Championship to begin next week

One of state’s oldest golf tournaments to be held next week in Kingston Springs The 58th Annual Regions Bank State Open Championship presented by Coca-Cola is set to begin next Tuesday, May 16 th at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs. A Pro-Am will be conducted on Monday, May 15 th for sponsor guests of Regions Bank, Coca-Cola and others. The TGA State Open Championship is one of the oldest and most prestigious golf events in Tennessee, having been conducted every year since 1949. Former winners include some of the biggest names in Tennessee golf (Mason Rudolph, Gibby Gilbert, Curtis Person, Larry Gilbert, Loren Roberts, Garrett Willis, and Bob Wolcott). The championship is a 54-hole stroke play competition which is open to Tennessee Section PGA Professionals and all other professionals who are residents of Tennessee. Amateurs who reside in Tennessee and have a handicap index of 10.0 or less from a TGA Member Club are also eligible to compete. The championship’s title sponsor, Regions Bank, is excited to host this year’s event. “We believe in achieving and celebrating success wherever it is attained, and certainly the golfers participating in this championship merit such an honor,” said Ron Samuels, Regions Bank Middle Tennessee group president. “Like those participating in the State Open, Regions Bank is committed to excellence. We are proud to sponsor this esteemed event.” This year also marks the first time that The Golf Club of Tennessee has hosted the State Open Championship. The Golf Club of Tennessee is a Tom Fazio designed championship layout which opened in 1984. The course has hosted many other prestigious events including the 2001 Tennessee Amateur Championship and most recently the 2005 NCAA East Regional Championship. The Golf Club of Tennessee has also hosted for the last ten years, “The Vinny”, a Pro-Celebrity Invitational hosted by country music legend Vince Gill, from which proceeds benefit the Tennessee Golf Foundation. Two-time defending champion Andrew Pratt will be back to defend his State Open title and will try to win a remarkable three straight State Open Championships. Other past TGA State Open champions in the field include: Pro Bobby Bray (1974), Pro James Paschal (1979), Pro Gary Robinson (1984), Rob Long (1987, 2003), Pro Steve Munson (1991), Pro Bobby Nichols (1992), Chuck Jabaley (1994), Pro Walt Chapman (1996), Pro Richard Smith (1998), Trey Lewis (2001), and Tim Jackson (2002). Following this press release is a copy of the official tournament entry application, groupings and starting times for the first two rounds, hole yardages for the championship, and a complete list of past champions. The State Open Championship is one of fourteen state championships that the Tennessee Golf Association conducts annually. For more information on the State Open Championship or the Tennessee Golf Association visit us online at www.golfhousetennessee.com . Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., is a full-service provider of retail and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions had $84.8 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2005, making it one of the nation’s Top 15 banks. Regions’ banking subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates some 1,300 offices and a 1,600-ATM network across a 16-state geographic footprint in the South, Midwest and Texas. Its investment and securities brokerage, trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from over 280 offices. Additional information about Regions, which is a member of both the Forbes and Fortune 500 and has one of the top mortgage companies in the United States, can be found at www.regions.com .