By Kathryn Reed

“There aren’t many places I can go where I don’t feel like I’m being watched. But the golf course is one of them. It’s my refuge. It’s where I get a chance to be alone in the world.”

Justin Timberlake clearly had not played the American Century Championship when he said those words to Golf magazine in 2012.

The music powerhouse and sometimes actor will be hitting the links at this year’s celebrity golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe in Stateline. It’s a first for this nine-time Grammy Award winner and four-time Emmy Awards recipient to play in the 26-year-old tournament.

He might find the reception he receives more like being live on stage instead of a more staid atmosphere. The tournament, while serious in nature for some of the players, is a party for others. And it is definitely a party for those watching on the 17th from their boats and the beach. And the practice rounds are all about fans getting autographs from the celebrities and taking photos with their favorites. The popular players have a gallery following them.

Justin Timberlake will make his ACC debut this July. Photo/Michael Albov

Golf, though, is a serious endeavor for Timberlake. The 34-year-old has been playing since he was 12. He has a 6 handicap. Timberlake was host of the PGA’s 2008 Las Vegas tour stop. The tournament was renamed the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open from 2008-12.

“I think he has a chance to finish in the top 20, maybe top 15, but he has to play well,” Phil Weidinger, spokesman for the ACC tournament, told Lake Tahoe News.

Weidinger believes Timberlake could be in the hunt early if he plays up to his handicap.

Winners of this tournament, though, tend to have a zero handicap.

Timberlake is bound to put some points on the board because a modified Stableford scoring system is used. The tournament has a $600,000 purse.

While NBC and American Century always try to have 15 to 20 percent of the field be newbies, it can be hard to get athletes and entertainers who are in their prime to play because of conflicts with their jobs. Timberlake has been invited multiple times, but until now has not been able to fit the ACC into his schedule.

The tournament is July 14-19.