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Seve Ballesteros doesn't want fans to expect a repeat of his PGA TOUR debut, when he won the Greater Greensboro Open 29 years ago.

Seve Ballesteros is one of many top names to join the Champions Tour this season. (WireImage)

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Freshly turned 50, the former Masters and British Open champion competes in his first Champions Tour event starting Friday in the Regions Charity Classic on the 7,503-yard, par-72 Robert Trent Jones Golf Course at Ross Bridge.

Ballesteros has only played in the British Open and the Masters in the past two years and isn't putting pressure on himself at the $1.6 million event, where the winner earns $240,000.

"What I expect is just to enjoy the tournament," said the Spaniard, who became eligible after his 50th birthday in April. "If I finish in the top, that would be fantastic. If I finish at the bottom, it won't change anything.

Ballesteros brings another big name to the 50-and-over circuit, even if he's not promising a quick return to the form that helped him win the British Open three times and the Masters twice. His addition to the Champions Tour brings the number of active World Golf Hall of Fame golfers on the circuit to 14 players, including recent inductees Curtis Strange and Hubert Green.

He's just one part of a stellar 2007 class, as Nick Price and Mark O'Meara joined the Tour in recent months. Price has played in five events, with his best showing a tie for seventh at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, while O'Meara has notched four top-10s in six starts.

Ballesteros will be paired Friday with Lee Trevino and Jay Haas, the current leader on the money list and in Charles Schwab Cup points. This is Haas' first time at the tournament, but the two-time winner in 2007 seems to be on top of his game. Likewise, Haas said, for Ballesteros during his prime on the PGA TOUR.

"His skill is up on a par with the greatest who have ever played the game," said Haas, calling Ballesteros an "unbelievable" wedge player, chipper and putter.

"There was no backup in Seve. He could see what he wanted to do and do it," Haas said.

Ballesteros expects to compete next week in the Senior PGA Championship, the year's first major, and said he is back in professional golf for the competition and the fun.

And this week should involve a little more fun than usual, as the Regions Charity Classic has become the "Kentucky Derby" of Birmingham, Ala., with fans coming out for the social as well as the golf scene. Not to mention, in a state where football is practically a religion, the celebrities teeing it up at the event include University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, University of South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier, Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville and Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden

Other famous faces playing at the Regions Charity Classic are former Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan; Auburn basketball coach Jeff Lebo; basketball great Charles Barkley; New Orleans Saints' quarterback Drew Brees; former MLB pitcher Phil Niekro; 2006 American Idol-winning singer Taylor Hicks; five-time NFL Pro Bowler Cornelius Bennett; Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim; former multi-sport star in football and baseball Bo Jackson; actor Lucas Black; and Randy Owen, lead singer of the aptly-named country group Alabama.