Regions Tradition taking place May 13-17 in Shelby County

Published 3:24 pm Thursday, April 16, 2015

David Frost, 2013 Regions Tradition champion, rides into Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club on April 14 on a Regions bicycle. (Reporter Photo / Baker Ellis)

David Frost, 2013 Regions Tradition champion, rides into Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club on April 14 on a Regions bicycle. (Reporter Photo / Baker Ellis)

By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

NORTH SHELBY – Shoal Creek will once again play home to The Tradition, which is one of the five major championships recognized by the Champions Tour. The Champions Tour is the premier golf tour for professional golfers over the age of fifty who are either unable or unwilling to compete on the PGA Tour. The Tradition is the nomad major of the five, traveling to different locales every so often. Since the tournament moved to Shoal Creek in 2011, the event has been officially sanctioned the Regions Tradition, named after the primary sponsor of the tournament, Regions Financial Corporation.

The tournament will take place from May 13-17. May 13 will feature a celebrity pro-am, with names like Nick Saban, Gus Malzahn, Bruce Pearl, Condoleezza Rice, Bo Jackson and Charles Barkley participating, among others.

On April 14, Shoal Creek welcomed officials from the Champions Tour, Regions Bank and Children’s of Alabama as well as 2013 Regions Tradition winner David Frost for food, a putting competition, and a press conference. Children’s of Alabama is the primary charitable beneficiary of the Regions Tradition, and Mike Warren, Chief Executive Office of Children’s of Alabama, spoke at the press conference about the funds the tournament brings in.

“In the last 24 hours, there have been literally 250 children in our emergency room,” Warren said. “Twenty-eight of them had to be admitted to the hospital. Those 28 joined over 240 children and there are today 260-some odd children that are in Children’s of Alabama.”

Warren went on to say how greatly Children’s of Alabama values the partnership with Shoal Creek and Regions Tradition, and that the money raised for Children’s helps treat the children they serve.

As for the tournament itself, 2014 champion Kenny Perry will look to defend his title against the likes of 2013 champion Foster, who is coming off a Champions Tour win in Mississippi over the week of March 29.

For more information on purchasing tickets or general information on the tournament, visit Regionstradition.com/index.php.