By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

The 2011 Regions Tradition pomp and circumstance in North Shelby County gets underway today in advance of the PGA Champions Tour’s first major championship tournament of the season May 5-8.

The field of 78 golfers will participate in a practice round today to get their first look at Shoal Creek.

The action continues Wednesday with a celebrity pro-am, an Alabama vs. Auburn putting challenge and a PGA Champions Tour past champions clinic.

The pro-am will get under way at 8:10 a.m. with former American Idol participant Taylor Hicks teeing off.

University of South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier will tee off at 8:20 a.m. Spurrier will be followed by former National Basketball Association star and current television analyst Charles Barkley at 8:30 a.m.

Former Heisman Trophy winner and Auburn University football great Bo Jackson will tee of at 8:40 a.m. Jackson will be followed by University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban at 8:50 a.m.

Past Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will wrap up the field of celebrities when she tees off at 9 a.m.

Auburn University head football coach Gene Chizik and University of Alabama head basketball coach Anthony Grant will face off in an Alabama vs. Auburn putting challenge at 9:30 a.m.

The pre-tournament festivities will wrap up with a past champions clinic on the driving range at 2 p.m.

The first round of the Regions Tradition will get underway with Rice’s honorary tee shot at 7 a.m. The tournament will run May 5-8. Tickets are available online at Regionstradition.com.