What could be better than: a round of golf with Vikings' 4-time All-Pro Center, his teammates and celebrity guests at Rush Creek Golf Club? A round of golf that benefits an organization dedicated to changing the lives of Twin Cities youth through education.

On June 12th, Matt Birk's HIKE Foundation held its 4th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic presented by Coca-Cola. The beautiful Rush Creek Golf Club played host and provided a wonderful setting for this year's event. Once again, the outing did not disappoint and kept its status as one of the Twin Cities top golf events.

The Shamble format and the opportunity to play with celebrities such as Brad Johnson, Joey Browner, Steve Hutchinson, Randall McDaniel, Mike Rosenthal, Tony Richardson and many others, attracted another sell-out crowd of 25 Fivesomes.

On top of the excitement of golfing with celebrities, each golfer was provided over $100 in items from the "Ultimate Pro-Shop" featuring the hottest items from Nike Golf, Adidas Golf and TaylorMade, as well as a beautiful way to display their experience in the form of a commemorative shadow box valued at over $200 which featured an 8 x 10 of their team and celebrity. In addition to enjoying a great day of golf, each golfer had their fill with on-course food and drink from Coca-Cola, Chili's, Maggiano's Little Italy, Renegade's and Matty B's Supper Club.

Every successful event includes prizes and at the conclusion of the Classic, prizes were awarded to the two teams with the lowest scores. The team from Hormel played with Vikings Legend - Joey Browner and posted the event's lowest score and won top honors. For their talents and efforts each player received a TaylorMade Travel Bag valued at over $200. Nike Golf Duffle Bags were awarded to the winners of the Sears Imported Autos' Most Accurate Drive, Longest Putt, Longest Drive and Closest to the Hole competitions; one lucky golfer received a cordless saw for the "Ball in the Woods" award to help alleviate the common obstacles often found on the golf course, a Weed-eater was awarded to a lucky golfer who lost his drive on the "Ball in the Weeds" hole to help in finding a lost ball and a ShopVac was handed out for the "Ball in the Water" award which will serve as a better ball retriever next time the water gets too deep.

The HIKE Foundation looks forward to holding another successful Celebrity Golf Classic next year and hopes to see you there!

Without the help of our corporate partners this event would not have been such a great achievement for the HIKE Foundation and the children that benefit from the programs offered. Special thanks to the following corporate partners:

Coca-Cola (Presenting Sponsor)
U.S. Bank (Host Sponsor)
RHS Realty (Cart Sponsor)
RiverCity Mortgage (Flag Sponsor)
Sears Imported Autos (Automobile Partner)
Hyatt Regency (Hotel Partner)