Viking Golf Tournament

Originally Published Oct. 17th, 2008
The Franklin Press
By Andy Scheidler

It may have been the third year of the Viking Tournament, but it finally felt like home.

Mill Creek Country Club hosted the tournament this past weekend, held annually in memory of the late Arnfinn Sveen. It had previously been played at The Ridges in Hayesville.

But Mill Creek was the course Sveen frequented the most.

"I think we’ve found ourselves a good home," said Joe Culpepper, who started the tournament in 2006. "This is where Arnfinn would have wanted the tournament. No question."

Sveen, who was from Norway, was an avid golfer. If it was a cold day and the players were hesitant to play, he would tell everyone to quit being sissies and play some Viking golf. He passed away in 2005, but is greatly missed by many.

His son, Jackson Sveen, played in the tournament this year after missing the event a year ago. He teamed up with Jim McRae, a neighbor and close friend of Arnfinn.

The duo took second place in the third flight, winning on the first playoff hole when Jackson sank a long putt.

Jackson Sveen, a student at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, made the trip back to Franklin to visit his mother Cherry and to play in the tournament.

"It’s great, because I see my dad in everybody and everybody loved him," he said. "It’s just nice. I really appreciate everyone. That shows how much they loved my dad."

The two-day tournament format was two-man best ball. Forty-two teams competed in the event that featured cash prizes for the first, second and third place finishes in each flight.

Gary Peek and Steve Peek won the championship flight with rounds of 62-67. They tied Mike Wood and Carlos Mojico at 129, but won on the first playoff hole.

The field featured golf professionals, as well as Western Carolina University standout Matt Cook. The Murphy native teamed with Adam Radford to finish third in the championship flight.

All of the money from the players gets paid back to them in the form of cash prizes, awards, etc. The money donated from the sponsors gets allocated to the Arnfinn Sveen Memorial Scholarship, which provides scholarships to high school seniors in Western North Carolina.

It was the smoothest the tournament has run, Culpepper said, attributing it to the staff at Mill Creek. Though it took many hours to plan and prepare, it was well worth the effort, Culpepper said.

"We would never go through all this if it wasn’t for Arnfinn, if we didn’t think it was a worthy cause and we didn’t think Arnfinn wasn’t worthy of having a tournament in his honor," Culpepper said.

"Arnfinn was a true gentleman, loved to play golf. Loved to play for a few dollars and loved the camaraderie. If I could sum up Arnfinn with one particular sentence, I would have to say anybody who met Arnfinn, even if it was for just a short period of time and it was the first time they met him, Arnfinn had a way of making you feel like you were his best friend."

After play was finished and prizes were handed out, Ed Turner took a moment to remember Arnfinn.

Everyone then raised a drink in salute.

Results (ties determined by playoffs)

Championship Flight

First place: Gary Peek, Steve Peek (62-67-129)
Second place: Mike Wood, Carlos Mojico (65-64-129)
Third place: Matt Cook, Adam Radford (65-65-130)

First Flight

First place: Matt Bateman, Nick Morgan (70-66-136)
Second place: Mitch Cabe, Steve Wyatt (73-67-140)
Third place: Bill Balog, Dave Waugh (71-69-140)

Second Flight

First place: Alan Leach, Jack Jackson (74-66-140)
Second place: Jackie Stewart, Jerran Stewart (75-72-145)
Third place: Richard Rhyne, Keith Rhyne (74-74-148)

Third Flight

First place: Mike Provencher, Robert Cowart (83-71-154)
Second place: Jackson Sveen, Jim McRae (78-78-156)
Third place: Rick Sharp, Tony Southard (78-78-156)