GRAND BLANC, Mich., August 22, 2017 – PGA TOUR Champions and Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) announced today a new event to be contested in Grand Blanc beginning next year. The Ally Challenge will debut the week of September 10-16, 2018 at longtime PGA TOUR venue Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, which hosted the Buick Open for 45 years through 2009. The tournament will feature a $2 million purse, with a three-year agreement in place through 2020.
Ally Financial Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Andrea Brimmer, PGA TOUR Champions President Greg McLaughlin, Tournament President Trent Marshall, Tournament Director Chris Coffman and World Golf Hall of Fame member Mark O’Meara were the featured speakers at today’s announcement in Grand Blanc.
“We are very proud to be bringing The Ally Challenge to Warwick Hills next fall, and to be part of the spirit and legacy of PGA TOUR Champions,” said Riley. “Our sponsorship of this tournament not only brings an exciting sporting event to the area, but also reflects our deep commitment to doing right in our communities and making meaningful contributions to the places where we live and work. We’ve played a significant role in the revitalization of Detroit over the past decade, and with the debut of The Ally Challenge next fall, we’ll be extending those efforts and helping to also drive positive economic impacts in the communities of Flint and Grand Blanc.”
Ally, which has a long history in Detroit, is a leading digital financial services company. Ally offers innovative financial products for consumers, businesses, automotive dealers and corporate clients. Ally has an award-winning online bank (Ally Bank Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) offering deposits, credit card and home loan products, one of the largest full service auto finance operations in the country, a complementary auto-focused insurance business, a growing wealth management and online brokerage platform, and a trusted corporate finance business offering capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.
The PGA TOUR and its tournaments donated more than $166 million to charitable causes in 2016, in turn bringing the all-time total generated for charity to $2.46 billion since 1938. Net proceeds from The Ally Challenge will benefit one or more qualified 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations in the greater Flint area.
The Ally Challenge marks the sixth new event announced by PGA TOUR Champions over the past two-and-a-half years, and becomes the newest staple on a schedule that currently features tournaments in four countries and 18 states.
“We are excited to welcome Ally Financial to the PGA TOUR Champions family as we usher in a new era of golf at Warwick Hills,” said McLaughlin. “We are aligned with Ally in our goals to give back to this great community while creating a year-round impact through what should quickly become one of our most popular events.”
Warwick Hills, designed in 1957 by noted architect Joe Lee, hosted the PGA TOUR’s best players for nearly half a century, delivering champions such as Tiger Woods, Billy Casper and Julius Boros, as well as current PGA TOUR Champions players Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Hale Irwin and Kenny Perry, to name a few.
“Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club is honored to build on its rich tournament tradition by hosting the Ally Challenge,” said Marshall. “We are looking forward to working with the PGA TOUR again and providing an unparalleled experience that participants and fans will cherish and that Warwick Hills, the City of Grand Blanc and the greater Flint community will treasure as a part of golf history in our community.”
O’Meara, a 16-time PGA TOUR winner who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2015, made 18 career starts at Warwick Hills, where he notched four top-10 finishes, including a runner-up effort to Woods in 2002.
“It’s incredible to have the opportunity to come back to Grand Blanc, the greater Flint area and Warwick Hills to compete in a PGA TOUR Champions event,” said O’Meara, who also owns two PGA TOUR Champions titles. “This community was a great host to PGA TOUR players for a number of years, and we received tremendous support from the fans throughout the years.”
The event will be managed by HNS Sports Group with Coffman serving as the Tournament Director.
Tournaments for Charity, a 501(c)(3) owned and operated by HNS, will serve as the tournament’s host organization.
"The Ally Challenge provides a great opportunity for South East Michigan to participate in a world-class golf tournament once again,” said Coffman. “This tournament will serve as a tremendous platform for the region by offering sponsorship, hospitality and pro-am options that will allow corporations and individuals alike to gain benefit from, and enjoy, all the amazing attributes found in a PGA TOUR Champions event.”
The Ally Challenge will be one of the premier Regular Season events on PGA TOUR Champions in 2018, which will give way to the third-annual Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs – a season-ending, three tournament series used to determine the Tour’s season-long champion.
All three rounds of The Ally Challenge will be broadcast on Golf Channel.
For more information on PGA TOUR Champions or the Ally Challenge, please visit PGATOUR.com. To register to receive information about the Ally Challenge please visit theallychallenge.com. For information about sponsorship or hospitality packages please contact Chris Coffman at ccoffman@theallychallenge.com or 734-678-0122. For the latest Ally Challenge news and updates follow Ally on Twitter at @Ally and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Ally.
About Ally Financial
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company and a top 25 U.S. financial holding company offering financial products for consumers, businesses, automotive dealers and corporate clients. Ally's legacy dates back to 1919, and the company was redesigned in 2009 with a distinctive brand, innovative approach and relentless focus on its customers. Ally has an award-winning online bank (Ally Bank Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender), one of the largest full service auto finance operations in the country, a complementary auto-focused insurance business, a growing digital wealth management and online brokerage platform, and a trusted corporate finance business offering capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.
The company had approximately $164.3 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. For more information, visit the Ally press room at http://media.ally.com or follow Ally on Twitter: @AllyFinancial.
About PGA TOUR Champions
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of golf’s most recognizable and accomplished players, age 50 and older, including 32 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. In 2017, the PGA TOUR Champions schedule includes 26 tournaments in 18 states, Japan, Wales and Canada, with purses totaling more than $55 million. The Charles Schwab Cup, which includes the Regular Season and the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, is used to determine the season-long champion. All events are televised in the United States, with most receiving complete coverage on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, telecasts air live, tape-delayed or in a highlights-package format in excess of 190 countries and territories, reaching more than 330 million potential households. The PGA TOUR's web site is PGATOUR.COM, the No. 1 site in golf, and the organization is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Follow PGA TOUR Champions at facebook.com/PGATOURChampions, on Twitter @ChampionsTour and on Instagram @pgatourchampions.
About Ally Challenge
The Ally Challenge 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, visit www.theallychallenge.com.
Contact:
Sari Jensen
Ally Communications (Media)
646-781-2539
sari.jensen@ally.com
