 programs.  Last year dollars raised impacted over 100,000 lives representing every zip code of Genesee County.

“The United Way of Genesee County is grateful for this continued partnership,” said James Gaskin, CEO, United Way of Genesee County. “Last year with dollars raised from the tournament, the United Way supported 17 programs working to help families become financially independent.  In addition, tournament patrons helped assemble more than 300 comfort kits for children in crisis. We look forward to continuing to invest these dollars in multiple programs throughout Genesee County meeting the needs of our most vulnerable residents.”

Birdies for Charity presented by Ally is a grassroots charity platform that creates positive opportunities for charities to partner with the tournament and benefit from the philanthropic objectives of The Ally Challenge. This successful program nearly doubled the number of participating Michigan 501(c)(3) organizations from year one to year two, with 16 contributing charities in 2018 and 29 in 2019.

Birdies for Charity gives qualified Michigan 501(c)(3) charities and schools the opportunity to raise funds based on the number of birdies made by PGA TOUR Champions players during competitive rounds at The Ally Challenge. Each participating charity will solicit pledges per birdie, or flat donations, to their organization through the Birdies for Charity program. Charities will receive 100% of collected donations, as well as a guaranteed bonus match of 10% on the first $300,000 of donations and 5% thereafter.

As an added benefit during these trying and uncertain times, the 2020 Birdies for Charity program will distribute payment for donated funds received through the program to charities monthly (July – October 2020). Additionally, the Birdies program timeline has been extended through the end of this October.

“All associated with The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren are encouraged to be able to conduct this year’s event,” said tournament director Matt Stepnes. “While it is disappointing that we will not be able to accommodate spectators the week of July 27, the health and safety of everyone involved with The Ally Challenge is our top priority. That said, it is more important than ever during these unprecedented times that the tournament’s charitable mission to positively impact Genesee County and surrounding communities is realized. For that reason, it is especially rewarding to welcome back United Way of Genesee County as our 2020 primary beneficiary and announce the return of Birdies for Charity presented by Ally.”

The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will be one of the premier Regular Season events on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule, which annually gives way to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs – a season-ending, three-tournament series used to determine the Tour’s season-long champion. Due to the circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic, PGA TOUR Champions has combined its tournaments in 2020 and 2021 to form one season, and the next Charles Schwab Cup champion will be crowned in November 2021 at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

All three rounds of The Ally Challenge will be broadcast on Golf Channel in the United States. Internationally, telecasts air in more than 170 countries and territories, reaching more than 340 million potential households, and are distributed in 15+ markets via GOLFTV.

For more information about The Ally Challenge, please visit theallychallenge.com. For the latest Ally Challenge news and updates on social media follow the tournament on Twitter and Instagram at @AllyChallenge and on Facebook at Facebook.com/AllyChallenge.

About The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren

The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren is an official event on the PGA TOUR Champions owned and operated by Tournaments for Charity, a Michigan non-profit corporation. This 54-hole stroke play golf tournament features 78 PGA TOUR Champions professionals competing for a $2 million purse at the historic Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan. The event is designed to showcase the best golf on the PGA TOUR Champions for the enjoyment of spectators and to benefit local charities in the greater Flint area. All three official rounds will be internationally televised on the Golf Channel.

For more information about The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren, please visit theallychallenge.com. For the latest Ally Challenge news and updates on social media follow the tournament on Twitter and Instagram at @AllyChallenge and on Facebook at Facebook.com/AllyChallenge.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $182.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2020. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage lending, personal lending, and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.

For further news regarding Ally, please visit the Ally press room at http://media.ally.com.

About McLaren Health Care

McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a fully integrated health network committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 15 hospitals in Michigan and Ohio, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 588,000 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 50 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S.  McLaren has 28,000 employees and more than 85,200 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Its operations are housed in more than 350 inpatient and ambulatory facilities.  Learn more at www.mclaren.org.

About HNS Sports Group

HNS Sports Group is a Dublin, Ohio-based LLC founded in 2000. The company offers over 125-plus years of collective experience and is committed to providing professional, efficient and effective client representation in the categories of sponsorship consultation, event management, hospitality management, sales representation and tournament operations within the golf market. To learn more about HNS Sports Group, visit www.hnssports.com.

Media Contact

Thomas P. Sprouse

Director of Communications,

The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren               

E-Mail: tsprouse@hnssports.com           

Office: 614-889-6791                

Mobile: 614-519-1873

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