Week 9 Approach Shots: Regions Charity Classic

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May. 14, 2009

WILL HE WIN A MILLION?: Bernhard Langer has built a comfortable lead on the current money list with $954,700, and he could reach the $1-million mark in season earnings with a high finish in this tournament. Langer will be playing in just his ninth event this year and, should he reach the $1-million plateau in this event, it would mark the second consecutive year he has done so (10th start in 2008) and he would become one of the fastest to reach that number. Only Loren Roberts (2006/8th event/The Boeing Championship at Sandestin) and Hale Irwin (1998/8th event/Bruno's Memorial Classic) have done it faster. Jay Haas reached that milestone in 2007 in his ninth start (Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf), as did Irwin in 2002 at this tournament.

Quick facts

WHAT: Ninth of 26 official Charles Schwab Cup events

WHEN: May 15-17

WHERE: Hoover, Ala.

COURSE: RTJ Golf Trail at Ross Bridge

WHAT'S AT STAKE: $1.7 million ($255,000 to the winner)

KEY LINKS: Tee Times | Scores | Power Rankings | Tournament site

WELCOME TO THE TOUR, TWAY: Bob Tway, an eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR, will make his debut on the Champions Tour at Ross Bridge after turning 50 on May 4th. He'll become the second former major championship winner to make his debut this year, joining Tom Lehman, who teamed with Bernhard Langer to win the Legends Division at the recent Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. The next player eligible and fully exempt to join the Tour is Olin Browne, who could debut at the Principal Charity Classic.

THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING GOOD: Mike Goodes' fourth-place finish here a year ago played a large role in helping him earn a fully-exempt spot on the Champions Tour in 2009. Goodes had started 2008 with limited status (eligible for open qualifying), but his fourth-place finish in Birmingham, along with three other top-10 finishes, led to a 29th-place showing on the 2008 money list and fully-exempt status this year. Goodes finished three strokes behind Andy Bean after trailing by just one stroke after 36 holes.

COURSE RANKED 15TH IN 2008: The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge was the 15th-most difficult course on the Champions Tour in 2008 out of 29 venues. The field averaged 71.906 (-0.094) for the week. Loren Roberts was the only player in the 78-player field to post three consecutive rounds in the 60s at the 7,503-yard layout.

GOING LONG ON NO. 13: Four of the 10 longest drives on the 2008 Champions Tour came on No. 13 in the final round last year, including a 386-yard drive by Steve Thomas. It was the longest measured drive of the year on Tour. Andy Bean had a 382-yard drive (3rd longest) and Bernhard Langer had a 374-yard drive on the hole (7th longest). Also joining the quartet was Denis Watson (373 yards/9th longest). Thomas also had a drive of 367 yards in the second round at the hole, which measures 614 yards.

WILL THERE BE ANOTHER FIRST-TIME WINNER?: The previous two Champions Tour events have featured first-time winners, including Tom Lehman, who teamed with Bernhard Langer to win the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf in just his first start. He became the 13th player in Champions Tour history to do that. In the previous tournament, Nick Price was a two-stroke winner at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. The last time there were three successive first-time winners was in 2004, when Mark James, (Ford Senior Players Championship) Pete Oakley (Senior British Open) and Peter Jacobsen (U.S. Senior Open) did so.

Weather forecast for the Regions Charity Classic

FRIDAY, Rd. 1	SATURDAY, Rd. 2	SUNDAY, Rd. 3
PM T-Storms Temp: 83 high/67 low	Scattered T-storms Temp: 79 high/65 low	Scattered T-storms Temp: 67 high/55 low

DTN/Meteorlogix is the official weather provider of the PGA TOUR. For more information, click here

Regions Charity Classic snippets

	Lakeland Luck: The winner of this event over the last three years has been a resident of Lakeland, Fla. Brad Bryant claimed the crown in 2006 and 2007, while fellow Lakeland resident Andy Bean prevailed in 2008.
	Still on top: The winner of this event in 2001 and a runner-up in 1998, Hale Irwin has won more money in this tournament than any other player at $772,385. Irwin has posted eight top-10 finishes in 13 appearances.
	Trend alert: In 17 years, eight players who have led or shared the 36-hole lead have won. From '95-'01, it happened in odd years: Graham Marsh (1995), Jay Sigel (1997), Larry Nelson (1999) and Hale Irwin (2001). George Archer (1992), Bruce Fleisher (2004), D.A. Weibring (2005) and Andy Bean (2008) were the others.
	Celeb spottings: There's a festive atmosphere as the tournament hosts Alabama's version of the Kentucky Derby. In the Wednesday and Thursday pro-am, Charles Barkley, Taylor Hicks, Bart Starr, Nick Sabin, Vince Gill and Steve Spurrier teed it up.