Regions Charity Classic: Pre-Tournament Notebook  By winning the 2006 Toshiba Classic in March, Brad Bryant alerted everybody that he would make his presence felt on the Champions Tour. Less than two months later, Bryant validated that first victory with a second title, this time at the Regions Charity Classic in Birmingham, Ala.  Brad Bryant hit a record-setting 53 of 54 greens in regulation in 2006. (Mary Schilpp/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
• Bryant returns to the Robert Trent Trail at Ross Bridge to defend the title he won a year ago by two strokes over Mark McNulty. Bryant finished his season fourth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings and earned $1,692,417 to place third on the money list. • Bryant has continued his fine play in his third Champions Tour season. This year, Bryant hasn't won but does have four top-5 finishes to his credit, including, most recently, a tie for third at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. He is currently seventh in both the Charles Schwab Cup standings and the money list. • Defending champion Brad Bryant set a Champions Tour mark that may be very difficult to beat. In last year's event, Bryant hit 53 of 54 greens in regulation to set an all-time Champions Tour record. • The Regions Charity Classic is the only event on the Champions Tour that has been played at least 15 years without having a repeat winner. The Alabama event has produced 15 different champions in its history. The best finishes by defending champions were fourth-place efforts by Hale Irwin in 2002 and Tom Jenkins in 2004 • Hale Irwin, a winner of this event in 2001 and a runner-up in 1998, has won more money in Birmingham than any other player: $719,045. Irwin has posted seven top-10 finishes in 11 appearances. Tom Jenkins, the 2003 champion, is second in earnings, with $563,506, while Bruce Fleisher, a 2004 winner, is third, with $500,492. Rounding out the top five are Dana Quigley ($455,362) and Graham Marsh ($447,201). • Players will see a new look when they tee it up at the Regions Charity Classic this week as the course routing on the front nine has changed from a year ago. When they tee off at No. 1, they will be playing last year's No. 5. No. 2 is last year's No. 7, No. 3 is last year's No. 8, No. 4 is last year's No. 9 and No. 6 was the opening hole in 2006. • World Golf Hall of Fame member Seve Ballesteros will make his Champions Tour debut this week. Ballesteros won five major championships during his playing days -- two Masters (1980, 1983) and three British Opens (1979, 1984 and 1988). Among those making their first Champions Tour visits to Birmingham will be Tim Simpson, Denis Watson, Chip Beck, Scott Hoch, Kenny Knox and Eduardo Romero. • When he won the 2006 Regions Charity Classic, Brad Bryant set a new Champions Tour standard by hitting 53 of 54 greens in regulation, breaking the old mark of 51 of 54 by three players -- Jay Sigel (1994 Northville Long Island Classic), John Paul Cain (1994 Ameritech Senior Open) and Lee Trevino (1995 Brickyard Crossing Championship). His only miss came on No. 10 in the second round. Bryant also played bogey-free golf and became the 18th player to go bogey free in a Champions Tour event and the second to do it in the tournament. George Archer didn't record a bogey in 1994 but finished fourth. Going back to the previous year in Birmingham, Bryant has a bogey-free streak of 57 holes in the event. • Dana Quigley tied the Champions Tour's all-time record for consecutive birdies when he made eight in a row in the opening round in 2005 at Greystone Golf and Country Club, the tournament's former site. Quigley birdied Nos. 10-17 before the streak ended with a three-putt on the final hole. Quigley's run tied the record originally set by Chi Chi Rodriguez at the 1987 Silver Pages Classic near Oklahoma City. Jim Colbert later matched the record at the 2000 TD Waterhouse Championship in Kansas City, and Joe Ozaki matched it last year at the Ford Senior Players Championship. Of the four players, only Rodriguez won the tournament. Colbert finished third at the TD Waterhouse event, Quigley finished fifth in 2005 in Birmingham and Ozaki tied for 17th. • The Regions Charity Classic Pro-Am may look like a coach's clinic this week. Expected to play are football coaches Bobby Bowden, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier and Tommy Tuberville along with basketball coaches Jim Boeheim, Mark Gottfried, Jeff Lebo and retired Crimson Tide coach Wimp Sanderson. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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