By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
Grand Blanc, Mich. — The 7th Ally Challenge moving day has Stewart Cink trying to win his first Champions Tour event, multiple Tuesday qualifiers in the hunt and veteran KJ Choi trying to take them all down.
Who’s on Top
Stewart Cink was a mainstay on the PGA Tour appearing in the Buick Open. He never won at Warwick, but he has some top finishes with a high of fourth in 2004. Cink came out sizzling with an eagle on the par five first hole and held serve until a birdie barrage on the back nine. Coming in with four birdies, Cink has yet to win on the PGA Champions Tour and told the media on Wednesday he still enjoys playing on the PGA Tour with players half his age. Cink leads the Ally Challenge after day 2 by three strokes. No player has won by more than two and 25 players are within 7 shots of the lead.
Stewart Cink/1st (-11)
- Followed an eagle-3 at No. 1 with four inward-nine birdies en route to a bogey-free 6-under 66 in his first Ally Challenge
- His 66 equaled the low round of the day (Steve Allan/T2; Mark Hensby/T9)
- His three-stroke lead is the largest lead entering the final round this season
- Is 0-for-1 when holding a 36-hole lead/co-lead on PGA TOUR Champions: 2024 Cologuard Classic/T7
- After hitting 15-of-18 greens in regulation in round one, was a perfect 18-for-18 in round two; improved from 5-of-14 fairways off the tee in round one to 10-of-14 in round two
- The 51-year-old seeks a fifth top-10 finish in his sixth start of the season on PGA TOUR Champions
- Best of nine total starts on PGA TOUR Champions: 3rd/2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship
- Entered the week No. 39 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings; in order to qualify for the first of three Playoffs events, the Dominion Energy Charity Classic, he needs to remain inside the top 72
Choi is lurking
Three players are within three shots of the lead and KJ Choi is lurking.
KJ Choi is not a player you want a few shots behind you on the PGA Champions Tour. After firing a six under 66 on day one, Choi had a quit two under 70 putting him three shots behind Cink. Choi has won once this season and is fifth in Schwab Cup points and could make a run at Ernie Els in the final stretch of the season. Choi birdied 18 to walk off the course with a feel good moment. He looks to hoist the Ally Challenge trophy and $330K that goes along with it.
Making a Big Run- Tuesday qualifier David Branshaw
Tuesday qualifiers are not supposed to be leading a PGA Champions Tour event. Tell that to David Branshaw. He opened round one with a 67 and led multiple times in round two but his up and down round included five birdies and three bogeys and he is three strokes behind Cink. It is not unprecedented for players qualifying on Tuesday to win tournaments. Branshaw looks to become the 15th player on PGA TOUR Champions – and first in three years – to emerge victorious after playing his way into the field via open qualifying
Tom Gillis (Formerly of Lake Orion) is in contention
Tom Gillis said earlier in the week that the 7th Ally Challenge is his most likely swan song in professional golf. Tony Paul of the Detroit News wrote while interviewing Gillis. “I’ve been thinking about it, you know, all year, kind of because my (Champions Tour card) status hasn’t been as good this year, the back’s not great, it’s day to day. And, you know, I just started thinking it’s probably time,” Gillis said Wednesday afternoon, underneath the shade of a tee near the chipping green at Warwick Hills. If this is Gillis last tournament, he is holding his own. Gillis fired a 3 under 69 and is in a 12 way tie for 14th place. Gillis had three birdies and a bogey on the front nine. He added a birdie on 17 in front of the $2 beer crowd. Gillis looks to make bank on the tournaments final day.
Other Notes
Other Notes
- Making his first start in the Ally Challenge, PGA TOUR Champions rookie Steve Allan (T2/-8) followed an opening-round 2-under 70 with a 66 in round two in his bid for a third top-10 finish this season: Invited Celebrity Classic/5th and DICK’S Open/T6; at 9-under 201, comes off a T16 finish from last week’s Rogers Charity Classic; finished T3 in the Final Stage of the 2023 PGA TOUR Champions Qualifying Tournament
- After earning a spot in this week’s field via Tuesday’s open qualifier, David Branshaw (T2/-8) followed an opening-round 5-under 67 with a 69 in round two, highlighted by birdies on four of his first five holes; with a win Sunday, he would become the 15th player to emerge victorious after open qualifying for the event; the feat was most recently achieved by Dicky Pride at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic
- After earning his way into this week’s field by virtue of his top-10 finish at last week’s Rogers Charity Classic (T3), New England club professional Jason Caron is T26 at 3-under 141; this week marks his fifth career start on PGA TOUR Champions
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net
