Pro golfer Rocco Mediate readies for Regions Tradition May 18-22
Rocco Mediate is among the pro golfers coming to the Regions Tradition in May. (Karim Shamsi-Basha/Alabama NewsCenter)
Pro Golfer Rocco Mediate may love winning PGA tournaments and being one of the stars of the game, but today at Greystone Golf & Country Club, he told the real reason he will be competing in the Regions Tradition golf tournament in May.
“It’s for the children, it just takes your heart,” Mediate said. “The charity stuff is what we’re all about. We don’t do these things all the time, but seeing who it benefits, Children’s of Alabama, it’s pretty much why we play.”
Mediate is in Birmingham for a few days playing the course that will host the 2016 Regions Tradition on May 18-22. The tournament benefits Children’s of Alabama and other community organizations throughout the state.
Pro golfer Rocco Mediate on the Regions Tradition and supporting Alabama charities from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The tournament begins Wednesday, May 18, with a pro-am that features many SEC coaches, including Alabama and Auburn football coaches Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn.
SEC Network and “The Paul Finebaum Show” will broadcast from the pro-am this year. In addition to Saban and Malzahn, the pro-am will include Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Mississippi coach Hugh Freeze, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullins and former South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
Auburn’s legendary running back Bo Jackson and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are also scheduled to play.
“Because of the relationships we have with the Tradition, the PGA Tour Champions, and the SEC, Regions was able to help bring together all of them to be a part of this pro-am,” said Scott Peters, head of Regions Consumer Services. “With the celebrity participation we have historically had at the pro-am, it was a natural fit for SEC Network, and their participation will help bring this great community event to many more people.”
Fred Couples, Hale Irwin, Bernhard Langer, Colin Montgomerie, John Daly, Jose Maria Olazabal and defending champion Jeff Maggert are among the pros who will join Mediate in the Regions Tradition in May.
Mediate turned pro in 1985. Since then, he has won several tournaments, including the 1991 Doral-Ryder Open, 1993 Kmart Greater Greensboro Open, the 2010 Frys.com Open and many more. In 2008, he came in second to Tiger Woods in the U.S. Open Championship. In 2013, Mediate was named Rookie of the Year on the Champions Tour.
After five years at Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club, the Regions Tradition is moving to Greystone this year. Greystone is where the Bruno’s Memorial Classic, the Regions Tradition’s predecessor, began in 1992.
On Sunday, Mediate played The Founders Course at Greystone for the first time, and feels positive about the tournament.
“I loved it. I think the guys will absolutely love this place. The greens are perfect, the fairways look good, and the rough is going to be fantastic. I love the finishing hole, it’s going to be a risk-reward thing, and the par threes are good,” he said.
“There are only a few courses I’ve played where there is not a bad hole on. This is one. The course will hold up fine, the greens are fast and are tilted but not too much,” Mediate said.
When asked about his score on Sunday, he smiled.
“It doesn’t matter what you score, until it counts,” he said.
