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GRAND BLANC, Mich. – Officials of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren announced today the details surrounding the tournament’s Friday concert event. The Concert @17 presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort will feature The Wildflowers, the most successful international touring Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tribute band. The fifth-year concert will be held Friday evening, August 28, following the first round of tournament competition at the official PGA TOUR Champions event’s famed 17th hole.

The 2026 Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will take place the week of August 24 – 30 at the renowned Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.

“The Concert @17 presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort has solidified itself as a fan-favorite event during tournament week at The Ally Challenge,” said Tournament Director Erin Stone. "The Wildflowers will give fans a show filled with energy and authentic southern charm that is sure to have everyone singing along to the universally loved music of Tom Petty Friday night at the famed 17^th hole at Warwick Hills.”

Access to Friday’s Concert @17 presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort and Saturday’s Ally Community Concert featuring Keith Urban require the purchase of a valid tournament ticket.

Also announced today, The Ally Challenge is offering a special Father’s Day package that includes two Sunday tickets to The Porch at 17 and one dozen TaylorMade golf balls. The Porch features views of the iconic par-3 17^th hole at Warwick Hills and includes a comfortable interior with upgraded food and beverage options available for purchase. 

For a complete listing of ticket options, including the Father’s Day special, please CLICK HERE to visit the tournament website (theallychallenge.com). The tournament is open to spectators from Thursday (August 27) to Sunday (August 30) and ticket prices start at $15.

The Ally Challenge is a Regular Season PGA TOUR Champions event in 2026, which will give way to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs¾a season-ending, three-tournament series that concludes with the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix, Arizona, used to determine the TOUR’s season-long champion. The 2026 PGA TOUR Champions schedule features 28 events, with players competing for more than $70 million in total prize money, the highest in PGA TOUR Champions’ 46-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 more than $9.6 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 Wildflowers
Now in their 13th year together, The Wildflowers have become the most successful internationally touring tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Playing all the hits of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Tom Petty’s solo music, and even The Traveling Wilburys thrown in for good measure, with such precision, energy, and authentic southern charm, you have to see and hear The Wildflowers to believe it.

“Who doesn’t love Tom Petty?” bassist Darryell Stone asked himself one day in 2012 while listening to the radio. There was only one answer he could imagine, “Nobody.” Testing his hypothesis, Stone polled friends, family and fellow musicians how they felt about Petty. The result was always the same. Everyone loves Tom Petty.

One of these fellow musicians just happened to be Tom Petty’s doppelganger, guitarist and lead vocalist Jonathan Guthrie. Guthrie was an avid fan and had always fantasized about being a Heartbreaker. As two seasoned musicians and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers fans, there was really only one thing for them to do – form a Tom Petty tribute band.

It wasn’t hard for Stone and Guthrie to find skilled musicians excited about playing in a Tom Petty tribute band. Drummer Steve Lucas, formerly of Feverdog and a band mate of Stone’s local band, Theatrix, quickly signed on. Lucas brought with him his M-80’s band mate Glenn Freeman. Freeman, who boasts of seeing multiple Tom Petty concerts in the 80s, brought an instrumental cornucopia to the group with keyboards, harmonica, guitar and backing vocals. Lead guitarist Curt Granger rounded out the lineup. With several decades of experience on the circuit, Granger has played in such circuit bands as Pyrate, Scream Sophie, and his own solo project, as well as creating a line of world-renowned boutique guitar amplifiers at Granger Amplification.

The new Tom Petty tribute band rehearsed with one focus – to recreate the music of Tom Petty with precision, attention to detail, and a reverent respect. Parts were studied in great detail, down to inflections in the very way each word of every lyric was sung.

Performing locally in the first year, it didn’t take long for the band to be noticed. Word spread quickly, which led to more shows outside the band’s home state, which in turn led to more word of mouth and exposure. Soon, the band was gaining interest from venues across the Southeast, which led to more travel and more Tom Petty fans discovering them. In 2020 the band did their first Canadian tour, with more to follow, earning them an “international” moniker.

Jump ahead 400+ shows and The Wildflowers have become one of the most popular tributes and concert experiences across North America.

 Equipped with decades of experience and a passion for Tom Petty’s magic way with songs, The Wildflowers bring music lovers of all stripes what they adore: More Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

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 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.

About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6.9 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 12 hospitals across the state, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 730-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 242,000 Michigan lives, 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 Karmanos Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. McLaren has 20,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 93,000 network providers throughout Michigan and Ohio. Learn more at 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 Contacts
The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren
Thomas P. Sprouse, VP Communications                
E-Mail: tsprouse@hnssports.com           
Office: 614-889-6791               
Mobile: 614-519-1873

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