Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, Grand Blanc, MI — August 28, 2026
PGA Tour Champions rookie Vaughn Taylor recorded 10 birdies to one bogey for an opening round 63 and a one-shot lead over John Rollins. Sitting in solo third place with a 7-under-par 65 is Padraig Harrington, with two-time defending champion Stewart Cink four back at 5-under.
Taylor turned 50 in March of this year and made his PGA TOUR Champions debut that same month at the Cologuard Classic. He has recorded two top-10 finishes in 13 starts, with his best finish a tie for 7th earlier this month at the Portugal Invitational. This is Taylor’s first-career PGA TOUR Champions round one lead. The Georgia resident’s professional resume includes three PGA Tour victories and one Ryder Cup appearance in 2006.
The opening round of the tournament was played on a perfect day for golf at Warwick Hills with moderate temperatures and just a slight breeze. Twenty players are within five strokes of the lead, including notables who took advantage of the conditions. Y. E. Yang, K.J. Choi, Mike Weir, Ángel Cabrera, Steven Alker, Henrik Stenson, and Zach Johnson, all tied for 12th at 4 under par.
Crowd favorites Boo Weekley(E), Bernhard Langer(+2), former Ally Champions Steve Stricker(+2), and Vijay Singh(+2) failed to break par on the perfect day for low scores. The ever-entertaining John Daly(+2) and Folds of Honor founder, Lt. Col. Dan Rooney, drew the attention of fans that followed them around the course.
Gates open today at 9:30 am, with Second Round Official Tournament Competition beginning at 10:45 am on holes Nos. 1 and 10. Special fan activities today include.
- Million Dollar Shot: 5:30 pm start (estimated) on Hole No. 17 following final tournament grouping
- Three lucky fans, joined by celebrity participants and special guests, are provided the opportunity to win $1 million with a hole-in-one on the tournament’s famed 17th hole
- The Ally Community Concert featuring Keith Urban: Gates open at 4 pm
- Opening act the Nashville Yacht Club Band hits the stage at 6:45 pm, followed by Keith Urban at 8 pm
- The day wraps up with the Drone Show at approximately 10 pm (following Keith Urban performance)
Round 1 Leaderboard of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club
| POSITION | PLAYER | TO PAR | TOTAL | TEE TIME |
| 1 | Vaughn Taylor | -9 | 63 | 12:45 PM |
| 2 | John Rollins | -8 | 64 | 12:45 PM |
| 3 | Padraig Harrington | -7 | 65 | 12:45 PM |
| T4 | Ricardo Gonzalez | -6 | 66 | 12:35 PM |
| T4 | Paul Goydos | -6 | 66 | 12:35 PM |
| T4 | Michael Block | -6 | 66 | 12:35 PM |
| T7 | Scott Hend | -5 | 67 | 12:25 PM |
| T7 | Greg Chalmers | -5 | 67 | 12:25 PM |
| T7 | Michael Wright | -5 | 67 | 12:25 PM |
| T7 | Stewart Cink | -5 | 67 | 12:15 PM |
| T7 | Brandt Jobe | -5 | 67 | 12:15 PM |
| T12 | Tim Petrovic | -4 | 68 | 12:15 PM |
