...Seriously. From the 13th to the 19th of October Justin Timberlake hosted his own Golf event in Las Vegas. When I heard about this, through my ignorant ears, I thought it would just be a ridiculous celebrity competition to give some of Hollywood’s more redundant characters a few days out in the sun. On closer inspection however it turned out to be a fully sanctioned PGA tour event, which, by all accounts, he did a very good job of hosting.
One reporter on a Golf television channel in America noted that; "Justin Timberlake is the best thing that's happened to the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods."
As with the tournament itself, though, this might not be as ridiculous as it sounds. As many of you will know , although I admit I did not, this is the time of the Golfing calendar known as ‘The Fall Period’, where interest wanes amidst a plethora of middle-of-the-road golfers competing for little more than small change. Or so I hear.
What Justin has done to the tour is brought a recognisable and agreeable face to a sport that many who follow his career will have little interest in, thus generating outside interest, while also boosting the popularity of the game in these quieter times of the year within the sport.
The latter is usually achieved by Woods whenever he shows his face, due to his enormous pulling-power and world-wide coverage. And bringing in publicity and generating interest in the tour can only be a good thing for all concerned. In light of that, you can’t really argue with Timberlake’s contribution to the sport in the last week.
When he was given the event last year he became the 14th celebrity to have a PGA tour bestowed upon them, following in the footsteps of such illustrious names as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Sammy Davis, Jr.
He proved to be a massive attraction and was perhaps the most noticeable figure there, over-shadowing competitors such as Marc Turnesa, Michael Allen, Ken Duke, Chris Stroud, Matt Kuchar, Brad Adamonis and John Mallinger. Golfer that people like me will never have heard of.
A concert hosted at Planet Hollywood on Friday night by the man himself also pulled in the crowds, raising $1million for charity and boasted such acts as 50 Cent, Lionel Richie, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Boyz II Men and the Jonas Brothers.
And of course, it was all in the name of charity, too, with the event fully titled ‘the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open’ .
Timberlake has been known to draw in the crowds and excel himself at golfing events before (he shot a 98 at Torrey Pines ahead of the U.S. Open in June in an exhibition round), but rarely has somebody from outside the sport generated so much interest in an event taking place at such a quiet time of the year.
This success could now open the floodgates for other high-profile celebrities to be offered a tour of their own, but if they do as well as Timberlake, then who’s complaining?
The full leader board can be found here:
http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r047/
One reporter on a Golf television channel in America noted that; "Justin Timberlake is the best thing that's happened to the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods."
As with the tournament itself, though, this might not be as ridiculous as it sounds. As many of you will know , although I admit I did not, this is the time of the Golfing calendar known as ‘The Fall Period’, where interest wanes amidst a plethora of middle-of-the-road golfers competing for little more than small change. Or so I hear.
What Justin has done to the tour is brought a recognisable and agreeable face to a sport that many who follow his career will have little interest in, thus generating outside interest, while also boosting the popularity of the game in these quieter times of the year within the sport.
The latter is usually achieved by Woods whenever he shows his face, due to his enormous pulling-power and world-wide coverage. And bringing in publicity and generating interest in the tour can only be a good thing for all concerned. In light of that, you can’t really argue with Timberlake’s contribution to the sport in the last week.
When he was given the event last year he became the 14th celebrity to have a PGA tour bestowed upon them, following in the footsteps of such illustrious names as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Sammy Davis, Jr.
He proved to be a massive attraction and was perhaps the most noticeable figure there, over-shadowing competitors such as Marc Turnesa, Michael Allen, Ken Duke, Chris Stroud, Matt Kuchar, Brad Adamonis and John Mallinger. Golfer that people like me will never have heard of.
A concert hosted at Planet Hollywood on Friday night by the man himself also pulled in the crowds, raising $1million for charity and boasted such acts as 50 Cent, Lionel Richie, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Boyz II Men and the Jonas Brothers.
And of course, it was all in the name of charity, too, with the event fully titled ‘the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open’ .
Timberlake has been known to draw in the crowds and excel himself at golfing events before (he shot a 98 at Torrey Pines ahead of the U.S. Open in June in an exhibition round), but rarely has somebody from outside the sport generated so much interest in an event taking place at such a quiet time of the year.
This success could now open the floodgates for other high-profile celebrities to be offered a tour of their own, but if they do as well as Timberlake, then who’s complaining?
The full leader board can be found here:
http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r047/
