PGA Tour Champions, Regions Bank announce nine-year extension for Regions Tradition

The Regions Tradition, one of Alabama’s marquee professional sporting events, will continue to be played at Greystone Golf and Country Club through at least 2032, the PGA Tour and Regions Bank jointly announced today.

“We are grateful to have Regions Bank as part of the PGA Tour Champions family,” said PGA Tour Champions President Miller Brady. “Their long-term commitment to our tour and the Birmingham community is a clear sign of their support and passion.

“The Regions Tradition has solidified itself as a player favorite on the Champions Tour because of the impressive fan support and the outstanding course and hospitality, and with an ongoing and growing commitment to charitable giving, I’m excited to see the positive impact this tournament can make for years to come,” Brady said.

The Regions Tradition, one of five major championships on PGA Tour Champions, has been played at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham since 2016. Bernhard Langer, who has won a PGA Tour Champions record 11 majors, captured the first two Regions Traditions held at Greystone in 2016 and 2017. Miguel Angel Jimenez (2018), Steve Stricker (2019) and defending champion Alex Cejka have won the past three titles at the Regions Tradition. Regions Bank has been the title sponsor of the event since 2011, with the tournament held at Shoal Creek Club from 2011 to 2015.

The 2022 playing of the Regions Tradition continues through May 15.

Announcing the extension of the Regions Tradition are, from left, Gene Hallman, CEO of Bruno Event Team; Tom Shufflebarger, CEO of Children’s of Alabama; John Turner, president and CEO of Regions Bank; Miller Brady, president of PGA Tour Champions; Ronnie Bruno, Bruno Event Team chairman emeritus; and Mark McGarvey, president of Greystone Country Club. (contributed)

The Regions Tradition will continue through 2032 with a new deal that extends the tournament. (contributed)

Alabama coach Nick Saban prepares to tee off at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am. (contributed)

“We’re honored to continue to sponsor this important event,” said John Turner, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corp. “Regions Bank has a long-standing commitment to making life better in the communities we serve, and for 30 years, the Regions Tradition has provided a forum for great, hall-of-fame caliber golf and giving back to the community we call home.”

Turner said the tournament, over its lifetime, has raised more than $20 million for local nonprofits, with the highest levels of support going to the tournament’s primary beneficiary, Children’s of Alabama.

Each year, the tournament hosts the Junior Regions Tradition, powered by Alabama Power, a competitive and developmental golf experience celebrating junior golf and advancing growth of the game.

The predecessor tournament of the Regions Tradition spent its first 14 years in Arizona at Cochise Golf Course at Desert Mountain Club (1989-2001) and the Prospector Course at Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club (2002). The tournament spent eight years in Oregon at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club (2003-06) and the Crosswater Club at Sunriver (2007-10) before moving to Alabama.

Since its inception in 1989, the Regions Tradition and its predecessors have produced a legendary list of champions, including four-time winner Jack Nicklaus (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996). In addition to Langer and Nicklaus, Gil Morgan (1997, 1998), Fred Funk (2008, 2010) and Tom Lehman (2011, 2012) have taken home multiple titles.

The nine-year extension of the Regions Tradition marks the third-longest extension in PGA Tour Champions history, joining the 20-year extension of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and the Charles Schwab Cup, as well as the 10-year extension of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.

For more information on the Regions Tradition, visit www.regionstradition.com.

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)