Viking planning for bigger, better tournament By Jenny Humphryes
Managing Editor
Published: Friday, June 20, 2008 10:24 AM CDT
The Viking Classic is less than 90 days away, and company officials are gearing up for their second year of sponsorship of the PGA-sanctioned event held at Annandale Golf Club in Madison.
Dale Persons, vice president of corporate development for Viking Range Corp., spoke to the Greenwood Kiwanis Club on Thursday about the event, which is scheduled for Sept. 15-21.
Viking took over what used to be the Southern Farm Bureau Classic last year after the company decided to drop its sponsorship.
Viking founder and CEO Fred Carl learned about Southern Farm Bureau's decision while attending a football game at Mississippi State, and he thought it would be a good investment for the company, Persons said.
It also was important to Viking to keep the classic in Mississippi, he said.
"This is the only true professional major event in the state of Mississippi," Persons said. "We felt it was a good way to give back and keep it in Mississippi."
Viking made a four-year commitment to the tournament, which has a $20 million economic impact on the state, Persons said. The purse is $3.6 million, and the winner gets about 18 percent of that, or about $650,000.
There also is an auxiliary prize - a complete indoor and outdoor Viking kitchen.
The Viking Classic will have about 144 players this year, an increase over last year's total of 132. With changes in scheduling, more golfers are available to play, he said.
Viking is hoping to land some big-name professional golfers such as Vijay Singh. Fred Funk already has committed to play, Persons said.
Fifty thousand people attended the Viking Classic in 2007 - an increase of about 20 percent over the previous year. Persons said Viking is looking for an even larger crowd for this year's event, which will be televised on the Golf Channel.
It takes about 1,200 volunteers to staff the tournament, and that doesn't include the Viking employees who help, Persons said.
One highlight will be Ladies Day, which will feature big-name chefs. Persons said Viking hopes this will entice more women to attend. Iron Chef Cat Cora will once again be a part of the culinary day, as will chef Guy Fieri, who regularly appears on The Food Network.
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