The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged 35 years ago in 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlike the U.S. Senior Open, Senior PGA Championship and Senior Open Championship, it is not recognized as a major by the European Senior Tour, and is not part of that tour's official schedule. It is the only senior major where the winner does not earn an exemption into a PGA Tour or European Tour event.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Established | 1989 |
| Course(s) | Greystone Golf and Country Club (Founders Course) |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,277 yards (6,654 m)[1] |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | US$2,500,000 |
| Month played | May |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 265 Doug Tewell (2001) 265 Steve Stricker (2023) |
| To par | −23 as above |
| Current champion | |
 Doug Barron | |
| Location map | |
  Greystone G&CC Location in the United States  Greystone G&CC Location in Alabama | |
Locations
Arizona
From its inception in 1989 through 2001, the tournament was held in Arizona at the Cochise Golf Course of the Golf Club at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale. In 2002, it was held at the Prospector Course of Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club near Gold Canyon.[2] While in Arizona, the event was played in early April.
Oregon
In 2003, the event relocated to northwest Oregon for four years at the South Course of The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in Hillsboro, Oregon, just west of Portland. Following the 2006 edition, it moved to the high desert of central Oregon for four years, to the Crosswater Club in Sunriver, south of Bend. The lengthy course sits on 600 acres (2.4 km2) of woodlands and preserved wetlands along the Deschutes River, at an average elevation of 4,170 feet (1,270 m) above sea level. The par-72 layout played at 7,316 yards (6,690 m) in 2009. During the eight years in Oregon, the event was held in mid- to late August.
Alabama
Following the 2010 event, Birmingham, Alabama–based Regions Financial Corporation announced in August that it was taking over sponsorship of the tournament. For five years, the event was played at the Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club in the Shoal Creek development, southeast of Birmingham. [3] The Tradition superseded the Regions Charity Classic, a regular Champions Tour event which began in 1992 as the Bruno's Memorial Classic.[4] Shoal Creek previously hosted two PGA Championships, in 1984 and 1990.
Since moving to Alabama in 2011, the event has been played in May and June. It moved from Shoal Creek to the nearby Greystone Golf and Country Club in 2016, and is held on the recently renovated Founders Course.
Winners
| Year | Winner | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regions Tradition | |||||||
| 2024 | Doug Barron | 271 | −17 | 2 strokes |  Steven Alker | 375,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2023 | Steve Stricker (3) | 265 | −23 | 6 strokes |  Ernie Els Robert Karlsson | 375,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2022 | Steve Stricker (2) | 267 | −21 | 6 strokes |  Pádraig Harrington | 375,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2021 |  Alex Čejka | 270 | −18 | Playoff | Steve Stricker | 375,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2019 | Steve Stricker | 270 | −18 | 6 strokes | Billy Andrade Paul Goydos David Toms | 360,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2018 |  Miguel Ángel Jiménez | 269 | −19 | 3 strokes | Joe Durant Gene Sauers Steve Stricker | 360,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2017 | Bernhard Langer (2) | 268 | −20 | 5 strokes | Scott Parel Scott McCarron | 345,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2016 | Bernhard Langer | 271 | −17 | 6 strokes | Olin Browne | 345,000 | Greystone (Founders Course) |
| 2015 | Jeff Maggert | 274 | −14 | Playoff | Kevin Sutherland | 345,000 | Shoal Creek |
| 2014 | Kenny Perry | 281 | −7 | 1 stroke | Mark Calcavecchia | 330,000 | Shoal Creek |
| 2013 | David Frost | 272 | −16 | 1 stroke | Fred Couples | 335,000 | Shoal Creek |
| 2012 | Tom Lehman (2) | 274 | −14 | 2 strokes | Bernhard Langer Lu Chien-soon | 335,000 | Shoal Creek |
| 2011 | Tom Lehman | 275 | −13 | Playoff |  Peter Senior | 330,000 | Shoal Creek |
| JELD-WEN Tradition | |||||||
| 2010 | Fred Funk (2) | 276 | −12 | 1 stroke | Michael Allen Lu Chien-soon | 392,000 | Crosswater |
| 2009 | Mike Reid | 272 | −16 | Playoff | John Cook | 392,000 | Crosswater |
| 2008 | Fred Funk | 269 | −19 | 3 strokes | Mike Goodes | 392,000 | Crosswater |
| 2007 | Mark McNulty | 272 | −16 | 5 strokes | David Edwards | 390,000 | Crosswater |
| 2006 |  Eduardo Romero | 275 | −13 | Playoff | Lonnie Nielsen | 375,000 | The Reserve (South Course) |
| 2005 | Loren Roberts | 273 | −15 | Playoff | Dana Quigley | 375,000 | The Reserve (South Course) |
| 2004 | Craig Stadler | 275 | −13 | 1 stroke | Allen Doyle Jerry Pate | 345,000 | The Reserve (South Course) |
| 2003 | Tom Watson | 273 | −15 | 1 stroke | Jim Ahern Tom Kite | 330,000 | The Reserve (South Course) |
| The Countrywide Tradition | |||||||
| 2002 | Jim Thorpe | 277 | −11 | Playoff | John Jacobs | 300,000 | Superstition Mountain (Prospector Course) |
| 2001 | Doug Tewell | 265 | −23 | 9 strokes | Mike McCullough | 255,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 2000 | Tom Kite | 280 | −8 | Playoff | Larry Nelson Tom Watson | 240,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| The Tradition | |||||||
| 1999 | Graham Marsh | 136[a] | −8 | 3 strokes | Larry Nelson | 225,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1998 | Gil Morgan (2) | 276 | −12 | 2 strokes | Tom Wargo | 210,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1997 | Gil Morgan | 266 | −22 | 6 strokes |  Isao Aoki | 180,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1996 | Jack Nicklaus (4) | 272 | −16 | 3 strokes | Hale Irwin | 150,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1995 | Jack Nicklaus (3) | 276 | −12 | Playoff | Isao Aoki | 150,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1994 | Raymond Floyd | 271 | −17 | Playoff | Dale Douglass | 127,500 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1993 | Tom Shaw | 269 | −19 | 1 stroke | Mike Hill | 127,500 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1992 | Lee Trevino | 274 | −14 | 1 stroke | Jack Nicklaus | 120,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1991 | Jack Nicklaus (2) | 277 | −11 | 1 stroke | Jim Colbert Jim Dent Phil Rodgers | 120,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1990 | Jack Nicklaus | 206[b] | −10 | 4 strokes |  Gary Player | 120,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
| 1989 | Don Bies | 275 | −13 | 1 stroke | Gary Player | 90,000 | Desert Mountain (Cochise Course) |
Multiple winners
Through 2023, five men have multiple wins in the Tradition:
- 4 wins:
- Jack Nicklaus: 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996
- 3 wins:
- Steve Stricker: 2019, 2022, 2023
- 2 wins:
- Gil Morgan: 1997, 1998
- Fred Funk: 2008, 2010
- Tom Lehman: 2011, 2012
- Bernhard Langer: 2016, 2017
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
- Coverage on the PGA Tour Champions's official site
- Greystone Golf and Country Club – official site – current venue