Shriners, stars add spice

For a quarter century, the PGA Tour has had a presence in Las Vegas. But this year's event, the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, has a different feel to it.

It's as though Las Vegas never has had a PGA Tour stop. With myriad changes -- from moving from multiple courses to playing exclusively at TPC Summerlin, to altering the format from a pro-am to four days of strictly professional play, to having the Shriners use their cause of helping children as the sole charity, to bringing Timberlake's star power on board -- this year's tournament, which begins Wednesday with Timberlake hosting a celebrity pro-am, feels like a first-year event.

"It definitely has a new-baby feel to it," said Gary Davis, the tournament's chairman. "I've been involved with this event for 20 years, and it does feel like a brand new event. You have the Shriners. Justin has been amazing with his energy and commitment. And the golfers are on board with us.

"Put it all together, and we're really excited. My only concern is we get a lot of people out to enjoy the week."

The field, which most years has been mediocre, has been spiced up with commitments from well-known PGA Tour players. Former Masters champion Zach Johnson is confirmed. So is Davis Love III, Rocco Mediate, Mike Weir and Chris DiMarco. Veterans Fred Couples, John Daly and Paul Azinger, who last month captained the United States to a victory in the Ryder Cup, will play. Defending champion George McNeill is back.

And UNLV fans will see recognizable faces, as former Rebels Chad Campbell, Ryan Moore, Charley Hoffman and Chris Riley have entered.

"We're pleasantly surprised with the quality of the field," tournament director Mark Gardner said. "For an event this late in the year to have this kind of quality is impressive."

Gardner said the 7,243-yard, par-72 course is in great shape, and the weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s with little wind.

"If the weatherman cooperates, we can have some low scores with this field," Gardner said.

The celebrity field also received a boost when comedian and daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres lent her support to the Wednesday event. While she won't play in the pro-am, DeGeneres will be filming segments for her show while at TPC Summerlin.

Other celebrities scheduled to play Wednesday include actors Josh Duhamel and John O'Hurley, former Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, comedian George Lopez and entertainers Josh Kelley and Chris Kirkpatrick.

Davis said advance ticket sales have been strong, and he's also pleased with the corporate sponsor support. Those are two critical elements PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has said need to be addressed if the Tour will consider moving the tournament from the fall to the coveted spring.

"Our biggest message to (Finchem) is we're positioning ourself to be in the FedEx Cup," Davis said. "We want it. Justin wants it. The Shriners want it."

Finchem will be in town Tuesday to meet with Davis and the Shriners. But he indicated a few weeks ago that unless the city supports the event, the Tour would have a hard time justifying moving the tournament to the spring.

Davis knows his tournament is competing with football by playing its event in mid-October. To that end, tournament officials have brought back "The Hill," a tent and open-air area located near the 16th green and 17th tee where fans can follow their favorite NFL or college teams on any of 28 50-inch high-definition, flat-screen televisions while enjoying beer, wine and other beverages.

"We've tried to make it a true Las Vegas happening that has a golf event," Davis said.

Gardner and Davis said 2008 is not make or break for the tournament's future in Las Vegas.

"We're treating this as a start-up business," Gardner said. "The Shriners are in it for the long haul, and so is Justin."

Said Davis: "We're committed to making this thing work. I think all the changes we made will be for the better and we'll be here for a long time."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.