Champions Tour's Ally Challenge moving back to late summer for 2021

Golf fans, mark your calendars — assuming, of course, 2021 allows the return of fans to pro sporting events.

The Ally Challenge, Grand Blanc's Champions Tour tournament held at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, will take place Aug. 27-29, officials announced Sunday.

It will be the third different time slot in four years for the Ally Challenge, which was held in mid-September its first two years, and in late July/early August this year. Jim Furyk, making his debut on the 50-and-older circuit, won Sunday by two strokes over Retief Goosen and Brett Quigley.

Ally Challenge officials were excited about this year's place on the schedule, moving the tournament out of the thick of college football season. Then, COVID-19 disallowed fans on the grounds.

"Miss the rowdiness at 17," said Furyk, "but we'll see it in the future and I'm anxious to be back and see that first-hand."

Next year's Ally Challenge will take place just as the college football season is getting started.

The LPGA Tour's two Michigan stops also have dates for 2021: The Meijer LPGA Classic in suburban Grand Rapids is June 9-13, and the Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Midland is July 14-17. The U.S. Senior Amateur will be Aug. 28-Sept. 2 at Country Club of Detroit in Grosse Pointe Farms.

Detroit's Rocket Mortgage Classic, the state's PGA Tour stop, doesn't yet have a locked-in date for 2021, but will be on the schedule for Year 3 of a four-year contract that is expected to be extended in the next year.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984