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Defending Charles Schwab Cup Champion Steven Alker joins past winners of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren Joe Durant, Jerry Kelly and Paul Broadhurst to strengthen tournament field

Posted on Wednesday, July 26, 2023

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – – Tournament officials announced today that The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren has accepted commitments from defending Charles Schwab Cup champion Steven Alker and past winners of The Ally Challenge Joe Durant, Jerry Kelly, and Paul Broadhurst to strengthen the field for 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.

These latest commitments bolster The Ally Challenge’s world-class field that now features five of the top-10 players in the Charles Schwab Cup standings: Five-time winner this season—including three majors—and defending Ally Challenge champion Steve Stricker (1), PGA TOUR Champions career wins leader and reigning U.S. Senior Open champion Bernhard Langer (2), major champion David Toms (3), Alker (5), and Kelly (9).

Tickets for The Ally Challenge can be purchased at theallychallenge.com/tickets. Several ticket options are available. The tournament is open to spectators from Thursday (August 24) to Sunday (August 27) and ticket prices start at $10—children 17 and under receive free grounds access with a ticketed adult. For a complete listing of ticket options please visit the tournament website at theallychallenge.com.

Alker won his sixth career PGA TOUR Champions title this season at the Insperity Invitational to go with seven total top-10 finishes, including three runner-up efforts. The New Zealand native is currently ranked No. 5 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and returns to Warwick Hills next month where he finished solo third place in 2021 and T9 last year during his Schwab Cup title run.

Durant counts the 2021 edition of The Ally Challenge among his four PGA TOUR Champions victories. With two top-10 finishes this season, including a runner-up last month at the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open, Durant is 23rd in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. He will look to make a fourth straight top-20 finish in his sixth appearance at this year’s The Ally Challenge.

Kelly is the owner of 11 career PGA TOUR Champions victories, including his 2019 win at The Ally Challenge and two majors—the Kaulig Companies Championship in 2022 and 2020. The Wisconsin native is ranked No. 9 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings on strength of five top-5 finishes this season, his most recent a third-place effort at the U.S. Senior Open earlier this month. This year will mark Kelly’s sixth start at The Ally Challenge where he holds a 69.0 career tournament scoring average.

Broadhurst, the inaugural winner of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren, returns to Warwick Hills for a sixth time with a 69.47 career tournament scoring average. His five PGA TOUR Champions victories also include two major titles at the 2016 Senior Open Championship and 2018 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. The native of Walsall, England currently holds the 15th spot in the Charles Schwab Cup standings thanks to three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up to Steve Stricker at the American Family Insurance Championship.

In 2023, The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will not only feature world-class competition, but fans will also be treated to a full slate of events and activities taking place at the tournament through Sunday’s final round.

The tournament’s special events begin on Monday, August 21, with the second annual McLaren Adaptive Golf Clinic in cooperation with the National Amputee Golf Association (NAGA) and the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA). The two-hour clinic will take place at Warwick Hills and feature trained adaptive golf coaches providing instruction to a group of more than 20 adaptive golfers using a wide array of adaptive golf equipment. Attendees will experience an atmosphere of camaraderie and include McLaren Health Care physical therapy patients and participants identified by NAGA, USAGA, and The Disability Network.

New this year on Monday at Warwick Hills, the tournament will welcome the PGA JR. League Championship to The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren. This group of youth players form five teams across the Genesee County region and have played competitively all summer. The event will serve as the league’s season-ending Championship round, offering a very special opportunity to play a tournament-ready PGA TOUR Champions course. The PGA JR. League Championship is sponsored by Security Credit Union. 

The Women of Influence Luncheon presented by Dream Title & The Brokerage Real Estate Enthusiasts returns to tournament week this year and will once again celebrate the power and accomplishments of women on Thursday, August 24 at 12 p.m. in the Beer Garden on Hole No. 17 at Warwick Hills. For more information, including how to purchase tickets to the Luncheon, the public can contact the tournament sales office at rpabreza@theallychallenge.com.  

Also on Thursday, Family Fun Night presented by Charles Stewart Mott Foundation takes place from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Hole No. 17 and in the tournament’s Fan Zone. Admission and parking are free for this fun-for-the-whole-family event. Parking is located at the Grand Blanc High School with complimentary shuttle service provided. Family Fun Night includes free pizza and drinks—courtesy of Cottage Inn and Faygo—for youths 18 years and under, a DJ dance party, golf stations, the McLaren Chipping Challenge, plus Ally Foot Golf.

The tournament welcomes back two events to its Friday schedule that were introduced last year, beginning with the Chamber Happy Hour from 4 – 6 p.m. on Hole No. 7. This special function brings the community together at The Ally Challenge through four of the regions Chamber of Commerce.

The Concert @17 presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort featuring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles, will also be held Friday evening, August 25, and take place following the first round of tournament competition at the famed 17th hole at Warwick Hills.

The fun continues Saturday evening with the tournament’s sixth annual Ally Community Concert, headlined by country music superstar and 2022 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Entertainer of the Year Miranda Lambert. This special event will take place on the driving range at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Access to The Concert @17, and the Ally Community Concert, require the purchase of a valid tournament ticket for the day each concert is hosted, or a weekly ticket option. 

New this year, The Ally Challenge has teamed up with legendary Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth to enhance the tournament’s annual complimentary Sunday breakfast for all fans onsite from 8:30 – 11 a.m. on August 27th. Come out with family and friends to enjoy Zehnder’s Chicken & Waffles, located between Hole Nos. 9 and 18 green near the Clubhouse to start Championship Sunday off right.

There’s something for everyone at The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren thanks to the tournament’s many fan destinations, all open to the public, ranging from live music, to enjoyable ways to view the competition, to fun for the kids, to Birdie Time is Miller Time. See below for the full list.

2023 Fan Destinations at The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren

  • Birdie Time is Miller Time (located on Hole No. 17)
  • Fan Zone (located adjacent to Hole No. 17)
    • Featuring...
      • Ally Foot Golf
      • McLaren Chipping Challenge
  • Food Truck Concessions (located on Hole No. 17)
  • Miller Lite Beer Garden (located on Hole No. 17)
  • Mulligan’s Deck (located on Hole No. 17) featuring public seating and drink specials, including White Claw
  • Kids Zone (located in the Fan Zone)
  • DTE Energy Lawn
  • McLaren Public Bleacher (located on Hole No. 18)
  • Dow VET Den (located on Hole No. 18)
  • Zehnder’s Chicken & Waffle Complimentary Fan Breakfast on Sunday(located between Hole Nos. 9 and 18 greens near the Clubhouse)  

 

Visit theallychallenge.com for additional information about the tournament’s fan destinations, including daily hours of operation. 

The Ally Challenge will be one of the premier Regular Season events on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2023, featuring a $2,200,000 purse and leading 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


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