Las Vegas Invitational
| Location | Las Vegas, Nevada |
|---|---|
| Established | 1983 |
| Course(s) | TPC at Summerlin |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,235 yards (6,616 m) |
| Organized by | Shriners Hospitals for Children |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Format |
Stroke play – 72 holes (90 holes, 1983–2003) |
| Prize fund | $6.6 million |
| Month played | November |
| Aggregate | see below |
| To par | see below |
 Rod Pampling
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The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Nevada. Founded 34 years ago in 1983, it is the second event of the Tour's wrap-around season and is played annually in October in Las Vegas. It is currently held at the TPC at Summerlin, west of central Las Vegas at an approximate average elevation of 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level.
Known by various titles, it was originally played over five rounds (90 holes) over several other courses. When created in 1983, it had the highest purse on tour at $750,000.Tiger Woods recorded his first PGA Tour victory at Las Vegas in October 1996, in a playoff over 1993 champion Davis Love III. The format was changed to 72 holes in 2004.
In 2007 the tournament announced that the Shriners Hospitals for Children would take over the operations of the tournament, and that the Las Vegas Founders, a volunteer group, would no longer be involved with the event. The following year Fry's Electronics, chief presenting sponsor in 2006 and 2007, ended their association with the event, choosing to concentrate on a second tournament in Arizona that it was already sponsoring. Entertainer Justin Timberlake was the host of the tournament for five years, 2008 through 2012. Timberlake, an avid golfer who plays to a 6 handicap, played in the celebrity pro-am and hosted a benefit concert during the week of the tournament.
The inaugural tournament in 1983 had a then-record official purse of $750,000 and Fuzzy Zoeller took the $135,000 winner's share at Las Vegas Country Club in mid-September. In 1984, it became the first PGA Tour event in history to offer a purse exceeding a million dollars: champion Denis Watson won $162,000 from a prize pool of $1,122,500. The tourney moved to late March in 1985, to early May in 1986, then to mid-October in 1990. A tradition at the tournament is presenting the trophy to the champion while two showgirls are a part of the pomp and circumstance.
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