The only thing bigger for Las Vegas’ often disregarded PGA tournament than the news that pop star Justin Timberlake has signed a five-year deal to be the event’s host would be if Tiger Woods put his name on a 10-year binding contract to play in it.

Don’t laugh. Timberlake can have a bigger positive impact on Vegas’ PGA Tour stop than any single player not named Tiger.

He brings starpower to a town that doesn’t respect anything but. Sure, it might not be the kind of star power that 50-year-old guys who plant themselves at the poker table fall over themselves to be near. But Timberlake can infuse Vegas’ tournament with a dash of the big event sense it’s so often lacked. He’ll bring teenage girls and some college kids to the galleries, a selection of fans who never would have stepped on the golf course otherwise.

And the thing is, Timberlake truly loves golf. For all the dumb, largely ill-informed jokes that golf bloggers make about his swing, Timberlake can play. And he’s much more serious about the game than any of his Hollywood starlet conquests.

(To read previous exclusive interview with Timberlake, click here).

If George Lopez or Bill Murray had been named as Sin City’s tournament host, you’d be justified in rolling your eyes. These two alleged golf funnymen are much more interested in promoting themselves than any tournament they’re at. But Timberlake will take his role seriously and do whatever he can to make the event more of a success for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Heck, Timberlake’s even made sure to get in some golf while being in Australia for a concert tour (he’s there now, playing to sold-out stadiums). He told a recent Australian crowd a hilarious story about being attacked by a magpie - a bird that swoops down and strikes when it feels its nest is threatened - while on Brisbane golf course.

“I didn’t realize until I got to the next tee box, that I had peed my pants, just a little bit,” Timberlake said in describing the aftermath of the bird attack, according to several media reports. “Just a little bit, not a lot.

“So, I say ‘Boo’ to the magpies.’ “

That’s Timberlake. He’s not afraid to make fun of himself. That takes a big man. The kind of one you need to boast a tournament that can use the help.

Permalink 5 comments

Bookmark/Search this post with: