Las Vegas, Nevada (August 26, 2010)–Justin Timberlake enters his third year as the celebrity host of the PGA Tour's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, and he recently announced who is scheduled to join him for his annual Justin Timberlake and Friends benefit concert. The concert, to be held Saturday October 23, will feature Christina Aguilera in addition to Sean "Diddy" Combs and his new group Diddy-Dirty Money. Others on the bill are Lady Antebellum, Salt-n-Pepa, and Selena Gomez & The Scene.–By Brian Hurlburt.
Justin Timberlake is the 14th celebrity to host a PGA TOUR Tournament in the history of the Tour. The concert on October 23 is one of several events during tournament week that will benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. For the first time, each concert goer will receive a ticket to the final round of the PGA Tour event to be played Sunday, October 24, at TPC Summerlin. Other acts scheduled are T-Pain and FreeSol but if the past is an indicator, big surprises will happen during the show. The concert is slated for 8 PM at Planet Hollywood. The event won't be the first time Aguilera has headlined a major golf-related Las Vegas fundraiser. In 2000, Aguilera rocked the Mandalay Bay Events Center as the main act of Tiger Jam III, a major fundraiser for the Tiger Woods Foundation.
The 2010 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is the ongoing commitment between Timberlake and Shriners Hospitals for Children to continue the tradition of a PGA TOUR event in Las Vegas. The collaboration between Shriners Hospitals for Children and Timberlake to act as Title Sponsor and Host creates a truly unique and world-class event for players and fans alike. A host of well-known golfers will participate in the competition to help support the mission of Shriners Hospitals for Children while enjoying the signature flair that Las Vegas has to offer. The 2010 tournament is October 17-24 at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. The defending champion is Martin Laird.
Professional golf has a very long history in the Las Vegas area, dating back to 1963 when the inaugural PGA Tour Tournament of Champions was played at the old Desert Inn. The TOC, which is still played on the PGA Tour, was competed in Las Vegas from 1953-1968 with such legends as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gene Littler winning the event multiple times. The JT Shriners Open dates back to 1983 when it debuted as the Panasonic Las Vegas Pro-Celebrity Classic, and the golfers played for the first million-dollar purse in Tour history. Fuzzy Zoeller won that tournament. In all, there have been about 100 different PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and Champions Tour tournaments played in Las Vegas. Many of those were played at Las Vegas resort course Las Vegas National Golf Club, which debuted as the Stardust Country Club in the fifties. Las Vegas National is very conveniently located to the Las Vegas Strip.
Shriners Hospitals for Children® is a pediatric health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to providing specialty care, innovative research and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment. All care and services are provided regardless of the patients’ ability to pay. As another note, the Shriners are actively working with the PGA Tour to change the date of the golf event into the FedEx Cup schedule. Nothing is final, but some believe the FedEx Cup could come to Las Vegas by 2012. Photo: Christinaaguilera.com.