Golf for a good cause

It's not often that you could get players, coaches and fans from Auburn, Alabama and Georgia working toward a common goal.

But in the case of the SEC Celebrity Golf Classic, that is the case.

More than 50 former players and coaches -- including current Alabama coach Nick Saban -- from those three schools will tee it up Monday at the Country Club of Columbus.

There will also be a dinner held tonight at the Country Club with a chance for guests to get autographs.

Proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships will go to the David Pollack Foundation (Georgia) and the youth ministries of Jeremiah Castille (Alabama) and Joe Cribbs (Auburn).

"It's just really cool," said Blair Brown, one of the tournament organizers. "It didn't hit me until (Friday). We wanted to kind of do something unique with the decorations. In the main banquet hall, we'll have 12 flags -- four Auburn, four Georgia, four Alabama. It kind of hit me when I saw all those flags hanging up what we were doing.

"Russ Carreker told me, 'I didn't think anybody could pull Auburn, Alabama and Georgia together.' These guys normally don't hang out together."

Tickets for tonight's dinner are sold out. Saban and former Auburn coach Pat Dye will not attend the dinner.

Brown said Saturday that they have three openings left for the golf tournament. The cost is $1,000 for a 4-person team or $250 for an individual spot.

The morning flight will begin at 8:30 a.m., while the afternoon flight will start at 2 p.m. Lunch will be served from noon until 2.

For more information, contact Blair Brown at 706-478-5162 or via e-mail at aarecycling@earthlink.net. Or you can go to secgolfclassic.com.

The list of players and coaches scheduled for the event includes:

Alabama -- Alabama coach Nick Saban, Jeremiah Castille, Tim Castille, Ken Darby, Barry Krauss, Antonio Langham, Roger Shultz, Matt Miller, Freddie Robinson, Rudy Griffin, Stacey Harrison, Brandon Brooks, Daniel Pope, Seth Moates, Antonio London, Chris Goode, William Watts.

Auburn -- Pat Dye, Auburn offensive line coach Hugh Nall, Joe Cribbs, Brandon Cox, Ed King, Frank Sanders, Stan White, Rob Pate, Joe Beckwith, Terry Henley, Bret Eddins, Terry Daniel, Smokey Hodge, Chris James, Russ Carekker, Danny Lindsey, Aundray Bruce, Joe Cope, Sam Rives, Haven Fields, Steve Wallace, Gerald Robinson, Trey Gainous, Jeff Burger.

Georgia -- David Pollack, Kevin Butler, Robert Edwards, J.T. Wall, Joe Tereshinski, Jeremy Thomas, Evan Wells, Russ Tanner, David Jacobs, Corey Phillips, Craig Jacobs, Matt Stinchcomb, DJ Shockley.