The Ally Challenge, presented by McLaren, has announced the return of one of the tournament’s fan-favorite events: the Celebrity Shootout.
For 2022, this marquee competition will feature golf’s greatest champion Jack Nicklaus, along with the following Michigan natives: Detroit Red Wings captain and Waterord native Dylan Larkin, two-time super middleweight world champion boxer Anthony Dirrell, U.S. Adaptive Open champion golfer Kim Moore, and Jalen Rose, ESPN analyst, 13-year NBA star and member of the “Fab Five.”
The Celebrity Shootout will take place on Saturday, Aug. 27 following the final pairing of round two of the Ally Challenge and be contested over a new four-hole format at Grand Blanc’s Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, playing Holes 10, 11, 17 and 18. In the coming weeks, the remaining field for the Celebrity Shootout will be named to create a powerhouse group of competitors that will play the four-hole team scramble exhibition match to benefit charity.
Nicklaus, who will be making his fourth appearance in the Celebrity Shootout, has been synonymous with greatness in the sport of golf as a champion, course designer, businessman, philanthropist and good-will ambassador. Nicklaus’ competitive professional career spanned five decades and was built with 120 tournament victories worldwide, including a record 18 major-championship titles (six Masters, five PGA Championships, four U.S. Opens and three British Opens).
Larkin, selected in the first round of the 2014 NHL draft by Detroit, became the sixth rookie in Red Wings history to lead the team in goals (23).
Nicknamed “The Dog,” Dirrell has been near perfect inside the boxing ring, boasting a professional record of 34 wins, two losses and two draws, with 25 knockouts. He claimed his world championship in 2014 with a victory over Sakio Bika and his second title in 2019 over Avni Yildirim.
But the 37-year-old from Flint has faced challenges outside the ring that would keep most down for the count. Dirrell has survived non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and fought his way back from a motorcycle crash that left him with a broken arm and leg.
Moore, 41, won the inaugural United States Golf Association (USGA) Adaptive Open in dominating fashion last month at Pinehurst No. 6 in North Carolina.
The Portage native grew up playing multiple sports, including golf and basketball, despite being born without a right foot and with a case of spina bifida.
Rose, 49, is a studio analyst appearing on a variety of ESPN shows. The Detroit native played his college basketball at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines reach two NCAA title games (1992 and 1993) Rose is also the founder of the Jalen Rose Foundation/Charitable Fund, which creates life-changing opportunities for underserved youth, and the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (JRLA)—an open enrollment public charter high school in Detroit.
For more information about The Ally Challenge, visit theallychallenge.com.