May 6, 2010–Article is no longer available with links. The PGA Tour has a long and deep history in Las Vegas which includes several landmark moments. Click now to view a video highlight reel which shows several, from Chip Beck's 59 at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational to Jim Furyk's three wins in Las Vegas, including back to back in 1998-99, to Tiger Woods' first PGA Tour win at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational. Now the tournament is called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and is to be played October 21-24 at Las Vegas golf course TPC Summerlin.–By Brian Hurlburt.
This is the third installment of the JT Shriners Open, with both Timberlake and the Shriners looking forward to a big year in the Fall, while always looking forward to earning a spot during the FedEx Cup schedule. The defending champion is Martin Laird, and tickets, pro-am spots, and sponsor opportunities are now available on the official website at JTSrhinersOpen.com. Tournament officials have stated that the Shriners organization has already filed an official request alerting the PGA Tour of their intention to step up and support an event in the FedEx Cup, should one come available.
The highlight reel features video of Beck's 59 at the old Sunrise Country Club, plus an interview with Beck who reveals that he earned a $1 million dollar bonus for shooting the score from the Hilton Corporation, who offerred up the bounty. When Beck heard about the jackpot before the tournament began, he said to himself, "That's going to happen." Beck birdied the final hole, saying in the interview, "I knew I had to hit it close because I couldn't stand over a 10-footer."
The Las Vegas Golf Region has been home to more than 80 different tournaments on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and LPGA Tour, with former champions including Furyk, Woods, Nicklaus, Palmer, Ochoa, Sorenstam, Norman, and many others. Also, the area is home to some great golf courses including Bear's Best Las Vegas, 18 holes of Jack Nicklaus golf featuring replica holes from courses he has designed from around the world. Click now to view the official website of Bear's Best where you can reserve your official Las Vegas golf tee times with the course management. Bear's Best Las Vegas is a former host course for the Las Vegas PGA Tour event.
Also shown are interviews and video from Furyk's three Las Vegas PGA Tour victories. Furyk is the only multiple champion of this event, winning it in 1995, 1998, and 1999. The 1995 win was his first on the PGA Tour, and three of his first four PGA Tour victories came in Las Vegas. Furyk was a college teammate of Las Vegas native Robert Gamez at the University of Arizona. Also among the highlights is an interview with Woods who talks about how important his first win was to him, and how friends and family were with him. Woods defeated Davis Love III in a playoff. Following the round Love III was quoted as saying that it was clear that Woods was quickly going to become the guy to beat on the PGA Tour. One fact not mentioned is that this tournament boasted the first million-dollar purse in PGA Tour history when it hit the scene in 1983.