2025 Golf Season is kicking off with college and Tournament Golf News
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
With the Novi Golf Show happening in two weeks, most golfers are ready to leave couch surfing or indoor/outdoor driving ranges to start the season. Golf news is happening and the Ally Challenge will be around until at least 2026.
The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren extends agreements with the PGA TOUR Champions, Ally Financial and McLaren Health Care through 2026
Officials of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren announced today a one-year extension of their agreements with title sponsor Ally Financial Inc., presenting sponsor McLaren Health Care, host venue Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, and the tournament’s agreement with the PGA TOUR Champions. With the existing deal in place through this year’s tournament, the extensions ensure The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will continue as a PGA TOUR Champions event played at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club through 2026.
The eighth playing of The Ally Challenge presented by McLaren will take place the week of August 18 – 24, 2025.
The Ally Challenge will be one of the premier regular season events on the PGA TOUR Champions in 2025, which will give way to the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs¾a season-ending, three-tournament series used to determine the TOUR’s season-long champion.
Runner-up Thomson Guides U-M to Fourth at Border Olympics
With three sub-par Wolverine final rounds, Michigan used an even-par 284 team total to earn a second straight top-five spring finish — closing fourth (863) at the Border Olympics played at the Laredo Country Club.
» With his final round 69 (-2), Hunter Thomson finished a shot back of medalist honors as he recorded the seventh runner-up finish of his career with a 209, -4 (70-70-69) 54-hole total.
» Following with his own closing 69 (-2), Yuqi Liu cracked the top 15 as he tied for 11th with a 215, +2 (70-76-69) performance.
» In its fifth straight Border Olympics appearance, U-M posted a third straight top-five finish. The Wolverines were third in 2023 and tied for fifth last season.
Site: Laredo, Texas
Tournament: Border Olympics
Course: Laredo Country Club (par 71, 7,257 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 4th of 16 Teams (283-296-284/863)
Top U-M Individual: Hunter Thomson, 2nd (70-70-69/209, -4)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sat., March 7-8 — host, Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
LAREDO, Texas — A runner-up finish for senior Hunter Thomson and a top-15 for fellow senior Yuqi Liu helped the University of Michigan men’s golf team use its 863 54-hole total today (Tuesday, Feb. 18) to finish fourth at Houston’s Border Olympics played at the Laredo Country Club.
U-M’s finish helped the Wolverines post a second straight top-five finish to open their spring season and extend their streak to four straight among the top five including the end of the fall season. Overall, the Maize and Blue have six top-five finishes in eight events.
Getting off to a strong start, Thomson and Liu’s opening 70s (-1) combined with freshman Dean Muratore‘s even 71 and classmate RJ Arone‘s 72, U-M posted a 283 (-1) and sat atop the leaderboard after 18 holes. Despite a second straight 70 (-1) by Thomson, no Wolverines carded a score lower than 74 as U-M’s second-round 296 slipped into a tie for fourth (579) with Miami (Ohio) after the first day.
As Thomson and Liu closed with 69s (-2) and fifth-year senior Ben Hoagland rallied with a 70 (-1), the Maize and Blue battled in the final round and earned an even-par 284 to garner the four spot with an 863 54-hole total.
After a year away, Michigan returns to Scottsdale, Ariz., Friday and Saturday (March 7-8) during its spring break and will host the Desert Mountain Collegiate. The two-day, 54-hole event will be played at the Desert Mountain Golf Club’s Outlaw Course. It will be the ninth time the Wolverines will host a spring event. U-M claimed titles in 2017 and 2022 (tri).
APGA- Top 3 Play in the John Shippen Qualifier for the PGA Tour event in Detroit- College of Charleston’s van Wyk maintains top spot
in Bridgestone APGA Collegiate RankingTop three in ranking to receive invitation to play
in THE JOHN SHIPPEN Men’s Invitational presented by Rocket in June
Kieron Van Wyk from the College of Charleston remains in the top spot in the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking following his win at the APGA Farmers Insurance Invitational.
The first amateur to win an APGA Tour event since its 2010 founding, van Wyk would earn an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH, among several other benefits, should he maintain his top spot in the ranking when it concludes April 30, 2025. Van Wyk has already secured his PGA TOUR debut at next month’s Puerto Rico Open courtesy of his 2024 victory at the White Sands Bahamas Golf Series.
“UNC Health is excited to provide an opportunity for an emerging collegiate talent to test their abilities at the highest level here at Raleigh Country Club,” said Tournament Director Brian Krusoe. “We look forward to tracking the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking as these players work toward the coveted No. 1 ranking and an exemption into the 2025 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH.”
As the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking evolves, the top three players in the final ranking will earn invitations to participate in THE JOHN SHIPPEN Men’s Invitational presented by Rocket. This event seeks to create opportunities in golf for Black men and women, to ensure John Shippen Jr.’s story is shared, and to uphold the legacy of the first American-born golf professional and the country’s first Black golf professional. The men’s winner of THE JOHN SHIPPEN, scheduled for June 21-22 at Detroit Golf Club, will earn an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Classic at the same venue later that week.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the Bridgestone APGA Collegiate Ranking to offer the three top-ranked players invitations to compete in THE JOHN SHIPPEN,” said Brittany Jeanis, Tournament Director for the Rocket Classic and Vice President of Golf for Intersport, which operates THE JOHN SHIPPEN. “As we enter the fifth year of THE JOHN SHIPPEN, we’re always looking for new avenues that support pathways for the top young players to establish themselves and continue pursuing their dreams of playing on the PGA TOUR.”
The top five are rounded out by Colorado Christian’s Xavier Bighaus (No. 2), Howard University’s Marcus Smith Jr. (No. 3), Texas Southern’s Kci Lindskog (No. 4), and Livingstone College’s Ibrahim Aliga (No. 5). Bighaus was recently named the 2025 Pathway Player in the Genesis Invitational Collegiate Showcase, which was contested on February 10 ahead of the Genesis Invitational. Lindskog recently claimed the individual title and led his team to a T3 finish at the Alabama State University’s Spring Invitational, which was contested on February 17.
The top five players in the final Ranking will receive the following performance benefits upon their completion of their 2025 collegiate season:
Roy J. Akers covers golf for www.skyviewsports.net
