Latest News

Image for News Article

Charles Schwab Cup Money leader Steve Stricker set to defend title at The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren

Posted on Tuesday, July 11, 2023

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Tournament officials of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren announced today that Charles Schwab Cup Money leader Steve Stricker will defend his The Ally Challenge title at the sixth edition of the official PGA TOUR Champions stop, scheduled for the week of August 21-27 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Moreover, the world-class field will be strengthened by reigning U.S. Senior Open champion Bernhard Langer, and PGA TOUR Champions major winners Retief Goosen and Mark O’Meara.

Tickets for the 2023 Ally Challenge presented by McLaren are on sale. The tournament is open to spectators from Thursday (August 24) to Sunday (August 27) and ticket prices start at $10. For a complete listing of ticket options please visit the tournament website at theallychallenge.com.

Stricker, 56, is enjoying his strongest PGA TOUR Champions campaign to date and one of the best starts, in fact, for any PGA TOUR Champions player in the history of the league. Stricker has finished inside the top-10 in each of his 12 starts this season, including 11 top-fives, four wins—equaling his previous best single-season win total set in 2022—and five runner-up efforts. Over his last five starts Stricker has finished 1st-1st-T2-1st-2nd, with two of those victories’ majors at the Regions Tradition and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. The Wisconsin native has now won 15 PGA TOUR Champions events, including six majors, since joining the senior TOUR in 2017. Stricker is also the holder of 13 runner-up finishes and 51 top-10 outings over his 59 tournaments played. This will be Stricker’s second appearance at The Ally Challenge. His 15-under-par winning score in 2022 included rounds of 70-64-67, one stroke better than runner-up Brett Quigley.

Additionally, Stricker served as the 2020 U.S. Ryder Cup Team Captain when the Americans rolled to a record-setting victory at Whistling Straits in his home state. This came just four years after Stricker captained the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team in 2017 at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, N.J. In 2012, Stricker was named the recipient of the Payne Stewart Award, presented annually to a player sharing Stewart's respect for the traditions of the game, his commitment to uphold the game's heritage of charitable support and his professional and meticulous presentation of himself and the sport through his conduct.

Langer, 65, became the oldest U.S. Senior Open champion and set the record for most PGA TOUR Champions wins (46) with a two-stroke triumph over Stricker two weeks ago at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. Langer’s historic victory was his 12th senior major since joining PGA TOUR Champions in 2007. This will be the sixth start at The Ally Challenge for the two-time Masters champion. His best finish was a solo second in 2021, one stroke behind winner Joe Durant. His tournament scoring average is 68.6 to go with earnings of $367,040. Langer currently sits at No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings on strength of five top-10 finishes over 13 events, including two victories. The Germany native was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002 and is ranked first on the PGA TOUR Champions career money list with $35,087,569 in earnings.

Goosen, 54, will be making his fourth start at this year’s The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren. The South African earned his best finish in 2020 with a T-2 effort, two strokes behind champion Jim Furyk. His tournament scoring average is 68.22 and his earnings sit at $271,033. The two-time U.S. Open Champion has collected two PGA TOUR Champions wins since joining the tour in 2019. He grabbed his first title and first senior major in just his 12th start at the Kaulig Companies Championship. He picked up his second win last year at the Hoag Classic. This season, Goosen finished T-3 in March at The Galleri Classic and T-6 at the U.S. Senior Open Championship in July, in addition to three other top-five finishes. Goosen is currently ranked No. 17 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Ally ambassador O’Meara has enjoyed a successful career since turning professional in 1980. His resume includes 16 PGA TOUR wins, highlighted by the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship in 1998. He became eligible for PGA TOUR Champions in 2007 and has since recorded three wins, including the Kaulig Companies Championship, 15 runner-up efforts, 63 top-10 finishes and over $10 million in earnings. O’Meara broke his eight-year win drought in March of 2019 when he won the Cologuard Classic. The 66-year-old North Carolina native was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015 and will be making his sixth start at The Ally Challenge next month. His best finish came in the inaugural event in 2018 with a T-3 outing.

The Ally Challenge will be one of the premier Regular Season events on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2023, which will give way to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs¾a season-ending, three-tournament series used to determine the TOUR’s season-long champion.

All three rounds of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will be broadcast on Golf Channel.

For more information about The Ally Challenge, please visit www.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, MI. 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 www.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

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a financial services company with the nation’s largest all-digital bank and an industry-leading auto financing business, driven by a mission to “Do It Right” and be a relentless ally for customers and communities. The company serves more than 11 million customers through a full range of online banking services (including deposits, mortgage, point-of-sale personal lending, and credit card products) and securities brokerage and investment advisory services. The company also includes a robust corporate finance business that offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies, as well as auto financing and insurance offerings. For more information, please visit www.ally.com and follow @allyfinancial.

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

For further images and news on Ally, please visit http://media.ally.com.

 

About McLaren Health Care

McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 13 hospitals in Michigan, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 690,000 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network, virtual and retail care services and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 53 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S.  McLaren has 22,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan and Indiana.  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

 


« Back to 2023 News Download Article (PDF)