SOUTHAMPTON, NY – There’s steak. And then there is Iceland steak.
AND Iceland steak, next to your knife and fork, looks a lot like what you’d look for at the meat counter in your local supermarket. But as you can guess from this arrangement, the specialty of an Icelandic steak is its juiciness. Which comes not by chance. Cows are built differently on the island south of the Arctic Circle.
Because of those who bother them.
There are no compromises.
There is nothing artificial.
“It’s just … fresh,” Gunnlaugur Arni Sveinsson said of the beef.
It’s Tuesday afternoon at Shinnecock Hills Golf Clubtwo days before US Openand Sveinsson is watching from a bench, perhaps a wedge distance from the club. A few minutes ago, Scottie Scheffler walked by. He is playing for the career Grand Slam. In another direction, Adam Scott entered a support building. This week, he plays in his 100th straight major. History. History makers like Sveinsson, who goes by Arni, which may remind you Arnold PalmerKing, and this Arni is a golf royalty himself. Through the final qualification nine days ago, the 20-year-old became the golfer of the US Open, something no one from his home country of Iceland had ever done, which is also understandable, given the circumstances. Golf IS played in the Nordic country; according to Golf Icelandthere are around 60,000 players and just over 60 courses. It’s just that the golf season up north is about four months long, from May to September, which means if you want to play any of the other eight months of the year, your golf bag better have a snow shovel.
Sveinsson did. His mom and dad, Halla Arnadottir and Sveinn Ogmundsson, have videos of it, as moms and dads record videos of their sons and daughters, in gloves and hats, in the backyard dusting off a small patch of green. Pride mixed with surprise. Arnie is deciding! Are you deciding Arnie? In another phone video, Arn’s head is covered everywhere except for his eye socket as he sends balls into a net, the shot sounding especially loud in the dry, wintry air. In one photo, Arni hits a driving range, which is lit only by the headlights of Halla’s car. He would also play inside, when he could. As Halla and Sveinn walked with Arni as he played a practice round on Tuesday, they said they remembered Arni being upset when their indoor club was once closed on Christmas Day. “He said, ‘Why? Why are they closed? I want to go play golf with you and Trackman,'” Aunty said. “And we said, ‘It’s a national holiday, you can’t play.'” At the age of 12, Arni started writing goals. Make the club team. Then make the national team. A few years ago, one said “pro”.
“Of course, I didn’t want to spoil his dream,” said Aunt. “In the back of my mind, I thought, you’re from Iceland, you’re not going to make it as a professional. But of course I believed in him and hoped for the best for him.”
Sveinsson started winning international tournaments. He created his core package and American universities started calling. He then committed to East Tennessee State pledged to the state of Louisiana after ETSU coach Jake Amos was hired in Baton Rouge. Last year, as a freshman, Sveinsson won one tournament and finished in the top five five times. This season he won again. He is currently 14th in the World ranking of amateur golf. And if you’re curious, he’s been to LSU football games and LSU football game tailgates. Mom and Dad were at last year’s Texas A&M game. He mostly watches sports. He listens to some music; Caleoan Icelandic rock band with several hits, is his driving range band. He never got into video games.
Then it came last Monday, at the final qualifier in Westerville, Ohio. Sveinsson survived a four-for-three playoff. Father was his caddy and they talked about family and the news. Mom was watching from the house. Around midnight there, she saw him advancing. She broke down.
“I was watching online and then they had the playoff on the Golf Channel, so I could watch it on TV,” Halla said. “And then the golf association was streaming live on Instagram. So we had the Golf Channel on the TV and Instagram on the phone. So I was with our oldest son, his girlfriend and my mom. And I basically didn’t know whether to scream or cry or laugh when he passed.”
Six days later, people began arriving on Long Island. The enclosure is large. Arnie. Mom and Dad. Amos. An agent. A statistics guy from the Icelandic Golf Federation. His physiologist, Gauti Gretarsson; he also has phone videos, including one where Sveinsson is dribbling a basketball with his right hand while trying to catch small orange balls with his left, which is as intense as it sounds. There are some trainers here. His grandparents are coming. About a dozen members from his home club are flying in; they are skipping a national game for him.
This week has felt almost foreign, even for someone who prides herself on being grounded. On Sunday, he hit a tie between major winners Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy. On Monday, he played a practice round with Reed while two-time US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau played. On Tuesday, he played Ryder Cupper Nicolai Hojgaard, and on Wednesday, he played Sam Burns, a former LSU star. Justin Rose came out and shook his hand. At a glance, Sveinsson’s game is the quadruple P’s – power, pitching, placement and balance. He can move the ball and has touch, with no signs of nerves, though he figures there will be some on Thursday when he starts his Open at 2:20 p.m. “I try to prepare really well,” Sveinsson said, “so as long as I’m prepared and ready to go and know what I’m getting into, I think that’s what gives me an advantage.”
For Mom and Dad, the most surreal times of the week have come when they’ve seen his name on one of the electronic leaderboards here; on Tuesday the 18th, Sveinn took out his phone and recorded the scene. But it’s the autographs that amaze them the most. The children? Calling for their son? No one misses it. Everything is signed.
A few feet away, Hella said he’s always been like that. Nothing artificial.
He hopes to inspire. He is the first Icelander, but he believes there will be a second and a third, and on and on. Hard work can get you to a US Open, even from cold Iceland. No compromises. Icelandic steaks. And the Icelandic players.
“We are very proud,” said Auntie. “It’s a big honor for him too. And for all the young kids at home and also kids his age and older to see that it’s possible, even though you come from a small country, a small island in the Atlantic. You can still do it, even if you just practice outside, maybe a few months a year.
“If you have the dedication and focus, you can do it.”
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