Editor’s note: Brian Hurlburt is the founding editor of GolfLasVegasNow.com and was in attendance at Tiger Jam XI at the Mandalay Events Center on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Hurlburt offers his perspective on the all-star event.

The number of people that leave the impression of awe — besides your children, family and very close friends — can be counted on one or two hands. Maybe throw in a couple of toes to stretch the list if needed.

Pure excellence is rare, but very evident when on display. This weekend in Las Vegas, two true creators of awe met up, and even though they practice their particular genius in two different worlds, both claim ownership to skills not known to another person on this planet.

As Bobby Jones once said about Jack Nicklaus: “He plays a game with which I am not familiar.”

The same can be said for guitar virtuoso Eddie Van Halen and golf icon Tiger Woods who came together for Tiger Jam XI, the annual fundraiser that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.

Van Halen and his mates in the group Van Halen — lead singer David Lee Roth (who creates a slightly different sensation of awe), drummer Alex Van Halen and Eddie’s son, bassist Wolfgang — rocked for more than 2 hours at the Mandalay Events Center on Saturday.

The group mesmerized both die-hard Van Halen fans and the VIP folk who were fresh from a couple days of exclusive dinners, parties and golf at Cascata, a Las Vegas resort course that also awes — all in the name of charity.
A few of the VIPs included NBA stars Dwayne Wade and Alonzo Mourning, hoops legend Julius Erving, “Dancing With the Stars” frontrunners Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas, and skating legend Scott Hamilton.

Woods introduced Van Halen after limping out from side stage, displaying signs of his arthroscopic knee surgery earlier in the week. For a fleeting second, Woods shared the stage with Eddie, who was busy kicking off the set with “You really got me”, a Van Halen classic. That instance was just one of many moments throughout the next two hours — or about the time it takes to play nine holes — that Eddie would do things with a guitar that nobody else can. And if playing the guitar were a competition, Eddie would be doing to his opponents what Woods does to the PGA Tour.

And that’s what made this pairing so compelling.

At first glance it seems a bit odd for Van Halen to headline a swanky golf event, but this was golf, Tiger style, where all things are larger than life. Calling on possibly the world’s biggest rock band (with apologies to U2 and the Rolling Stones) was a perfect and intriguing choice. Van Halen now joins a Tiger Jam alumni list that includes Christina Aguilera, Bon Jovi and Seal, all now looking like a junior varsity squad compared to Van Halen.

Prior to the show, Eddie signed a custom Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein guitar that was later auctioned off, and Roth spent a few minutes with Woods before the show. Roth made a personal donation of $100,000 to the cause, while the rest of the group also contributed $100,000 in addition to the Fender guitar.

During the show Roth recognized the golf atmosphere by wearing two Nike golf gloves for several songs, while Eddie simply honored Woods’ own pure excellence by playing in his unique and inimitable style for the entire evening.
Wrote Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Doug Elfman of Eddie’s guitar magnificence: “Freshly returned from undisclosed medical work, Eddie at one point dialed his guitar knobs so as to buzz muted tones, fingering classically-structured runs that were prettier and more difficult than celebrated violin solos. It was shocking, unique and other rare adjectives reserved for geniuses.”

And, pun intended, it was just par for Eddie’s course, one more night leaving thousands in awe just as Woods, standing back stage, does on the weekends.
But besides being about guitar and golf excellence, Tiger Jam is about helping and inspiring kids. What is it that parents and society want to impart on the future caretakers of the world?

A short list includes: The ability to dream, the dedication that is needed to become great, the determination to overcome challenges, the compassion to give back to your fellow human, and understanding the benefit of working with a team.

Woods has dedicated his existence to becoming the best, and has overcome a few challenges such as race relations, a father’s passing and the weight of far-fetched expectations. Eddie Van Halen is of a similar mold, having taught himself to play so purely and teaming with a brother and two others to create a flamboyant, hard-driving style in a time when the music industry wasn’t open to such genius. Personally, he is a cancer survivor and has battled addiction and a band breakup or two. Those distractions, though, obviously have not interfered with his talent.

On the night, with an assist from presenting sponsor AT&T, more than $1.5 million was raised in an effort to help allow a child to pursue their own particular gift. For years, Woods and Eddie Van Halen have made their gift look so easy.

If only it were that simple.