October 13, 2009–The real Justin Timberlake and Friends concert hits the Mandalay Bay Events stage on Saturday night, October 17, but this whole golf week in Las Vegas could be billed as such, but officially is dubbed the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Timberlake, an avid golfer, has been in Las Vegas for several days and was at host Las Vegas golf course TPC Summerlin saying hello to many of his PGA Tour friends today. Timberlake spoke with defending champ Marc Turnesa and Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member Tommy Armour III among others, and on Wednesday several celebrity friends including Las Vegas golfer Greg Maddux, Alice Cooper, Oscar De La Hoya and George Lopez hit the Las Vegas golf links to benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Click now for tickets.
Timberlake told the assembled media that he was "stoked" to be back in Las Vegas for year two of his and the Shriners' event, and was also excited to see some big names in the field for 2009 including Timberlake buddie Anthony Kim. Kim and Timberlake are paired together in the Wednesday Pro-Am. Other PGA Tour pros scheduled to play in the pro-am and the actual event are Jim Furyk, Stuart Appleby, Hunter Mahan, David Toms, Davis Love III, Las Vegas resident Nick Watney, and former UNLV golfers Chad Campbell and Chris Riley. And according to PGATour.com writer Melanie Hauser, Timberlake got a sneak peak at the course on Sunday when he played with his Dad, and Las Vegas residents Butch Harmon and Natalie Gulbis (who is also scheduled to participate in the celebrity pro-am and a ladies day event).
The Las Vegas area is home to more than 50 world class golf courses, and is one of the world's best golf destinations. The PGA Tour is making its 27th-straight appearance in Las Vegas with such past champions as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Fuzzy Zoeller, Paul Azinger, and 2008 champion Turnesa. The featured Las Vegas golf course for this article is Jack Nicklaus' Chase at PGA Golf Club, Coyote Springs. The Chase is the newest course in the Las Vegas area, and has been named to just about every "Best New Course" list by the major publications. Click now to reserve your Las Vegas golf tee times at this course that is located about 50 miles from the Las Vegas Strip.
Turnesa is looking forward to this week and hoping to turnaround an otherwise forgettable year. "I felt good (practicing yesterday)," Turnesa told the media. " I like it here. I feel pretty confident about my game, which is something I haven't felt all year. As far as a field player or technical player, I'm definitely a field player. I think I've been getting probably a little too technical earlier this year. It's probably what's been holding me back, trying to do things. My set up and my swing weight, what you would think would be textbook. But I'm not just a field player. I think I got away from that a little bit. That's what I've been trying to get back the last couple of months. It's been feeling better. My putting feels really good right now. That's the most important thing out here. So, hopefully, I can keep that going and make some putts this week."
According to the PGA Tour, there are many accomplished golfers in the field making for a very solid Fall Series event. The 2009 field is headlined by four players that appeared in last week’s Presidents Cup at Harding Park in San Francisco: Furyk (2-2-1), Kim (3-1-0) and Mahan (2-1-1) from the victorious United States squad; and Tim Clark (2-2-1) from the International team. Furyk looks for his fourth victory at the PGA TOUR’s Las Vegas event, and has played especially well this fall, with three top-10s in the PGA TOUR Playoffs, and a fourth-place finish in the final FedExCup standings.
Joining Furyk are eight other players that finished among the top 30 in the final FedExCup standings in 2009: Heath Slocum (8); Watney (12); Steve Marino (15); Toms (19); Marc Leishman (20); Brian Gay (21); Jerry Kelly (22); and Mahan (27). A total of 11 players in the field won at least one PGA TOUR event in 2009: Michael Bradley (Puerto Rico Open); Gay (Verizon Heritage and St. Jude Classic); Nathan Green (RBC Canadian Open); Jerry Kelly (Zurich Classic of New Orleans); Matt Kuchar (Turning Stone Resort Championship); former UNLV Rebel Ryan Moore (Wyndham Championship), Rory Sabbatini (HP Byron Nelson Championship); Slocum (The Barclays); Bo Van Pelt (U.S. Bank Championship); Watney (Buick Invitational); and Mark Wilson (Mayakoba Golf Classic).
The Kodak Challenge is gearing up for its climactic finish with 23 players within three strokes of leader Kevin Streelman. With just four events remaining in the 30-tournament series, the competition that celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR continues with the 560-yard, par-5 16th hole at TPC Summerlin. Players must play at least 18 of the 30 Kodak Challenge holes throughout the season to compete for $1 million and the Kodak Challenge title. A player’s lowest score relative to par on his best 18 Kodak Challenge holes will be counted. Through 26 events, Streelman leads the Kodak Challenge at 13-under by one stroke over J.J. Henry, Jason Gore and Nathan Green. Eight players are tied at 11-under.
Timberlake will headline the “JT and Friends” concert at The Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, Oct. 17. Proceeds will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Acts on the concert bill include Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Taylor Swift, Ciara and TLC. Last year, Timberlake put on an incredible show that he says many of the players in the field have reminded him about this week.
Some of the best viewing on the course is located at “THE HILL,” a luxury 22,000 square foot entertainment pavilion overlooking the 16th, 17th and 18th holes and granting stunning views of the course and Red Rock Canyon. In true Vegas fashion, guests that purchase this special ticket package can enjoy the best seat in the house to watch the players as they try to maneuver TPC Summerlin’s exciting finishing holes. Guests here can enjoy a lively and comfortable atmosphere resplendent with seating areas, tables and large plasma screen televisions for keeping up with all of their sporting interests.
A unique Fall Series “Smile & Win” spotter promotion will award instant prizes to fans wearing Kodak lanyards throughout the course at TPC Summerlin. The free lanyards can be picked up at the Kodak Fan Photo Zone, located near No. 16 green from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of the tournament. Winners will be randomly spotted throughout the tournament. A variety of instant prizes will include Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Cameras, PGA TOUR and tournament merchandise, and one lucky grand prize winner will receive a Viking Cooking School Package. Viking is the title sponsor of the fourth event in the PGA TOUR Fall Series, the Viking Classic, Oct. 26-Nov. 1. The Kodak Photo Zone also gives fans the opportunity to pose for and receive a free souvenir photo.