Players, fans and host ready for Vegas stop's new look

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Justin Timberlake has been playing golf for 10 years.

Oct. 14, 2008
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator

LAS VEGAS -- John Daly is used to being the man fans come out to follow each week. His gallery sizes sometimes rival Tiger Woods' and Phil Mickelson's crowds.

But, in the pro-am on Monday at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Daly could have been invisible for all the fans cared. The girls who followed the golfers were only there to see one person -- Justin Timberlake.

Big J.D. was no match for J.T., as a handful of girls scampered to get their picture taken with Timberlake and his gal pal Jessica Biel -- she followed him to cheer him on during the pro-am -- after Timberlake's round. Rest assured, though, the PGA TOUR isn't going to become overrun with paparazzi or screaming fans.

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Fan favorite John Daly might be fighting the tournament host for attention this week.

"Justin is a traditionalist in golf now. When I first played with him, he wasn't very good. But he had just started, and he fell in love with (the game)," said Daly, who'd called his long-time friend Timberlake months ago about the event and the two decided to play together in the Monday pro-am.

Both hail from Tennessee and became friends about 10 years ago, when Timberlake first picked up the sport. Even when he was still a high handicapper, Timberlake told Daly he was going to become a good golfer.

"And he has. Now his handicap is around a six, I think, and he knows the rules, he knows the game," Daly added. "He's a great guy. We like to hang out, and it's just great to have his name on this tournament."

The fact that Timberlake lent his name to the event as tournament host meant several changes for the long-running Las Vegas affair. Now in its 26th year, the tournament had always been played on multiple courses. Timberlake wanted to move the event to one course, so this year the players will only tee it up on the 7,243-yard, par-72 TPC Summerlin that was designed by Fuzzy Zoeller and Bobby Weed in 1991 on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

Another Tennessee product, Kirk Triplett, has played in the event for 16 years and says the one-course change will be welcomed by many players.

"I'm sure (the tournament) will get different guys to this event who didn't particularly care for that format now that it's gone to one course," Triplett said. "From that standpoint, preparation is a lot easier. You get some work done at Summerlin and then maybe have more time to enjoy the town. Getting the celebrities involved is also a great idea and will bring more interest and more people to the course. It's kind of an experiment this year. We'll see what it's like. I think people will go home, will tell their friends and the tournament will grow in the future."

Fans and players will no longer have to shuttle back and forth between courses and can focus their efforts on one venue. It will also eliminate confusion about where fans can find their favorite players on which day. According to Daly, who made his first appearance at the Las Vegas tournament in 1991, it makes the entire week easier.

"I think the guys enjoy having one golf course to play. You can get used to the greens and can almost get three practice rounds in on the course instead of going to three different courses. I like what (Timberlake) did," Daly said.

The celebrities in the event, which include Timberlake, George Lopez, John O'Hurley, Josh Duhamel, Chris Kirkpatrick, Tony Potts, Amanda Beard, Janet Gretzky, Luke Wilson and Greg Kinnear, will only be playing in the Wednesday pro-am instead of the actual tournament. As Timberlake said, if the professionals are competing, he doesn't want celebrities to be in the way.

"I've eliminated too much pro-am play while the players are actually counting their scores because I just believe in that. I made a comparison...Phil (Mickelson) wasn't going to come up and try to do karaoke while I'm doing my show. So for me to chip balls out of a bunker while he's trying to win a tournament is not exactly, you know, it's a Catch 22. I think eliminating that will help the players out, as well," Timberlake said.

Given that it's the Fall Series, where many players are vying to keep their PGA TOUR cards to secure their TOUR spots for 2009, distractions aren't really an option. Even the lure and lights of Las Vegas will be (mostly) ignored during the week once the tournament starts.

But that doesn't mean some players won't enjoy every aspect of the host city.

"I think (Vegas is) part of the whole package," Triplett said. "Guys that like to come to Vegas have been coming regardless of whether they liked the format or not. Now there's really nothing to stop a TOUR player or have him think twice about coming. I suspect you'll see it become a more popular event with the TOUR players."

"These are big weeks for a lot of guys for a number of reasons," Mike Weir added. "Guys trying to keep their card, trying to move up the money list, trying to win, like anytime late in the year. It's a good golf course. Not only will you have a great time in Vegas, but it's a good golf course to play, and I think the combination of everything gets a better field here."

The 132-player field will feature seven players who participated in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, as well as past champions Davis Love III, Troy Matteson, Bob Estes, Paul Azinger and last year's winner George McNeill.

The other co-host of the event, the Shriners Hospitals for Children, is a network of 22 pediatric hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Mexico that provide free specialized care for orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal injuries and cleft lip and palate repair. For the second consecutive year, the Shriners Hospitals for Children will receive the proceeds from the tournament. This is the first year, though, that they are co-host of the event and will continue to be affiliated in that respect with the TOUR and Timberlake for at least four more years.

For his part, Timberlake is hoping to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals and bring attention to their cause.

"The partnership with the Shriners came about when I was trying to get involved with the PGA TOUR because I'm such a fan," Timberlake said. " We approached (the TOUR) and said if there's anything that comes up, a Pro-Am, celebrity tournament, charity tournament or anything, let us know. And the Vegas spot seemed like a good fit for me and for celebrities alike, and it was already a Pro-Am, so we tacked onto that and obviously in the process we got involved with the Shriners, who is the beneficiary of the tournament.

"So it's great. Come out for a week every October where the weather is actually good in Vegas in October and play golf and raise some money for children's hospitals."