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Celebrity stars shine in Las Vegas at Justin Timberlake's 'Shriners Hospital for Children Open'
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George Lopez tees off in the Celebrity Pro-Am of the 2009
Shriners Hospital for Children Open (AP/Darrin Bush)
The 2009 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open at the TPC Summerlin course in Las Vegas kicked off today with a full field of celebrities and PGA Tour professionals. Event organizer Justin Timberlake, who set out to "put a bit more Vegas" in the event, could not be more pleased.
- Photo Gallery of the Pro-Am featuring Timberlake, George Lopez, Oscar de la Hoya & Natalie Gulbis
- View the 2009 Presidents Cup in Pictures
When Timberlake first began working on the Vegas event, his goal was to do the event right. For him, that meant more than just getting celebrities to attend and play, it meant getting celebrities who have love and respect the game of golf.
"It's one thing to bring celebrities out who entertain," said Timberlake, "and I think everybody that's out here today will do that. But you also want people that know the game, love the game, will respect the game, and came to actually play and just have a good time."
Celebrities teeing it up in the 2009 field include George Lopez, Alice Cooper, Oscar De La Hoya, Alfonso Ribeiro (from "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air"), poker legend Phil Hellmuth and Natalie Gulbis. They were paired with PGA Tour pros such as Hunter Mahan, Jim Furyk, and Anthony Kim - all fresh off of a U.S. Team win at the 2009 Presidents Cup, as well as Ricky Barnes, Davis Love III, Paul Goydos, Steve Marino and Stuart Appelby.
Singer Alice Cooper, who sports a handicap of 3 or 4, is taking time off of his "Theater of Death" tour to help raise money for the Shriners Children Hospital.
“When you see these kids, you want to play every day for them,” Cooper said.
The Shriners Hospital needs as much help as it can get, given that they spend $2 million a day and $28.60 a second to improve pediatric care for children, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Shriners Board President, Wayne Lachut, is happy to have Timberlake at the help, bringing in the big names.
“The bigger the names, the better off we are,” Lachut said. “We’re happy if we break even, but it would be nice to raise $5 million.”
Comedian and television star George Lopez is doing his part. “I try to compete in all the tournaments I can with the people I have posters of on my wall,” said Lopez. “It’s tough to raise money because of the economy, but this raises the money.”
The event runs through Sunday, with coverage on the Golf Channel all weekend.
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