Latest News

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Tournament officials announced today that The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren has accepted the commitments of major championship winners Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and David Toms to compete in the eighth edition of the official PGA TOUR Champions event the week of August 18-24 at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Joining Els, Goosen and Toms in this year’s field are two members of the 2025 PGA TOUR Champions rookie class, Bo Van Pelt and Søren Kjeldsen. 

Tickets for The Ally Challenge can be purchased by visiting the tournament website (theallychallenge.com). The Ally Challenge is open to spectators from Thursday (August 21) to Sunday (August 24) and ticket prices start at $15. Children 17 and under receive free grounds access with a ticketed adult. For a complete listing of ticket options please CLICK HERE.

Els, 55, made his PGA TOUR Champions debut in January of 2020 with a T-2 finish at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He grabbed his first senior victory two starts later at the Hoag Classic. A win at the 2020 SAS Championship gave Els two titles in his first 10 starts. The South African is coming off a career PGA TOUR Champions season that included three wins, his first senior major (Kaulig Companies Championship) counted among them, and a second-place finish in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. It was his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in the race for the Charles Schwab Cup. He picked up in 2025 where he left off, starting this year’s campaign with his seventh career PGA TOUR Champions victory, a win at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He has grabbed a total of 15 top-25 finishes this season over 16 starts, with eight inside the top-10, and sits at No. 6 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Els is the owner of 42 international victories and 19 PGA TOUR titles, including four major championships¾two U.S. Open wins in 1994 and 1997, along with two The Open Championship titles in 2002 and 2012. In 2015 the “Big Easy” was named the recipient of the Payne Stewart Award by the PGA TOUR in recognition of character, sportsmanship, and dedication to charitable giving. Els is making his fifth appearance at The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren. He has recorded two top-10 finishes, with his best result coming in 2022 with a T-6 effort. His tournament scoring average is 69.42 and he has $145,485.71 in earnings.

Goosen, 56, will make his sixth appearance at this year’s The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren. The South African has finished inside the top-25 in each of his previous appearances, including three top-10s, with a T-2 in 2020 as his best outing. His tournament scoring average is 69 to go with $338,007.71 in earnings. The two-time U.S. Open champion has collected three PGA TOUR Champions wins since turning 50 and joining the TOUR in 2019. Goosen grabbed his first title and first senior major in just his 12th start at the SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. He picked up his second win at the 2022 Hoag Classic and won The Galleri Classic in March 2024, the first of his seven top-10 finishes last season. Goosen is currently ranked No. 9 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings on the strength of seven top-10 efforts over 15 starts, including a runner up at the Insperity Invitational after a playoff loss to The Ally Challenge defending champion Stewart Cink.

Toms, 58, will make his eighth start at The Ally Challenge, where his best finish is T-3 in 2019. He has recorded six top-25s at Warwick Hills, three inside the top-10, and his tournament scoring average is 69.05 to go with $375,293.34 in earnings. Toms’ PGA TOUR Champions resume includes four titles, his first victory coming at the 2018 U.S. Senior Open Championship, followed by the Ascension Charity Classic in 2021. The Louisiana native’s next two wins came in 2023 when he recorded his first career senior multi-win season, with victories at The Galleri Classic and Cologuard Classic. His 10 top-10 finishes combined with a seventh-place finish in the Charles Schwab Cup standings ranks as one of his best seasons since making his PGA TOUR Champions debut in 2017. Toms recorded 13 victories on the PGA TOUR, including the 2001 PGA Championship, in addition to being a member of three U.S. Ryder Cup teams and three U.S. Presidents Cup teams.

Van Pelt celebrated his 50^th birthday this May and made his PGA TOUR Champions debut the same month at the Senior PGA Championship. He recorded his best finish on the senior circuit in his fifth start last week with a T-17 effort at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, England. The Tulsa, Oklahoma resident has claimed one victory each on the PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour during his more than 25 years as a professional, as well as two international titles.     

Kjeldsen earned medalist honors at the 2025 PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying Tournament-Final Stage, winning by a record eight shots at TPC Scottsdale Champions Course to gain fully-exempt status for this season. He has teed it up in seven PGA TOUR Champions events since turning 50 in May. The Denmark native has gotten off to a fast start, recording four top-10 finishes, including two runner-up efforts, and is ranked No. 22 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Kjeldsen turned professional in 1995, and his resume includes six international victories.

The Ally Challenge is a Regular Season PGA TOUR Champions event in 2025, which will give way to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs¾a season-ending, three-tournament series used to determine the TOUR’s season-long champion. The 2025 PGA TOUR Champions schedule features 28 events and will conclude with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. The 2025 Season will have players competing for more than $69 million in total prize money, the highest in PGA TOUR Champions’ 45-season history.

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

Since its inception in 2018, The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren has donated nearly $8.4 million to support charity.

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 $2.2 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 customers with deposits and securities brokerage and investment advisory services as well as auto financing and insurance offerings. The company also includes a seasoned corporate finance business that offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies. For more information, please visit www.ally.com.  

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
The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren
Thomas P. Sprouse, Director of Communications  
E-Mail: tsprouse@hnssports.com           
Office: 614-889-6791               
Mobile: 614-519-1873

« Back to 2025 News Download Article (PDF)