Regions Charity Classic

The Regions Charity Classic, formerly known as the Bruno's Memorial Classic, is an American golf tournament that is part of the Champions Tour. It is held at Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa, one of ten courses on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, located in Hoover, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham).

Through 2006, the tournament was normally scheduled to end on the first Sunday of May of each year, or a few days close to that day. In 2007, the tournament schedule was moved roughly two weeks later, to May 17 through May 20. The first two tournaments were held in August — frequently a time of hot, humid climate in Alabama. The dates were moved to June for three more years, then finally to the early May/late April period.

History

The tournament was first held in 1992 as the Bruno's Memorial Classic, with Bruno's Supermarkets as the title sponsor. The name stems from the founders, Angelo and Lee Bruno (brothers of Bruno's founder Joseph Bruno), who were killed in an airplane crash shortly after the 1991 press conference announcing the tournament's inception. From the beginning, the tournament was staged at the Greystone Golf & Country Club, in the Inverness section of Hoover.

Since its inception, the Bruno's Memorial has been one of the most popular stops on the Champions Tour, usually attracting all of the top money winners. With the loss of the annual Iron Bowl college football game between Alabama and Auburn, which was formerly played at Birmingham's Legion Field, the golf tournament has become Metro Birmingham's largest sporting event.

In 2006, Bruno's Supermarkets — which had undergone a series of financial struggles, various ownerships, and the loss involvement by Bruno family members — announced it would reduce its sponsorship commitment to the tournament. Regions Financial Corporation, a banking and financial services company based in Birmingham, stepped in as the title sponsor, with Bruno's remaining as a presenting sponsor. At the same time, tournament organizers announced that the site would move to the new Ross Bridge course, approzimately 15 miles (25 km) west of Greystone at the other end of the city of Hoover.

Winners

Regions Charity Classic
*2008 Andy Bean
*2007 Brad Bryant
*2006 Brad Bryant

Bruno's Memorial Classic
*2005 D. A. Weibring
*2004 Bruce Fleisher
*2003 Tom Jenkins
*2002 Sammy Rachels
*2001 Hale Irwin
*2000 John Jacobs
*1999 Larry Nelson
*1998 Hubert Green
*1997 Jay Sigel
*1996 John Bland
*1995 Graham Marsh
*1994 Jim Dent
*1993 Bob Murphy
*1992 George Archer

Bruno Event Team

The team that organized and managed the first tournaments drew applause for their efforts, so much so that they were asked to perform the same functions for other events. This led partners Ronnie Bruno, whose father started Bruno's Supermarkets, and Gene Hallman to form the Bruno Event Team, a sports event management firm that now operates year round. The team currently manages the Women's U.S. Open and United States Senior Open for the United States Golf Association, various championship events for the Southeastern Conference, and races at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park.

External links

* [http://www.regionscharityclassic.com Official website]
* [http://www.brunoeventteam.com Bruno Event Team official website]
* [http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/s564/ PGATOUR.com's tourament website]