| T12 | Y.E. Yang | -4 | 68 | 12:05 PM |
| T12 | Chad Campbell | -4 | 68 | 12:05 PM |
| T12 | K.J. Choi | -4 | 68 | 12:05 PM |
| T12 | Mike Weir | -4 | 68 | 11:55 AM |
| T12 | Ángel Cabrera | -4 | 68 | 11:55 AM |
| T12 | Steven Alker | -4 | 68 | 11:55 AM |
| T12 | Henrik Stenson | -4 | 68 | 11:45 AM |
| T12 | Zach Johnson | -4 | 68 | 11:45 AM |
| T21 | Brett Quigley | -3 | 69 | 11:45 AM |
| T21 | Steve Flesch | -3 | 69 | 11:35 AM |
| T21 | Jason Caron | -3 | 69 | 11:35 AM |
| T21 | Bo Van Pelt | -3 | 69 | 11:35 AM |
| T21 | Steve Allan | -3 | 69 | 11:25 AM |
| T21 | Scott Parel | -3 | 69 | 11:25 AM |
| T21 | Søren Kjeldsen | -3 | 69 | 11:25 AM |
| T21 | Mark Hensby | -3 | 69 | 11:15 AM |
| T21 | Stephen Ames | -3 | 69 | 11:15 AM |
| T21 | Chris Devlin | -3 | 69 | 11:15 AM |
| T31 | Ken Duke | -2 | 70 | 11:05 AM |
| T31 | Ryan Armour | -2 | 70 | 11:05 AM |
| T31 | Bob Estes | -2 | 70 | 11:05 AM |
| T31 | Tag Ridings | -2 | 70 | 10:55 AM |
| T31 | Jeff Maggert | -2 | 70 | 10:55 AM |
| T31 | Joe Durant | -2 | 70 | 10:55 AM |
| T31 | J.J. Henry | -2 | 70 | 10:45 AM |
| T38 | Tom Pernice Jr. | -1 | 71 | 10:45 AM |
| T38 | Jason Bohn | -1 | 71 | 10:45 AM |
| T38 | Mark Wilson | -1 | 71 | 10:50 AM* |
| T38 | Shane Bertsch | -1 | 71 | 10:50 AM* |
| T38 | Heath Slocum | -1 | 71 | 10:50 AM* |
| T38 | George McNeill | -1 | 71 | 11:00 AM* |
| T38 | Thongchai Jaidee | -1 | 71 | 11:00 AM* |
| T38 | Harrison Frazar | -1 | 71 | 11:00 AM* |
| T38 | Retief Goosen | -1 | 71 | 11:10 AM* |
| T38 | David Bransdon | -1 | 71 | 11:10 AM* |
| T48 | Boo Weekley | E | 72 | 11:10 AM* |
| T48 | Tim O’Neal | E | 72 | 11:20 AM* |
| T48 | Richard Green | E | 72 | 11:20 AM* |
| T48 | Corey Pavin | E | 72 | 11:20 AM* |
| T48 | Rocco Mediate | E | 72 | 11:30 AM* |
| T48 | Brian Gay | E | 72 | 11:30 AM* |
| T48 | Rod Pampling | E | 72 | 11:30 AM* |
| T48 | Stuart Appleby | E | 72 | 11:40 AM* |
| T48 | Mario Tiziani | E | 72 | 11:40 AM* |
| T57 | Fred Funk | 1 | 73 | 11:40 AM* |
| T57 | Chris DiMarco | 1 | 73 | 11:50 AM* |
| T57 | Ben Crane | 1 | 73 | 11:50 AM* |
| T57 | Scott Verplank | 1 | 73 | 11:50 AM* |
| T57 | David Duval | 1 | 73 | 12:00 PM* |
| T57 | Rob Labritz | 1 | 73 | 12:00 PM* |
| T57 | Justin Hicks | 1 | 73 | 12:00 PM* |
| T64 | John Daly | 2 | 74 | 12:10 PM* |
| T64 | Billy Mayfair | 2 | 74 | 12:10 PM* |
| T64 | Mark Calcavecchia | 2 | 74 | 12:10 PM* |
| T64 | Paul Stankowski | 2 | 74 | 12:20 PM* |
| T64 | Ken Tanigawa | 2 | 74 | 12:20 PM* |
| T64 | Bernhard Langer | 2 | 74 | 12:20 PM* |
| T64 | Steve Stricker | 2 | 74 | 12:30 PM* |
| T71 | Woody Austin | 3 | 75 | 12:30 PM* |
| T71 | Robert Karlsson | 3 | 75 | 12:30 PM* |
| T71 | John Senden | 3 | 75 | 12:40 PM* |
| T71 | Vijay Singh | 3 | 75 | 12:40 PM* |
| 75 | Tommy Gainey | 4 | 76 | 12:40 PM* |
| 76 | Olin Browne | 5 | 77 | 12:50 PM* |
| T77 | Arjun Atwal | 7 | 79 | 12:50 PM* |
| T77 | Dan Rooney | 7 | 79 | 12:50 PM* |
