Las Vegas, Nevada (October 22, 2010)–News and notes from Las Vegas' PGA Tour event headline today. Stating the number was like shooting craps in Las Vegas. Sometimes you hit your point, many times you don't. At one time, there were 17 PGA Tour players with strong ties to Las Vegas golf courses scheduled to play in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, but the number looks to be 15. Cameron Tringale, who rooms with fellow PGA Tour player Rickie Fowler at a place within walking distance of Las Vegas golf course TPC Summerlin, the host course, shared the first-round lead. LIVE SCORING —By Brian Hurlburt.
Tringale moved to Las Vegas last year after an invite from Fowler, who officially took up residence in the area just prior to last year's Vegas tournament. Fowler, who has a chance of winning the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year Award, hails from Southern California and reportedly also has a home in Florida, but has quickly grown to love Las Vegas, and both he and Tringale play and practice a lot at TPC Summerlin and TPC Las Vegas. Tingale was won of five golfers to fire rounds of 64 in round one. "7‑under 64 at my home course here in Las Vegas, It's a good one," Tringale said about his round. " I just plodded along. I made birdies when I had my chances. And I rolled a couple of nice putts in."
Fowler and Tringale are two of the newest additions to a group of more than 30 LPGA Tour, PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour pros who have strong ties to Las Vegas golf courses. The Las Vegas Golf Region is also the home to many world class golf courses including Jack Nicklaus' The Chase at Coyote Springs. The course debuted in 2008, and national golf publications gushed over it, including it on several "Best New Courses" lists. Click now to the official website of The Chase at Coyote Springs to reserve your official tee times in Las Vegas.
Tringale and Fowler came up with the plan to move to Las Vegas during last year's Walker Cup, where both were representing the Unites States. "At the Walker Cup, when I played there last September, Ricky Fowler said, 'Going out to Vegas and would love to have you come move out there with me.' I thought, 'Why not.' It would be a good experience to get away. To golf here is great. And it's a good place to travel out of. There are lot of benefits to living here." Fowler fired a 3-under par 68 in round one …
More news and notes from the JT Shriners Open: Celebrity host Justin Timberlake, who is also organizing a major concert on Saturday night, spent time playing in the Charley Hoffman Foundation Pro-Am on Monday with Las Vegas resident and host Hoffman. Then Timberlake teamed with another Las Vegas resident PGA Tour golfer, Nick Watney, in the official Wednesday Championship Pro-Am. Timberlake, Watney, and Andy Garcia and Grant Show, teamed to win the rain-shortened event. Watney moved to the Las Vegas Golf Region several years ago because of the easy travel and to be closer to his swing coach, fellow Las Vegas resident Butch Harmon. Harmon operates his golf school at Las Vegas resort golf course Rio Secco Golf Club. Watney is also getting married next weekend …
Former Las Vegas resident and 4-time All-American Chris Riley co-hosted the 2010 induction ceremony for the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame. Riley is a member of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame and helped induct PGA of America Pro Joe Kelly, former Las Vegas PGA Tour director Charlie Baron, and the original committee and champions of the PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions. That event debuted in 1953 at Las Vegas' Desert Inn Golf Club, and is still played today on the PGA Tour. The event is played in Hawaii and is called the SBS Championship, but inside word from the PGA Tour is that the Tournament of Champions name might be making a comeback. The first champion, Al Besselink, was at the induction and shared several memories from '53. And former champs Jack Nicklaus and Gene Littler sent video tributes …
Defending champion Martin Laird opened with a 2-under par 69. "It's kind of weird for me because I come here and I can relax and as I said, maybe not grinding and practicing as much as I would, but you see all these other guys are grinding, and I was thinking that yesterday watching them thinking that was me last year," said Laird, who came to Las Vegas in 2009 just trying to save his PGA Tour exempt status. " These last events are the most important events of the year for these guys trying to keep their cards and keep their jobs. So you gotta remember how important it is for them even though a lot of guys are kind of in a wind‑down period and just having fun here. There's a lot of guys that are taking it very seriously. It's tough. It's the most uncomfortable situation you can be in, especially going in those last couple weeks knowing you have to have a couple of real good finishes to keep your job is a situation you don't want to be in."