5 min read
It’s safe to say Steve Stricker loves playing the Founders Course at Greystone. Stricker defended his title as the champion of the Regions Tradition, setting a new tournament record by finishing 23 under par over the four rounds—six strokes ahead of the field.
“I just love coming here,” he said after the tournament. “I appreciate what they do here in this area. You know, I try not to jinx myself by saying anything dumb, and I don’t know what it is about the course, but I enjoy playing here. And I’ve had some good rounds here over the years.”
Stricker, 56, has now won three of the last four Regions Traditions. He set the tournament scoring record in 2022 by finishing 21 under par before improving that mark by two more strokes this year. Stricker also won in 2020 and finished second after a playoff in 2021.
Stricker was far from alone in playing exceptional golf during the Regions Tradition. The field included seven World Golf Hall of Famers, including Vijay Singh, Bernhard Langer, and Ernie Els. A four-time PGA TOUR major winner, Els was even in the lead by one stroke on Friday. Robert Karlsson turned in the best round of the tournament and set a new Founders Course record by finishing Saturday nine under par, with a score of 63.
Mark Blackburn who leads the Blackburn Golf Academy at Greystone has worked with Karlsson and wasn’t surprised that he had a strong showing.
Lightning interrupted the final round on Sunday for an hour, but Stricker came right back out after the delay and sank a 12-foot birdie putt on 15 before cruising to victory. He’s now just the second person to claim three Tradition titles, the other being Jack Nicklaus.
Nine-Year Extension
The Regions Tradition is already one of the longest-running events on the PGA TOUR Champions and serves as one of its five major championships. It brings some of the biggest names in golf together for one of the most fun tournaments in the country each May. Greystone is excited that it’ll continue to host the tournament through at least 2032.
Two things that make the tournament so special are how the Greystone community turns out to support it and how the whole event supports great causes in Alabama. Since 2011, the Regions Tradition has raised over $10 million for local charities (and the tournament has raised more than $21 million since its inception in 1992). Children’s of Alabama has been the primary beneficiary of the tournament, which has included a lemonade stand fundraiser put on by Greystone children each year. 
The big date for the lemonade stand is usually the pro-am held the Wednesday before the Regions Tradition each year. This year, the pro-am field included Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson, new UAB Football Coach Trent Dilfer, Georgia Coach Kirby Smart, Auburn Coach Hugh Freeze, and lots of other big names.
Barkley flew in from Atlanta, where he was covering the NBA playoffs for “Inside the NBA” on TNT the night before. He told the Shelby County Reporter how much he enjoys being part of the event.
“I want to do this for Alabama,” Barkley said. “It’s great for the city of Birmingham. I worked ’til 2 last night, got up at 6 in the morning, but it’s really great for Birmingham, that’s the reason I’m here. The people of Alabama, they deserve this event.”
The pro-am group with country stars Riley Green and Randy Owen, Senator Tommy Tuberville, and PGA Pro John Daly ended up winning. But it was clear the community of Birmingham was the real winner of the event.
Before hitting his first tee shot, Barkley took pictures and spent time with some of the youngsters receiving treatment at Children’s of Alabama. He learned their names and promised to give them a shout-out on TV. It was a great way to start a week of fun and special moments at Greystone.
Regions Showcases a Great Community
Stricker had high praise for the Greystone community, as he told the Shelby County Reporter. “This is a great area,” said Stricker. “We enjoy coming here as a family. Our kids didn’t make it this year, but they’ve been here the last couple of years. We just enjoy it. … There’s a lot of good restaurants, a lot of people around. 280 I think is the busiest road in America, but it’s a fun place. We get treated very well here at Greystone and people come out to support the event.”
Greystone Members look forward to the Regions Tradition all year, and many volunteer to help make the tournament the success that it is. The tournament week at Greystone is filled with concerts, special events, great food, and lots of good times spent with friends.
Members do enjoy VIP access to the tournament. If you’re interested in learning more, download our Membership Guide.
