RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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GRAND BLANC — Henrik Stenson doesn't want to make many headlines, or cause "too much fireworks," as he says. He knows it's a big week on the PGA Tour, with the Tour Championship. He doesn't want to take any attention away.
But truth is, he's a story this week, too, marking his return to PGA Tour-sanctioned competition, after a four-year stint with LIV Golf. He is playing in this week's Ally Challenge in suburban Flint.
Earlier this week, Stenson, 50, recently completed a one-year suspension from the PGA Tour, the required penalty from the PGA Tour for a player making the move back from LIV Golf. Stenson joined LIV Golf in 2022 and played with the league through the end of 2025, when he was relegated because of poor play.
He has played in three seniors majors since turning 50 in April, but this is his first PGA Tour Champions event.
"A lot of familiar faces, guys that I played with and competed against a lot over the years," Stenson said earlier this week at Warwick Hills, which he had never played until this week. "Good to be out here.
"I had a chance to catch up with some of them already since I played three senior majors earlier this season,.
"All in all, it's great."
Stenson is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour and an 11-time winner on the European Tour (now DP World Tour), including the 2016 British Open who a decade ago had risen to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
His appearance at The Ally this week marks the latest player to officially returned to PGA Tour-sanctioned competition following an exit from LIV Golf. Brooks Koepka rejoined the PGA Tour in 2026, and Patrick Reed eyes a return in 2027. Several other players could be returning in 2027, too (we're looking at you, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau), depending how the financially strapped rival league shakes out with an eye on what it's calling LIV 2.0.
LIV Golf just completed its fifth season, and it was a disastrous season, having lost its primary funding from Saudi Arabi's Public Investment fund and being forced to cancel two tournaments, including the season-ending team championship at The Cardinal at Saint John's Resort in Michigan .
Stenson said he has no insight on the future of his old tour.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he said. "Clearly, I've got some friends who are playing there and I know some people that are connected with teams and the tour. But, yeah, at this point there's a lot of moving parts, a lot of things up in the air. I've got no idea.
"I'll keep on watching the news, the same as you."
For now, Stenson is focused on his own game, which wasn't great late in his LIV run-up.
He did perform pretty well in his three senior majors, making the cut in all three, including a tie for 11th at the U.S. Senior Open and a tie for 14th at the Senior British Open.
This week marks his first PGA Tour-sanctioned tournament in more than four years, since he left for LIV Golf — and cost himself the Team Europe Ryder Cup captaincy in the process. Stenson's return to PGA Tour-sanctioned play this week comes 13 years after he reached the pinnacle of his PGA Tour career, when he won the FedEx Cup in 2013. Stenson was the first European to win the FedEx Cup and cashed in with a $10 million bonus.
This also is his first time competing in Michigan since finishing tied for fourth at the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township. Padraig Harrington, also in the field this week, won that PGA.
"I think the atmosphere and the vibe is a little bit more relaxed, I'd say, early part of the week," Stenson said of transitioning to the 50-and-older circuit. "But then, once the competition starts, it's in the guys' DNA. We've done this for anything from 15 to 20 to 30-plus years. It's competition. Guys want to win. Guys want to play well. They want to beat everyone. It's going to be the same here.
"That's what I expect and that's why I need to put in some good work to make sure I can try and challenge that."
This is the ninth playing of The Ally Challenge, which is under contract through this year (though at least a one-year extension is expected at some point). The field features five World Golf Hall-of-Famers, including Harrington, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Bernhard Langer and 2023 winner Vijay Singh . Zach Johnson also is making his Ally Challenge debut, having turned 50 in February, and fan favorite John Daly is in the field, as well.
Stewart Cink is the two-time defending champion, and also is in the field, as is 2022 winner Steve Stricker and 2021 champion Joe Durant. In total, 55 former PGA Tour winners, including 14 major champions, are teeing it up.
Justin Hicks, a Wyandotte native and Michigan alum, also is playing, having advanced to the field in a Tuesday qualifier.
The Ally Challenge
When: Friday, Aug. 28, through Sunday, Aug. 30
Where: Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Grand Blanc
2025 champion: Stewart Cink
Purse: $2.2 million (winner: $330,000)
TV: Friday — 7-9 p.m., Golf Channel (tape delay); Saturday — 8-10 p.m., GC (tape delay); Sunday — 4-6 p.m., GC)
Tickets: Daily grounds passes starting at $45 Sunday, $55 Friday and $90 Saturday (Saturday's ticket includes the Keith Urban post-round concert). Details at theallychallenge.com .
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Suspension lifted, former LIV Golf player tees it up at Ally Challenge
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