Celebrities give back to local charities with fun day of golf at Regions Tradition Pro-Am
Published 10:53 pm Friday, May 16, 2025
Celebrities like Nick Saban, Charles Barkley and Riley Green teed up at Greystone Golf and Country Club for the annual Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am to enjoy a fun day of golf while raising money for Children’s of Alabama. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)
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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor
HOOVER – As country music superstar Riley Green took the 14th tee at the Greystone Golf and Country Club’s Founders Course, he traded his driver for something he is a little more accustomed to playing with–his guitar.
Fans at the tee knew one thing was coming–a free concert with unlikely duet partner John Daly of the PGA Tour Champions.
They rushed under the ropes and swarmed the stage, phones in hand ready to document the special moment as Daly and the Jacksonville-native Green covered Bob Dylan’s classic, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” before teeing it back up with fellow country star Jamey Johnson and U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville.
The concert has become one of many cherished traditions at the Regions Tradition Celebrity Pro-Am, and this year’s edition on Wednesday, May 14 showed yet again why celebrities of all backgrounds return year-after-year for a morning of fun, golf and supporting local charities.
Even if it means rushing from a late-night taping of “Inside the NBA” in Atlanta like Charles Barkley did.
“It’s always great to come to Alabama,” Barkley said. “This is a great week for Birmingham. I appreciate all these guys coming here. I hope the fans come out and support just Birmingham, but it’s always an honor. It’s a lot for me, obviously. I worked til two in the morning, went straight to the airport and got to go back and work tonight, but anything I can do to help Alabama is always an honor and a privilege.”
Barkley was paired with former Alabama football coach Nick Saban and tour pro Stewart Cink in one of the most anticipated groups of the day. Saban and Barkley are good friends as Barkley has spoken to the Crimson Tide multiple times, but they had never golfed together before Wednesday.
Despite Saban’s struggles with golf which he said have persisted into retirement, he looked forward to playing with someone he respects as a man and now a fellow media member as well as a fellow supporter of the state of Alabama.
“I’m looking forward to playing with Charles today,” Saban said. “I’ve always looked up to Charles and I thought he was a great player, but he does a great job, professionally, in terms of media, which you all are part of. And I certainly respect the fact that he supports the community like he does.”
Like all of the participants at the first tee, the pair met with patients from Children’s of Alabama, one of the primary beneficiaries of the pro-am and the tournament as a whole.
While taking photos, the photographer asked the crowd to yell, “Roll Tide.” After repeated instigations, the Auburn alum Barkley said, “Alright, alright, that’s enough of that.”
Alabama and Auburn were both well-represented at the pro-am. Former Auburn great Bo Jackson was paired with Darren Clarke while current head football coach Hugh Freeze hit the links with David Toms.
In addition to his Auburn counterpart and predecessor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s current head coach Kalen DeBoer played with Ernie Els.
DeBoer competed in his first Tradition Pro-Am in 2024, and while he can’t always say he enjoys playing golf, he enjoys the atmosphere and interactions with golfers and fans alike.
“Well, I don’t know if I love hitting a golf ball in front of what feels like a million people, but it’s fun to be out here and be around with all the people and see the coaches,” DeBoer said. “It’s fun to see these pro golfers do what they do in their elements. I love the game. I can’t say that I’m great at it.”
Another Alabama man who shares DeBoer’s love-hate relationship with golf is men’s basketball coach Nate Oats. He joked that his goals in basketball and golf are the same.
“If I can be under 100 in golf, be over 100 in coaching, that’s the number,” Oats said.
Former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was one of the first timers, joining a pair of regulars in fellow Crimson Tide signal caller Greg McElroy and American Idol winner Taylor Hicks.
After wrapping up his playing career with the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks last year, McCarron was grateful for the opportunity to get out on the course with a man in Tom Lehman who he has some history with.
“It’s my first time being here,” McCarron said. “I’ve played in a lot of events. I had a pleasure playing at Pebble (Beach) and some other places, so I’m excited just to be a part of it. I’ve seen Tom hit it about six inches in front of him at Pebble off one. I’ve done better than that, so I got him beat on that one. So, I’m just hoping I don’t pull something like that or somebody get hit, and then we’re just going to have fun.”
Fun was the order of the day for all, but at the end of the day, it all came back to charity. For many, it’s the connection to Children’s of Alabama that keeps them coming back as they raise money year-after-year to provide lifesaving treatment to families around the region.
It’s a chance to add to the more than $24 million that has been given to local charities like Children’s since the Tradition’s inception in 1992. And for an Alabama native like Georgia coach Kirby Smart, it’s an easy call to come to Greystone each year.
“I’ve got a lot of connections to the state,” Smart said. “Born in Montgomery, and then I believe in this organization. I believe in Regions and what they support and Children’s hospital has meant a lot to me and my family, and then to a lot of other families. So, I believe in the cause.”
It’s something that stands as an even greater tradition than free concerts on No. 14, Barkley’s unhinged comments and seeing stars attempt to hit a golf ball into the fairway.
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