TOURNAMENT CATERS TO NEW GENERATION

TOURNAMENT CATERS TO NEW GENERATION Timberlake, Wahlberg draw out female fans By MARC CABRERA -Herald Staff Writer Posted on Thu,Feb. 09, 2006
sourceMontery Herald

Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg are better known for taking off their T-shirts than for teeing off, but their female fans didn't let a little golf get in the way as they turned out Wednesday for a close look at the young stars.

Organizers of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Tournament are constantly adjusting the star power to attract fans who weren't born when the event moved to Pebble Beach in 1947. The adjustments, which brought celebrities such as rock star Alice Cooper to earlier tournaments and low-handicappers Timberlake and Wahlberg to this week's amateur field, help woo a new generation of celebrity watchers.

The intended message: "Golf is cool. It's young, and it's hip," said Cathy Scherzer, tournament marketing director.

"We're definitely trying to draw the younger people to the tournament.",/p>

A quick scan of the crowd at the 3M Celebrity Shoot-Out on Wednesday didn't exactly bear her out, though. Most of the spectators were middle-aged and above, the typical tourney draw. But Timberlake's fans made their presence known with screams and squeals.

As the former 'N Sync frontman and onetime Britney Spears beau walked to the second hole at Pebble, he was greeted by a three-piece chorus of young women yelling his name.

"Justin, over here," they shouted as the lanky darling of MTV strolled across the green. He was a model of color coordination in a black-and-white striped polo shirt with black slacks and matching Nike Air golf shoes.

As young women cheered, he flashed a quick smile.

Kirstin Olson, 19, traveled from Lake Tahoe to see "JT." She says she has 3,000 pictures of her dreamboat plastered on her wall.

Jessica Mendes, 20, and Ashley Costa, 17, came from Santa Clara County to watch Timberlake, Wahlberg, and another young pinup boy -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who wasn't part of the celebrity shootout but is part of the field for the pro-am event, which starts today.
,p>Ashley and her friend carried 8-by-10 glossies of Timberlake and Wahlberg. They had attended the tourney last year but made a special point of returning this year when they learned the young stars were coming.

"Oh yeah, definitely. That's why we came," said Ashley.

Sheena Rentar, 25, of Salinas took the day off from work just to see her man, Justin. She wore a brown shirt that read "Birthday Girl."

"I requested the day off and explained to my boss that it was my birthday and I had to see him," said Rentar, who says she has seen Timberlake in concert six times. Ultra fan Juanita Velasco said she can't count how many times she has seen his show.

Velasco, a 19-year-old from San Jose, carried a Timberlake concert tour program she was hoping to have autographed. This year, she has seen the singer at the Kids' Choice Awards ceremony in Los Angeles and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic golf tournament in Palm Desert.

She said she doesn't keep his pictures on her wall because she doesn't want to seem obsessed.

"I go to the concerts, but I don't do the whole stalking thing. It's like, if I see him (up close), I see him," she said.

"I've seen girls that are like 'Let's follow the bus.' I don't want to do that. I don't want to scare him."