Viking Golf Tournament

October 16- Practice Round

*Mill Creek will offer free greens fees for all paid entries for 2009 Viking Tournament. Please make a tee time at the Pro Shop, 828-524-GOLF.

*Mill Creek will also have a Happy Hour beginning at 5:00pm with drink specials. We also plan to have the pairings ready to announce at this time. There are There are plans to have a live band this evening. For additional details, please contact Mill Creek.

October 17- Saturday Check-in opens at 9:00 am at Millhouse Restaurant

*Please check-in to pick up gift bag, rules sheet, mulligans, entry for door prizes, drink tickets and dinner tickets. A cash bar will be open with bloody mary’s margaritas, mimosas and coffee.

*At 9:45 we will have an invocation, introduction, questions, and rules review.

*Upon completion of the #9 hole, report directly to the putting green for the putting contest.

*After your round at approximately 3:00, turn in your scorecards to the clubhouse. Cash bar will be open and leaderboard will take shape.

*At approximately 4:00 pm, we will begin our dinner service. During the dinner service, we will announce some of the prizes for the day followed by the Calcutta auction.

October 18- Sunday Check-in opens at 9:00 am

*All shootout qualifiers from previous shootouts and Saturday qualifiers will gather at 9:20 for a trick shoot for the 50/50. This will be followed by two lucky participants who will take one shot each from 165 yards and a chance to win $ 100,000.00. Yes, One Hundred Thousand!

*At 10:00am we will have a shotgun start.

*Upon completion of the # 9 hole, please report to the putting green for the chipping contest.

*As you make the turn, please pick up your boxed lunch at the concession window.

*After the round, please proceed to the clubhouse and turn in your scorecard. We will have awards presentation and payout as soon as the field has completed the round. Cash bar will be open.

Originally Published Sept. 23rd, 2009
The Franklin Press
By Andy Scheidler

The memory of a local golfer will continue to live on, as the tournament held in his honor helps high school students with scholarships.

The Viking Tournament will be held for the fourth time next month, as it remembers former Franklin resident and avid golfer Arnfinn Sveen. The tournament will be held Oct. 17-18 at Mill Creek Country Club.

Tournament director Joe Culpepper started the Viking Tournament in 2006 in memory of Sveen, who was from Norway.

"The tournament is a lot of work. But we think No. 1, the tournament honors Arfinn. He did a lot for the community, did a lot for golf and was just a true gentleman," Culpepper said. "No. 2, we think it’s a real valuable thing for the kids. So far to date we’ve given over $16,000 to the scholarship fund, and we hope to grow that a little more. "

The Arfinn Sveen Memorial Scholarship Fund donated three $1,500 scholarships to Franklin High School students last year, a $500 increase per scholarship from the previous year.

"We hope to grow that to three or four kids with $2-3,000 scholarships," Culpepper said. "We’re moving in that direction and we’ve had really good support from the local economy, despite the fact that the economy is tough and we’re a construction-based area."

The Arfinn Sveen Memorial Scholarship Fund is a 501(c) nonprofit, Culpepper said, so all donations and the entry fee should be tax deductible.

The entry fee is $160 per player. The format is two-person best ball, where both players play their own ball and record the lowest score on each hole.

The total cash payout will exceed $6,000 based on a full field. Winning teams in each flight will receive $700. Second place teams will receive $350, while third place gets $150.

The tournament will feature four to six flights.

There will be prizes for longest drive, closest to the pin on par 3s, a putting contest and a shootout. Golfers could also win $10,000 for a hole in one on either day on hole No. 6.

The entry deadline is Oct. 9. Culpepper encourages golfers to sign up early, as the field is limited to the first 50 paid teams.

For more information or to obtain an entry fee, visit vikingtournament.com. You can also contact Culpepper (524-6842) or Steve Leach (349-9220) for more details.