Timberlake christens eco-friendly golf course

July 27, 2009 at 12:01a.m.

MILLINGTON, Tenn. — Justin Timberlake celebrated the opening of his renovated, environmentally friendly golf course in style on the 10th tee — by smacking his drive 291 yards.

The singer and actor smiled Saturday after the tee-off, saying “nobody’s happier about this course” than he is.

Timberlake was the first to play a round at his Mirimichi golf course near Memphis, Tenn., after he spent $16 million renovating the course to make it more eco-friendly.

Timberlake drew a crowd of about 50 onlookers after starting an early round of 18 holes at 7:30 a.m.

He played Saturday with his mother, stepfather and an old family friend from Tennessee.

The Memphis native got the idea to buy the course from his dad back in 2007.

Billy Joel ill, postpones 2nd upstate N.Y. show

ALBANY, N.Y. — Billy Joel and Elton John have postponed a second upstate New York concert on their top-grossing tour after Joel fell ill with flulike symptoms.

The Times Union Center in Albany said the pair have decided to delay today’s show. The venue says Joel’s doctors advised him not to perform for 72 hours because of his “extreme fatigue.”

Promoters said Friday’s show at Buffalo’s HSBC Arena was postponed after the 60-year-old Joel came down with flulike symptoms.

A representative for Sony Music Entertainment hasn’t returned a telephone call seeking comment. Joel is on Sony’s Columbia label.

Both venues are working to reschedule the shows. The Elton/Joel Face 2 Face tour has been the nation’s top-grossing concert tour for the last two months.

Today’s birthdays

TV producer Norman Lear is 87. Singer Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows is 80. Actor Jerry Van Dyke (“Coach”) is 78. Actor John Pleshette (“Knots Landing”) is 67. Singer Bobbie Gentry is 65. Actress-director Betty Thomas (“Hill Street Blues”) is 61. Singer Maureen McGovern is 60. Actress Roxanne Hart (“Chicago Hope”) is 57. Guitarist Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 53. Comedian Carol Leifer is 53. Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 42. Singer Juliana Hatfield is 42. Actor Julian McMahon (“Profiler”) is 41. Comedian Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”) is 37. Drummer Abe Cunningham of Deftones is 36. Singer Pete Yorn is 35. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors”) is 32.