There’s an old truism about golf: you drive for show, and you putt for dough.
With the Regions Tradition, which runs May 11-15 at Greystone Golf and Country Club near Birmingham, the “show” and the “dough” are as important to the tournament as a good set of clubs to a player.
The show
As a fan, there aren’t many venues in which you will find some of the greatest names, athletes who are in their sports’ halls of fame, competing for one of the top prizes in a sport. But the Regions Tradition is one of those places.
Each year, golfing greats from the PGA TOUR Champions assemble at Greystone to compete in one of the tour’s majors.
Last year’s winner, Alex Cejka, won in dramatic fashion, earning his victory with solid play over the final stretch of holes. In the first hole of sudden death, Cejka bested 2021 champ Steve Stricker’s par, holing out with a birdie to win the tournament by one stroke.
This year, you can expect to see – between the Pro-Am on Wednesday and the PGA pros – names like:
- Nick Saban, Alabama football coach
- Bryan Harsin, Auburn football coach
- Kirby Smart, Georgia football coach
- Charles Barkley, NBA legend and analyst
- Alex Cejka, 2021 Regions Tradition champ
- Bernhard Langer, two-time Regions Tradition champ
- Ernie Els, winner of four Majors
- Vijay Singh, winner of three Majors
Raising dough for charity
Some 30 years ago, great community leaders came together to help bring professional golf to the Birmingham area. Since that time, the tournament has given much back to the community it calls home. Yearly, the tournament generates approximately $25 million in economic impact – benefitting local and small businesses across the area.
But most importantly, it’s provided a significant opportunity to support a variety of organization through charitable funds raised by the tournament. Over its lifetime, more than $20 million dollars have been raised for charity, with the primary beneficiary being Children’s of Alabama, which serves the medical needs of children from across the Southeast.
And the beneficiaries of the tournament go well beyond that, to other nonprofits and the businesses that help make the tournament come alive.
Stay tuned to Doing More Today during tournament week for coverage of the 2022 Regions Tradition.