Friday, September 14th Warwick Hills CC, Grand Blanc, MI
The Ally Challenge kicked off at Warwick Hills Country Club today a little after 11:00 this morning. A brief ceremony conducted by Tournament Director Chris Coffman and Primary Sponsor Ally Financial Inc. Chief Marketing and Public Relations Officer Andrea Brimmer proceded play.
Two young people teed off to officially open play. Journei Daniels of Flint represented the Community Foundation of Greater Flint and Andrew Mudge of Fenton represented the Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan. The two organizations that were chosen to receive charitable contributions from the Tournament.
At the conclusion of the festivities, the course was turned over to the professionals. The threesome of Tommy Armour III, Woody Austin, and Mark Brooks sent drives straight down the fairway on Hole 1.
The first group off on Hole 10 included Jeff Sluman, Jay Don Blake, and Scott Hoch.
Scoring Leaders
Bob Estes took the early lead at 4 under through 6 holes. Estes started on #10 so he faces the tough 17th coming to the mid-point of his round. He held onto the lead through the difficult closing holes without dropping a stroke.
Brandt Jobe also started off #10 about an hour after the opening group. He birdied 4 of the first 5 holes then carded an Eagle on the par 5 16th hole. Through 9, Brandt stood at 6 under par, the new tournament leader.
John Daly withdrew mid-round with an injury to his neck and shoulders. Daly was limping yesterday and had sought treatment in the medical tent for Sciatica.
Late Movers
Jeff Maggert finished the front nine at 3 under. He birdied 5 holes, but a double bogey on #4 cost him 2 strokes. However, eagles on 14 and 16 moved him into a tie for the lead. On #14 he drove the green to within 4 feet of the hole and made the putt. On the 16th hole, his 2nd shot rolled short and left of the green in the tall rough. Maggert’s chip shot landed softly on the green and rolled directly into the cup. Maggert bogeyed the difficult 17th to finish 6 under par.
After his great start on the back nine, Brandt Jobe birdied #2 and #7 on the front nine. A bogey at the 4th hole, his 13th played, cost him a stroke. Still, he was the leader in the clubhouse at 7 under par.
Vijay Singh made 3 birdies on the front 9. He birdied the 12th hole, then a bogey on 13 took that stroke away. He got it right back with a birdie on 14. Then 2 more birdies on 16 and 17 brought him to within a shot of tying Brandt Jobe for the lead. His 2nd shot on 18 settled within 7 feet of the hole. Singh’s putt just slid by the bottom of the hole leaving Jobe alone at the top of the leaderboard.
Coming Up Just Short
Esteban Toledo shot a solid 66 for a total score of 6 under par. Toledo made seven birdies but bogeyed the par 4, 15th hole to cost him a share of the lead.
Tom Lehman started on #10 and went 4 under on the back side. After birdies at #1 and #7, he had a chance to tie for the lead on the 9th hole, his 18th. Lehman drove his ball into the rough and had to pitch out. His 3rd shot left him a 15-foot putt for par. Two putts for bogey dropped him to 5 under, 2 shots back.
First Round Results of the Ally Challenge Presented by McLaren
| Position | Player | Round | Strokes |
| 1 | Brandt Jobe | -7 | 65 |
| T2 | Esteban Toledo | -6 | 66 |
| T2 | Jeff Maggert | -6 | 66 |
| T2 | Vijay Singh | -6 | 66 |
| T5 | Lee Janzen | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | Tom Lehman | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | Paul Broadhurst | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | David Toms | -5 | 67 |
| T5 | David McKenzie | -5 | 67 |
| T10 | John Huston | -4 | 68 |
| T10 | Bob Estes | -4 | 68 |
| T10 | Jerry Smith | -4 | 68 |
| T10 | Billy Andrade | -4 | 68 |
| T10 | Scott Parel | -4 | 68 |
| T10 | Paul Claxton | -4 | 68 |
| T16 | Jeff Sluman | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Corey Pavin | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Tom Byrum | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Joe Durant | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Colin Montgomerie | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | David Frost | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Billy Mayfair | -3 | 69 |
| T16 | Fred Couples | -3 | 69 |
| T24 | Tommy Armour III | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Mark Brooks | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Loren Roberts | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Scott Dunlap | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Joey Sindelar | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Wes Short, Jr. | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Carlos Franco | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Marco Dawson | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Jesper Parnevik | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Olin Browne | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Paul Goydos | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Rocco Mediate | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Bernhard Langer | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Mark Calcavecchia | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Kenny Perry | -2 | 70 |
| T24 | Gibby Gilbert III | -2 | 70 |
| T40 | Kent Jones | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Glen Day | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Darren Clarke | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Bill Glasson | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Mark O’Meara | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Duffy Waldorf | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Scott McCarron | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Jay Haas | -1 | 71 |
| T40 | Ken Tanigawa | -1 | 71 |
| T49 | Woody Austin | E | 72 |
| T49 | Jay Don Blake | E | 72 |
| T49 | Scott Hoch | E | 72 |
| T49 | Scott Verplank | E | 72 |
| T49 | Gary Hallberg | E | 72 |
| T49 | Tommy Tolles | E | 72 |
| T49 | Steve Pate | E | 72 |
| T49 | Tim Petrovic | E | 72 |
| T49 | Chris DiMarco | E | 72 |
| T49 | Kirk Triplett | E | 72 |
| T49 | Doug Garwood | E | 72 |
| T49 | Jerry Kelly | E | 72 |
| T49 | Gene Sauerstitleist | E | 72 |
| T49 | Tom Werkmeister | E | 72 |
| T49 | Mark Walker | E | 72 |
| T64 | Dan Forsman | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Dudley Hart | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Blaine McCallister | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Mike Goodes | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Stephen Ames | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Sandy Lyle | 1 | 73 |
| T64 | Fran Quinn | 1 | 73 |
| T71 | Todd Hamilton | 2 | 74 |
| T71 | Kevin Johnson | 2 | 74 |
| 73 | Larry Mize | 3 | 75 |
| 74 | Tom Pernice Jr. | 4 | 76 |
| 75 | Tom Gillis | 6 | 78 |
| 76 | Robert Gamez | 7 | 79 |
| WD | Bart Bryant | — | 17 |
| WD | John Daly | — | 39 |
