In 2013, the PGA Tour’s Vegas stop will be part of the FedEx Cup series – currently, it’s the opening event of the Fall Series and awards no points – but that won’t be the only change.
According to a report Wednesday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the event will no longer feature entertainer Justin Timberlake as tournament host. Instead, the focus will return to the hospitals and patients at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
“We’re a world-class organization,” said tournament chairman Raoul Frevel, according to the report. “At the time we got involved with golf, we were told by the Tour we needed a big name, and that’s how our relationship with Justin came about.
“Justin’s a wonderful person. But we tried everything we could to get him more involved with our kids and the hospitals. But it seemed that when the TV cameras weren’t on, he disappeared.”
To begin the transition, the Review-Journal reported that the tournament sent about 300 invitations to PGA Tour players. Each note included a personal message from a Shriners Hospital patient, asking the players to “Join the Celebration.”
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Lavner is a staff writer for GolfChannel.com and is in charge of GolfTalkCentral.
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