Caddie Proposes To Player On 18th Green At US Adaptive Open
Caddie Josh White proposed to player Kelsey Koch after she finished her final hole of the US Adaptive Open
It's not quite the usual interaction between caddie and player at the end of the round - but as Kelsey Koch finished up at the US Adaptive Open she turned around to find caddie Josh White on one knee asking her to marry him.
Happily, Koch said yes to complete the perfect ending to her first USGA event that saw her leave without a trophy but a nice piece of hardware on her finger.
After performing the usual final-hole rituals of handshakes all round, 31-year-old Koch turned around to find her caddie, who is also her boyfriend, on one knee with a ring in his hand.
Her now fiancee White had carried Koch's bag around Pinehurst and made it a glorious ending and a tournament she'll never forget.
“I did not have any idea but I hoped and prayed," said Koch after saying yes to the proposal.
"I hoped and prayed because life is so much more than golf and what better of an opportunity.
“This experience as a whole has been so humbling to be here. Like I always say, it’s not what you do on the course it’s what you do off the course, right? To be here and to have this, we’re so blessed to start this way.”
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A touching moment in the US Adaptive Open as Kelsey Koch was proposed to by her caddie (now fiancée) Josh White. 😍 pic.twitter.com/0jFz4cbZfCJuly 13, 2023
Michigan native Koch was competing in the leg impairment category as she was born without a left tibia bone and had her leg amputated at just 11 months old.
She admitted the golf was tough around the iconic Pinehurst, but that didn't matter one bit after coming away from the tournament with a fiancee if not a trophy.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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