Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, Grand Blanc, MI — September 14, 2019
The Ally Challenge leaders, Scott McCarron, Retief Goosen, and local favorite Tom Gillis teed off today just after noon time. Bernhard Langer had just taken the lead with birdies on the 1st and 3rd holes to go 7 under par. The leader board took a workout all day long as several players made runs towards the top.
Early Leaders
Jerry Smith made a leap to 8 under after birdies on 2-6 & 8, until a bogey on 9 cost him a stroke. Smith shrugged that off to get it rolling again on the backside. Birdies on 13-14 & 17 had him at 10 under, then another bogey at 18 left him with a two day total of 9 under par.
Langer ran off 9 straight pars before a birdie on 13 brought him to 8 under. Two more birdies at 16 & 18 finished his day at 9 under and tied with Smith for 4th place.
Slow Starts for Day 1 Leaders
First-round leader Scott McCarron started his round with 6 straight pars. Birdies at 7 & 8 lowered his two-day total to 8 under. A bogey on the 9th and he was back to a single stroke over his first-round total of 6 under par. McCarron closed strong with a birdie on 14 and three straight on 16 through 18 to finish the day at 11 under.
Retief Goosen made 1 birdie and 16 pars on his round and was just 7 under when he came to 18. A double-bogey on the final hole dropped his two-day score to -5, tied for 17th.
Tom Gillis knocked in his approach shot at the 4th hole for an eagle. Then bogeyed the 6th to lose a stroke. Bridies on 12 & 13 kept him in contention with a two-day score of 9 under par, placing him in a tie for 4th with Langer and Smith.
Moving Into Contention
David Toms and Kenny Perry both shot 6 under on their round today. Both are part of a foursome at 8 under and tied for 7th place with Tom Lehman and Wes Short Jr.
Woody Austin Owns the Back Nine at Warwick Hills
After opening his round with a bogey on the first, Woody Austin worked his tournament total to 5 under with birdies on 4 & 7. After making the turn Austin lit it up with 6 birdies on the back nine. A round of 7 under, combined with his first day total of -4 put Austin in 2nd place at 11 under.
New Leader
Jerry Kelly was a stroke off the lead after day one at 5 under. He started Saturday with a birdie on the first hole. Another birdie on the 6th and he was 7 under and in the mix with the crowd trying to climb up the scoreboard. Like Woody Austin, Kelly separated himself from the field on the back nine with 5 consecutive birdies starting on the 10th. His 12 under par score elevated him into the lead.
Sunday’s final round should be exciting with 10 players within four strokes of the lead.
The Ally Challenge Celebrity Shootout
Jack Nicklaus and Kid Rock teamed up for a scramble tournament over the final 9-holes at Warwick Hills. The Celebrity Shootout commenced after the final group of the day cleared the 10th tee. Celebrities Dierks Bently and Henrik Zetterberg provided the competition.
Playing for charity, the dollar amount of each hole increased as the shootout progressed. Ties on 17 and 18 sent the mini-tournament to a chip-off to determine the winner. Nicklaus holed a 55-yard chip to seal the win for him and Kid Rock, earning $15,000 for their charity the United Way of Genesee County. Bentley and Zetterberg pocketed $8,000 for their charity Habitat for Humanity.
More News
Ally Financial and McLaren Health Care Systems announced at Warwick Hills today that they have extended their sponsorship agreement with the PGA Tour Champions to 2025. Great news for the golf club and the community. Charity donations for this year’s tournament are expected to exceed $1 million.
