DeGeneres steals show

By Andy Samuelson

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 | 2 a.m.

The charity golf tournament’s name was still his, but comedian Ellen DeGeneres stole everything else — including the show Wednesday afternoon at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Celebrity Pro-Am.

The syndicated talk show host came out in a nearly identical golf get-up, including a plaid newsboy-style golf cap and sweater-vest, as Timberlake and wasted little time in poking fun at the pop superstar. She pulled out a boom box on the putting green and began singing the lyrics to his hit song “SexyBack” to the delight of a large contingent of fans.

The hi-jinx continued as Timberlake tried to tee off on hole No. 1 at TPC Summerlin Golf Course, but DeGeneres pulled out a bullhorn and yelled “Fore!”

While DeGeneres, who said she played high school golf, took a couple swings herself, it was clear she was more comfortable razzing her good friend and obtaining some video footage for an upcoming show.

After skits that featured her playing in a sand bunker as if it were the beach and pouring drinks of Vodka after the first hole, DeGeneres went on her way — but only after she cut out the slapstick comedy altogether and revealed to a local news station that she would do anything to support her friend and his charitable causes.

“It’s just a wonderful event to be a part of,” DeGeneres said. “He’s my good friend and he asked me to come out here, so of course I did.”

She wasn’t the only entertainer there.

Movie stars Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear and Josh Duhamel, along with comedian George Lopez, Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard and former 'N Sync bandmate Chris Kirkpatrick joined some of the PGA's most well known players in the inaugural low-ball pro-am event.

“I had a ball, a golf ball,” joked Timberlake, after completing his round with professional golfer Fred Couples and amateurs Matthew Sheasby and Jordan Levinson.

“Are you kidding? Beautiful weather, Vegas, Fred Couples, I’m playing golf. This is like a perfect day off for me,” Timberlake continued.

A perfect week for a perfect cause is Ralph Semb’s take on the tourney.

“For 88 years we’ve been the biggest secret in the world,” the chairman and CEO of Shriners Hospitals said of his organization. “Seems like the only time you would hear about us is when you heard about a burned child.

“You don’t hear about the child who didn’t have an arm, or didn’t have a leg or didn’t have the ability to walk or run. But all of sudden they get out of their seats and walk. You can see these stories all the time.”

For Timberlake, who has a history working with children’s philanthropies, meeting 19-year-old Katie Walker, who was born without a left tibia and left kidney, provided all the proof he needed that PGA officials got it right when they asked him to come on board with the Shriners in Las Vegas.

“I was just, you know, really moved, really inspired to see someone that young that obviously doesn’t have the amenities that we have, and that it just didn’t change anything about her, her life,” said Timberlake, who played a round of golf with Walker at Rivera Golf Club in Los Angeles.

“I got to see the immediate effect of that. I started learning more about it, and it’s a wonderful, wonderful organization. So to me, when the Shriners Hospitals for Children got involved with the Vegas tournament, this all just became a no-brainer.”

Now the Grammy Award-winning singer wants to sell the annual tourney in Las Vegas to his A-List friends as a no-brainer -- a must-attend event each year.

“You know, for the next five years I’m going to make it my duty to sort of recruit as many celebs who will come out,” Timberlake said.

“But it’s one thing to bring celebrities out who entertain, and I think everybody out here today will do that. But you also want people that know the game, love the game, will respect the game, and come to actually play and just have a good time.”

Beard fit the later criteria, and there’s no questioning her motive as far as the charity that’s involved. It’s just her game is, um, evolving.

“What do I do?” asked the Olympic Gold medalist, whose third shot of the day at best was 20 feet farther than her first.

Insiders say it was Beard’s first time on a golf course, and even though she took a little longer than most, she got some sound advice from the tourney’s reigning champ, George McNeill, the pro in her group.

McNeill’s tutelage couldn’t help his foursome, which also included Bob Miller and Dennis Shaffer, stay in contention for the top spot.

That honor belonged to the groups led by pros Tommy Armour III (Victor Califa, Bob Courson, James J. Meyer) and Ryan Moore (Jim Pettis, Jeff Ellis, Kevin Hooks), who ended up tied for first with a 20-under score of 52.

Timberlake’s group took sixth with a 56.

But that number was almost meaningless to Sheasby, who said the experience with Timberlake and Couples would last him a lifetime.

“On the last par five, I have about a 15-foot birdie putt,” said Sheasby, who operates a laptop repair company in Chicago. “Butch Harmon, who followed us on the back nine, reads it for me and I drain it for an eagle.

“Justin turns to me and says, ‘How good does it get? You’re out here with Freddy Couples. Butch Harmon’s reading your birdie putt, and you drain it for an eagle.’ That was the ultimate highlight.”

Some of Wednesday’s more unusual highlights came courtesy of the young fans that Timberlake’s presence brought to the event. It wasn’t your father’s knickers-wearing golf crowd.

In fact, many of the young ladies in attendance were wearing revealing evening dresses that one might expect to see at Timberlake’s Friday night concert at Planet Hollywood, but not on a hot day at the TPC.

But one special female fan came prepared for the sun. Either that, or the red umbrella and dark shades that Timberlake’s girlfriend, Jessica Biel, sported sure did a good job of concealing her identity as few in the seemingly hip crowd recognized her.

Then again, everyone was concentrating on the tourney’s main event with Timberlake.

Fan Francine Rodriguez, of Ventura, Calif., certainly fell into that majority. Even though she’s seen her favorite star in at least 100 of his shows, dating back to the ‘N Sync days, the thought of talking to her larger-than-life performer again one-on-one or perhaps getting another photo with him was just too much to pass up.

“We surprised her for her 21st birthday taking her to a show here in Vegas,” said her mother, Debbie, who’s going along with her daughter to Timberlake’s Friday performance in conjunction with the golf tourney. And after her show we went to a club and she meets this guy named Elvis. I’m saying you got to be kidding me, but she’s talked to him ever since and next week she’s moving out to Pennsylvania.

“So I knew that before she left, we’d have to go see Justin one last time.”

So too did the day’s biggest spotlight-stealer, DeGeneres, who playfully reached out her hands to Timberlake in an effort to embrace him even though she kept sliding back away from him.

“Don’t go,” DeGeneres sang in her best Juliet voice.

“Wait is that Josh Duhamel!” she said with a big smile, pretending to scurry after the Hollywood hunk.

Andy Samuelson is a sports writer/editor for the Las Vegas Sun. He can be reached at [email protected] or 702-948-7837.