The Buick Open was a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

. Regardless, many prominent players used it as a "tune-up" for the subsequent major. For the event's first decade, the Buick Open Invitational was played at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in

Grand Blanc, Michigan Grand Blanc is a city in Genesee County, Michigan, Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and a suburb of Flint, Michigan, Flint. The population was 7,784 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. It is part of the Flint metrop ...

. After 1969, professional golf events in the area fell off the PGA Tour schedule and a series of pro-ams and other similarly unofficial events took place, mostly at Flint Golf Club in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

. Flint native, and PGA touring professional Larry Mancour had returned to Michigan to play in the Buick Open and stayed to build the Grand Blanc Golf Club. He then added nine holes at the Flint Elks Golf Club where he remained the professional for 20 years. He rescued the Buick Open when General Motors dropped sponsorship of the tournament. With local Buick dealers Mancour started the Little Buick Open in 1969. It drew players and fans and led to the rebirth of the Buick Open in 1977. The Buick Open officially made its return to the PGA Tour in 1977 at the Flint Elks Club, and in 1978 the event returned to Warwick Hills G&CC, where it remained until its demise. The

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reported July 28, 2009, that

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

would end its sponsorship of the Buick Open after the 2009 tournament, in order to devote its marketing resources to cars and trucks. The PGA Tour replaced the tournament with the

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. As in the 1970s, a series of pro-ams and other unofficial events now take place in Grand Blanc, with the AJGA's Randy Wise Open taking place at Warwick Hills and most pro-ams and a golf festival at the Jewel of Grand Blanc (the former Grand Blanc Golf Club). In 2014, an unrelated tournament with the same name was started in China. The event is played on

PGA Tour China PGA Tour China was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2014 and operated by the PGA Tour. After a hiatus in 2017, the tour resumed in 2018. After canceling its entire 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour effectively ceas ...

. In 2018, the former General Motors financing arm, now Ally Bank, returned to Warwick Hills to sponsor a

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

event,

The Ally Challenge The Ally Challenge is a PGA Tour Champions event at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, just south of Flint, which debuted in September 2018. The tournament is sponsored by Grand Blanc-based McLaren Health Care ...

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 2 ...

(2003, 2020) and

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...

(2004, 2005, 2023) have won both events.

Long hitters

In its final years, the tournament was dominated by long hitters.

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

, Brian Bateman, and

Kenny Perry James Kenneth Perry (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He won 14 PGA Tour events and has won nine PGA Tour Champions events including four senior major championships: the 2 ...

combined for eight wins in its final nine years. Several other players ranked highly in driving distance finished second during that span, including Woods,

Jason Gore Jason William Gore (born May 17, 1974) is an American professional golfer. Amateur career Gore was born in Van Nuys, California. He grew up playing junior golf with Tiger Woods. Gore attended the University of Arizona, then transferred to Peppe ...

Geoff Ogilvy Geoff Charles Ogilvy (born 11 June 1977) is an Australian professional golfer. He won the 2006 U.S. Open and has also won three World Golf Championships. Professional career Ogilvy was born in Adelaide, South Australia, to an English-born fat ...

Bubba Watson Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson Jr. (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer. He has two major championships, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014, and a total of 12 PGA Tour wins. In February 2015, Watson reac ...

, and John Daly.

Winners

Notes

References

External links

Coverage on the PGA Tour's official siteWarwick Hills Golf and Country Club
{{Former PGA Tour Events Former PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in Michigan Sports in Flint, Michigan Buick Recurring sporting events established in 1958 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2009 1958 establishments in Michigan 2009 disestablishments in Michigan