Tag: Warwick Hills

Steve Stricker wins Ally Challenge for ninth PGA Tour Champions victory but says caddying for his daughter was ‘cooler than this’

It was just last week that Steve Stricker caddied for his daughter Bobbi at LPGA Qualifying.

A week ago, Steve Stricker was at Mission Hills Country Club not playing golf but instead working as the caddie for his daughter Bobbi in 100-plus degree temperatures at the first stage of LPGA Qualifying. She was among the 106 golfers to advance.

This week, he was back at work at his regular job and doing it quite well, shooting a final-round 67 to win the PGA Tour Champions 2022 Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, by a shot at 15 under.

“Our family’s been going through a lot of golf lately. I caddied for Bobbi last week and that was probably cooler than this,” he said after his win Sunday. “Just to be a part of what she did and to see the enjoyment and the excitement on her face knowing that she’s going on to the next stage means a lot to a dad. That was pretty cool. Like I said, I think that was cooler than today. We’ve had some fun the last few weeks and hopefully we can continue that going forward.”

Stricker said he’ll be back working as a caddie soon which will likely alter his Champions tour goals. But he’s cool with that.

“It’s always been to try to get up as close as I can to the Schwab Cup, right,” he said. “Now my daughter’s going on second stage of tour school so that changes things because I’m going to be looping and I’m going to be on the bag, so I’m going to probably miss a couple events in there, but I’ll keep playing as much as I can and hopefully keep playing well and get as close as I can.”

Stricker, making his debut in the Ally Challenge, has now won nine times on the senior circuit. Brett Quigley, closed with a 68 to finish second.

Jeff Maggert posted Sunday’s best round, a 65, and got it to 13 under which was good enough for the outright lead but it wouldn’t hold. He would finish solo third, two shots back.

Scott Dunlap, who tied the tournament record with a 63 on Saturday, started the final round leading by a shot on Stricker, Padraig Harrington and Brett Quigley. He closed with a 71 and finished tied for fourth along with Harrington, last week’s Champions tour winner.

Fred Funk, 66, beat his age by a shot on Friday and held the solo lead after 18 holes but ended up in a tie for eighth. It was the sixth time a golfer on the PGA Tour Champions shot his age or better this season.

Bernhard Langer, who turned 65 on Saturday, shot 70-69-72 to finish tied for 28th.

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Jim Furyk pulls away, wins Champions Tour debut at Ally Challenge

Furyk stood his ground on Sunday, posting a smooth-as-silk 68 to win in Champions debut at Warwick Hills, just outside of Flint, Michigan.

Jim Furyk sure made this Champions Tour stuff look easy.

While others made runs on Sunday during the final round of the Ally Challenge in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Furyk simply stood his ground, posting a smooth-as-silk 68 to win in Champions debut.

He becomes the 19th player to win a Champions event on his first try, following in the footsteps of others like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lanny Wadkins.

“I didn’t know 19 people won in their first time, it sounds so ordinary,” Furyk said through a smile after the victory. “It feels good, you know, I really missed a lot of good friends out here. I respect the talent out here and you look at how many Hall of Famers and how many good players there are, so it’s an honor to come out win the first one.”

Retief Goosen and Brett Quigley both were in the hunt with Furyk, but each made a critical mistake down the stretch — Goosen bogeyed No. 18, while Quigley lipped out a short putt on No. 17 and bogeyed each of the final two holes.

Ally Challenge scores

For Furyk, this meant another great finish at Warwick Hills, where he made all 15 cuts when the course hosted the PGA Tour’s Buick Open. He captured the Buick title in 2003, finished second twice and placed in the top 25 in all but three of his appearances at the course.

Chris DiMarco, Rod Pampling and Wes Short Jr. all finished tied for third at 10 under while Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Jerry Kelly were fourth at 9 under.

In terms of others who have also won their debut, Palmer won in his first attempt, the 1980 Senior PGA Championship, while Nicklaus won in his debut at the 1990 Regions Tradition.

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Jim Furyk one off lead in Champions debut at Ally Challenge; Brett Quigley leads

Furyk, who sits at 10-under par and trails Brett Quigley by one, likened the experience to the first day of school — but with a twist.

Like many before him, Jim Furyk’s indoctrination into the world of the Champions Tour has been welcoming.

Old friends. Old course. And the advantage of going from being one of the oldest bodies on the PGA Tour back to young-pup status.

Playing Warwick Hills outside of Flint, Michigan — the course that housed the PGA Tour’s Buick Open for years, and where he made the cut in all 15 of his starts in that event — Furyk looked right at home, posting a bogey-free 66 that puts him one off the lead heading into Sunday’s final round.

Furyk, who sits at 10-under par after two rounds, likened the experience to the first day of school — but with a twist.

“It’s been fun. It’s been great to be back at a golf course that I always
enjoyed playing when we were here on the PGA Tour and great to see some old friends,” Furyk said. “I told my wife, I always feel like the first round — I probably said it earlier in the week, the first round of the PGA Tour every year is like the first day of school, you get excited, you get a little nervous.

“Coming out here on the Champions Tour, I told her it was like the first
day of high school but I had been homeschooled the last five years. Lots of folks I hadn’t seen in a lot of years and a lot of good friends, and so just good to say hello to everyone.”

Furyk won the Buick Open at Warwick Hills in 2003, finished second twice and placed in the top 25 in all but three of his appearances in Grand Blanc.

Meanwhile, Brett Quigley raced in front of the pack during the second round, posting eight birdies in his first 14 holes during Saturday play, then cruised home to 11 under with a series of pars to take the one-stroke lead into the clubhouse over Furyk, Carlos Franco and Tommy Armour III. Quigley has picked up right where he left off before the break, but he admitted during Saturday’s round that he was too keen to get going on Friday and needed a day to settle in.

“I was trying to shoot 20 under the front nine yesterday. I was just trying to force everything after being off for so long. I was like, oh my gosh, now I’ve got to go bogey the first hole. And I was like, what am I doing out here?” Quigley said. “And really struggled the front nine and brought it together the back nine, and then came out today and played a little bit more like I’m capable of playing.”

The resident of Jupiter, Florida, said he wasn’t sure the Champions Tour would resurface this summer, so any opportunity to play is something of a bonus.

Quigley won his second start, in Morocco on Feb. 1, then added another top-10 finish and was second on the senior circuit’s money list (to Bernhard Langer) with $481,687.

“It’s almost like winning the lottery, because we just weren’t sure we were going to play. Other sports, PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champions, have done such a great job getting us back and getting us back playing and keeping us safe, keeping us tested, and keeping everybody with the appearance of being healthy,” Quigley said. “So it’s great. It was a tough one to sit down, but certainly great to be back and back playing and thankful that we are.”

Other prominent names looming include Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Kirk Triplett, Tom Lehman, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, all at 6 under.

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