October 15, 2008--This year's Las Vegas PGA Tour event, the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, has the feel of a chemistry experiment that will certainly have unforeseen, but exciting, results. And following a Wednesday Celebrity Pro-am at Las Vegas golf course TPC Summerlin there appear to be a lot of ingredients in a mix that could lead to something big, from Las Vegas Golf Hall-of-famer Tommy Armour III being compared to Dean Martin to Ellen Degeneres nearly taking the head off an unsuspecting fan to a gallery full of beautiful ladies swooning for Timberlake. And more ...

Timberlake, who many say is one of the top 10 celebrities in the world, made his appearance at the course at about 9:30, and walked into a packed media center to take questions from reporters who ranged from seasoned newspaper journalists to television sportscasters to several female entertainment reporters, including one from a new series called something like, "The Women Who Don't Know Sports Show." But she must have known her stuff because Timberlake said that she had asked the best question. Suffice it to say, it wasn't your average PGA Tour press conference.

"How does mentally preparing for playing golf differ from mentally preparing for going on stage?" the model/reporter asked, and who are we to not agree that that is a pretty good question. Timberlake smiled and then took a moment to answer, not knowing that had his management not ok'd one more question, the inquiry would've never been considered.

"I think you asked the best question all day," replied Timberlake with a smile. "I've performed for half a million people at one time. Like I was on tour, I probably had three, four hours of sleep the night before this performance. But literally, half a million people at one time. Imagine what that looks like. Just a sea of people. ... I don't remember half of the performance because I was so tired. Three or four hours of sleep. It was like I was in my sleep. It's just kind of reactionary. But if you ask me to hit a golf ball in front of 20 people, I mean, all of a sudden everything changes. This game is a great equalizer. I would say the thing about me is when I was a kid, all I cared about was basketball and girls. I grew up an athlete, and I would say I actually attack my career in more of a fashion of an athlete than an entertainer, so to speak. I have an hour and a half routine before every show just like the pros have an hour, two hour routine of warming up before every round. I guess just the mental aspect of it, I attack everything like an athlete. That's how I grew up."

Timberlake also said that he and the tournament team were learning a lot of things in the first of a five-year deal between Timberlake, the PGA Tour and the Shriners. But Timberlake, an avid golfer, appears dedicated to making this event a success, and also to attracting more celebrities in the future. And is very careful to ensure that the PGA Tour players, while wanting them to have fun, are still allowed to do their job on the course with as little interference as possible.

"I just kind of said, Okay, this is our first year, let's learn everything we can this year and just keep applying it to the years to come," Timberlake said. " ...  I met so many (pros) last night (at the pairings party). I told them, listen, call me after this week. Anything that we can do for you better for you, I'd love to be the ambassador for that just to make this a fun event. The comment I kept getting was, we haven't even started and it's already better. I just want to make it fun. I don't have any rule except that it should be fun and everybody should come out and have a good time. And let the pros work when they're working. That was the big deal for me. That was my only stipulation was I love to have the celebrities come out and play, but, you know, I said this recently in an interview and I think I was quoted. I said, I'm not going to have (Phil) Mickelson come out and stand side stage and sing Karaoke with my songs when I'm trying to do my job."
 
And soon Timberlake bounded out of the media center and headed for the practice range, where he spent time with playing partner for the day Fred Couples, Olympic Gold Medalist Amanda Beard, and a wide range of other folks. Other celebrities included George Lopez, Greg Kinnear, and Luke Wilson, among others. And all the while a large contingent of fans was growing in the area, culminating when about a thousand or so of Justin's newest friends followed him to the first tee, where he and Ellen joked before he hit a good a drive down the right side. But then Ellen took a swing, and according to VegasGolfer Magazine Editor Bill Bowman, she politely yelled FORE! before, yes before, swinging, and then proceeded to hit one directly to the right and into a fleeing gallery. And with that, Couples, Timberlake, Ellen and a flock of adoring ladies were off and bringing with them a new era in Las Vegas and PGA Tour golf ...

One of the newest members of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame is Tommy Armour III, the 49-year old native Las Vegan who is known as one of the coolest guys on the PGA Tour. Armour III was inducted with Eric Dutt, Jerry Roberts and Louis Redden in a ceremony on Tuesday evening in the TPC Summerlin clubhouse. Armour III has also caught the eye of PGATOUR.com writer TJ Auclair, who wrote a story ranking the top celebrities to host PGA Tour events over the years. And number two on the list was Dean Martin, and the PGA Tour player that Auclair would pair with Martin was none other than the "Nicklaus of Nightlife", Armour III. Timberlake was third on the list and paired with Camilo Villegas.

Wrote TJ Auclair: "This guy (Martin) is the epitome of cool -- how else do you get the nickname, "The King of Cool?" The singer, actor, and comedian was one of the founding members of the Rat Pack and actually dropped out of school in the 10th grade because, he said, he was smarter than the teachers. Now kids, we don't condone dropping out of school, so don't get the wrong idea. Martin's PGA TOUR counterpart, without question or hesitation, has got to be Tommy Armour III. If there's a guy on TOUR anyone would rather have a good time with, I don't know who it is."

As for Timberlake, Auclair wrote: "He's a singer, dancer, actor and lover of golf. Timberlake dates Hollywood A-listers, hangs out with star athletes, famous fellow musicians and movie stars but still seems like the kind of guy who would be a lot of fun to go grab a beer with. To me, his PGA TOUR match is easy. It had to be someone with his own, unique look. Someone who the ladies flock to. Someone who is the center of attention when he walks into the room, or walks the fairways and embraces the attention while staying in the moment. For that reason, it's Camilo Villegas" ...

Former UNLV Rebel Chad Campbell is playing in Las Vegas this week, and is just coming down from the high of winning the Ryder Cup and also welcoming his first child. Campbell met with the media and several times simply described the last five weeks as "awesome". He also mentioned having taken his first trip with the newborn, and both he and his wife, Amy, learned plenty and experienced the challenge of being new parents. Campbell also told "Ms. Women Don't Know Sports" that parents shouldn't push their kids too hard when it comes to golf, and they should just let the kids learn to love the game on their own.