Justin Timberlake será anfitrión del «PGA Tour»

Timberlake to Host PGA TOUR Event
By PGA TOUR Media – November 12, 2007

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla — The PGA TOUR today announced that four-time Grammy Award winning singer, songwriter, record producer and actor Justin Timberlake will become the host of the TOUR’s Las Vegas event, which will be renamed the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Timberlake becomes the 14th celebrity in PGA TOUR history to host an event, joining the likes of Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. The agreement, among Timberlake, title sponsor Shriners Hospitals for Children and the PGA TOUR, is for five years, beginning in 2008.

The Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, part of the TOUR’s Fall Series, will be played October 13-19, 2008, at TPC Summerlin over 72 holes with an official Pro-Am on Wednesday. The event will be televised on GOLF CHANNEL. As part of his involvement, Timberlake will play in the Wednesday celebrity pro-am and host a concert during tournament week.

«I couldn’t be more excited to host the upcoming 2008 Las Vegas tournament and to be involved with the Shriners Hospitals for Children», said Timberlake. «We will make sure to make this event unique and memorable, and we will raise money for charity while participating in the greatest game ever played. I thank the PGA TOUR and the Shriners Hospitals for Children this amazing opportunity. Raising money to better children’s lives while playing golf? I can’t think of a better way to pass the time».

«The PGA TOUR is delighted to announce Justin’s involvement with our Las Vegas event», said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. «This promises to be an exciting and effective collaboration, one that will only raise the profile of the great work done by the Shriners Hospitals. The TOUR is proud of its history of improving the lives of people in the communities in which we play, and we are confident that the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open can be a leading example of that charitable mission».

Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of facilities in North America that provides superior medical care at no charge to children under the age of 18. The first Shriners Hospital opened in Shreveport, LA, in 1922, and the network today encompasses 22 hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Shriners Hospitals are at the forefront of medical treatment and research in orthopaedic, burn and spinal cord injury care, and more than 800,000 young people are today able to lead better, fuller lives, thanks to the hospitals and medical services provided.

One of those 800,000 is Katie Walker, who was treated at the Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles when she was just a year old. Her leg was amputated and she received her first of many prostheses, and physical therapists at Shriners Hospitals taught her to walk.

Walker, now 18, is a competitive golfer — she’s a freshman on the golf team at Cal State Bakersfield — with a passion for country singing. She has recently recorded her first CD, which includes her original composition «Challenge Me», a song about how her physical challenges were the driving force to live her life to the fullest.

«As a golfer and a singer — but more importantly, as a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children — I couldn’t be more excited to hear that Justin Timberlake is lending his name and his support to this tournament», said Walker, who served as an ambassador at this year’s Frys.com Open Benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children. She is expected to continue in a similar role for next year’s event. «His star power is going to make an already fantastic tournament even better, and I know that can only help the Shriners impact more lives like mine».

About Justin Timberlake:
Timberlake, born Jan. 31, 1981, and is a singer, songwriter, record producer and an actor. He came to fame as one of the members of *NSYNC and has won 4 Grammy Awards as well as an Emmy Award. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. Timberlake’s second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released in 2006 with the U.S. number-one hit singles «SexyBack», «My Love», «What Goes Around…Comes Around» and «Summer Love». With his first two albums, Timberlake has sold nearly 15 million copies to date. He is the Chairman/CEO of his own record label, Tennman Records. He is also a partner in the fashion label, William Rast. In January 2007, Timberlake embarked on the hugely successful FutureSex/LoveShow World Tour, and he is currently playing in Australia and New Zealand until the end of the month.