Leaderboard After Round 2
| Position | Player | To Par | Today | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | Jerry Kelly | -12 | -7 | 67 | 65 | 132 |
| T2 | Woody Austin | -11 | -7 | 68 | 65 | 133 |
| T2 | Scott McCarron | -11 | -5 | 66 | 67 | 133 |
| T4 | Bernhard Langer | -9 | -5 | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T4 | Jerry Smith | -9 | -4 | 67 | 68 | 135 |
| T4 | Tom Gillis | -9 | -3 | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T7 | David Toms | -8 | -6 | 70 | 66 | 136 |
| T7 | Kenny Perry | -8 | -6 | 70 | 66 | 136 |
| T7 | Tom Lehman | -8 | -5 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T7 | Wes Short Jr. | -8 | -5 | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T11 | Tom Byrum | -7 | -5 | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T11 | Gene Sauers | -7 | -4 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T11 | Tim Petrovic | -7 | -4 | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T14 | Chris DiMarco | -6 | -4 | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T14 | Steve Flesch | -6 | -2 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T14 | Stephen Leaney | -6 | -2 | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T17 | Brandt Jobe | -5 | -4 | 71 | 68 | 139 |
| T17 | Mark O’Meara | -5 | -3 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T17 | Doug Barron | -5 | -3 | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T17 | Colin Montgomerie | -5 | -2 | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T17 | Retief Goosen | -5 | 1 | 66 | 73 | 139 |
| T22 | Steve Jones | -4 | -5 | 73 | 67 | 140 |
| T22 | Bart Bryant | -4 | -4 | 72 | 68 | 140 |
| T22 | Kent Jones | -4 | -4 | 72 | 68 | 140 |
| T22 | Fred Couples | -4 | -2 | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| T22 | Kirk Triplett | -4 | -2 | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| T27 | Greg Kraft | -3 | -4 | 73 | 68 | 141 |
| T27 | Jeff Sluman | -3 | -2 | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| T27 | Stephen Ames | -3 | -1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| T27 | David Frost | -3 | -1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| T27 | Glen Day | -3 | -1 | 70 | 71 | 141 |
| T27 | Ken Tanigawa | -3 | E | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| T27 | Cliff Kresge | -3 | E | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| T27 | Jay Haas | -3 | 2 | 67 | 74 | 141 |
| T35 | David McKenzie | -2 | -2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T35 | Jesper Parnevik | -2 | -2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T35 | Marco Dawson | -2 | -2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T35 | Bob Estes | -2 | -2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T35 | Darren Clarke | -2 | 3 | 67 | 75 | 142 |
| T40 | Esteban Toledo | -1 | -2 | 73 | 70 | 143 |
| T40 | Lee Janzen | -1 | E | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| T40 | Duffy Waldorf | -1 | 3 | 68 | 75 | 143 |
| T43 | Gibby Gilbert III | E | -2 | 74 | 70 | 144 |
| T43 | John Huston | E | -2 | 74 | 70 | 144 |
| T43 | Angel Cabrera | E | E | 72 | 72 | 144 |
| T43 | Paul Broadhurst | E | 1 | 71 | 73 | 144 |
| T47 | Scott Parel | 1 | -3 | 76 | 69 | 145 |
| T47 | Todd Fischer | 1 | -1 | 74 | 71 | 145 |
| T47 | Rocco Mediate | 1 | 1 | 72 | 73 | 145 |
| T47 | Larry Mize | 1 | 1 | 72 | 73 | 145 |
| T47 | Tom Kite | 1 | 2 | 71 | 74 | 145 |
| T52 | Dan Forsman | 2 | -2 | 76 | 70 | 146 |
| T52 | Vijay Singh | 2 | -2 | 76 | 70 | 146 |
| T52 | Brandel Chamblee | 2 | -2 | 76 | 70 | 146 |
| T52 | Dennis Hendershott | 2 | -1 | 75 | 71 | 146 |
| T52 | Billy Andrade | 2 | -1 | 75 | 71 | 146 |
| T52 | Skip Kendall | 2 | 2 | 72 | 74 | 146 |
| T52 | Tommy Armour III | 2 | 2 | 72 | 74 | 146 |
| T59 | Loren Roberts | 3 | 1 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| T59 | Billy Mayfair | 3 | 1 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| T59 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | 3 | 1 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| T59 | Joey Sindelar | 3 | 3 | 72 | 75 | 147 |
| T63 | David Eger | 4 | E | 76 | 72 | 148 |
| T63 | Sandy Lyle | 4 | 1 | 75 | 73 | 148 |
| T63 | Russ Cochran | 4 | 1 | 75 | 73 | 148 |
| T63 | Mark Walker | 4 | 2 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| T63 | Joe Durant | 4 | 3 | 73 | 75 | 148 |
| T63 | Dudley Hart | 4 | 4 | 72 | 76 | 148 |
| T63 | Mark Calcavecchia | 4 | 6 | 70 | 78 | 148 |
| T70 | Olin Browne | 5 | 1 | 76 | 73 | 149 |
| T70 | Tom Pernice Jr | 5 | 2 | 75 | 74 | 149 |
| T70 | Paul Goydos | 5 | 5 | 72 | 77 | 149 |
| T73 | Corey Pavin | 6 | 2 | 76 | 74 | 150 |
| T73 | Gary Hallberg | 6 | 5 | 73 | 77 | 150 |
| 75 | Michael Allen | 7 | 2 | 77 | 74 | 151 |
| 76 | Mark Brooks | 8 | 3 | 77 | 75 | 152 |
| 77 | Gary Nicklaus | 11 | 5 | 78 | 77 | 155 |
| – | Jeff Maggert | DQ | – | 73 | 72 | 145 |
