In a year of bad news for pro golf, Ally Challenge will return in 2027

GRAND BLANC — The seniors are sticking around.

The Ally Challenge, which was entering the final year of its contract for this week's playing of the PGA Tour Champions tournament, will return in 2027 after finalizing an extension on the eve of the 2026 tournament, officials confirmed to The News on Thursday, Aug. 27.

The news gives Michigan's professional golf scene a slice of good news, amid a stream of tournaments ending, being canceled, and being moved on the calendar .

"We are excited to share that will be on (the calendar) in 2027, the same fabulous week that we've cemented our place on the golf calendar," Erin Stone, Ally Challenge tournament director, told The News. "We're enjoying the opportunity to be Michigan's only PGA Tour (sanctioned) golf (tournament).

"It's a big deal. We all know how hard it is to survive and thrive in this business, in this sports business, particularly. That's evidenced by what we're seeing all around us.

"It's a really big testament to the community and to the people that support us, the volunteers who are the backbone (of the tournament), the members (at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club).

"This is a well-done event on so many levels that's just richly embraced. It's a good feeling. It's a very good feeling."

Extension talks have been ongoing for several months between the PGA Tour — it owns and operates the 50-and-older Champions circuit — and title sponsor Ally Financial and presenting sponsor McLaren Health Care.

The extension, which is one year for now, comes as the PGA Tour is making big changes on its main tour, with a new tiered system of tournaments and schedules starting in 2028 under new CEO Brian Rolapp. PGA Tour Champions is subsidized by the PGA Tour.

The extension means there will be a 10th playing of the Ally Challenge. The ninth tournament takes place this week, from Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30. Large crowds are expected with post-round concerts, especially Saturday, when Keith Urban performs.

The 2027 Ally Challenge will be played from Aug. 27-29.

"This is the biggest week of the summer, of the year, for us," Stone said. "Being able to share this good news while everybody is here (this week) is huge).

"It really comes down to Ally and McLaren and all these partners we have made and built relationships with."

The Ally Challenge debuted in 2018, returning professional golf to Warwick Hills, the longtime home of the PGA Tour's Buick Open, which last was played in 2009.

Champions at Ally over the years have included Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh and Stewart Cink, who won in 2024 and 2025 and will look to make it three in a row this week.

And who knows? Depending how this week shakes out, Cink could now have a shot at a four-peat.

"Once you play a golf course for a whole bunch of years, it really turns out to be the people that make it special," Cink said Thursday. "They generally care a lot about this tournament and the community and that's what really stands out to me. I like being back here because of the feeling I get not because No. 9 is such a wonderful hole, which it is. It's right behind us, it's a great hole.

"The community and the fan support we get here that makes Warwick Hills such a special place."

Said World Golf Hall-of-Famer Ernie Els, a veteran of the Buick Open who finished runner-up to Cink in 2025, losing in a playoff: "Good to be back here at Warwick Hills. We say it every year, but I'll say it again, I've been coming here for over 30 years and always nice to be back."

This year, The Ally Challenge will surpass $10 million in charitable donations to local nonprofits.

Michigan still has two LPGA tournaments for the foreseeable future, the Meijer LPGA Classic in Grand Rapids and the Dow Championship in Midland, though the Dow is moving to a less-than-ideal October spot on the 2027 calendar .