For the Love of the Game
FEEL-GOOD ALERT: Caddie proposes to player (now fiancée) at the U.S. Adaptive Open
As our own Shane Ryan found out this week, the U.S. Open Adaptive Open can be an emotional place on a normal day. Every golfer in the field of 96 has a story of perseverance that deserves its own Tom Rinaldi report. Many have conquered impossible odds simply to survive, let alone play golf again, and this week they compete for a national championship at Pinehurst. “Inspiring” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
That is enough to give just about anybody goosebumps, but on Friday morning caddie Josh White—looping for his girlfriend Kelsey Koch—upped the ante when he got down on one knee following the final putt of Koch’s round and popped The Question. Cue the waterworks.
You unironically love to see it, especially after a week of heated senate hearings and continued animosity across professional golf. In the end, this is what it’s all about. Playing the game for the sheer love of it. Refusing to give up in the face of unspeakable hardship. Making lasting relationships along the way. That’s golf "the way it was meant to be played," no matter how many times you might hear that from links purists over the next two weeks.
As for Kelsey and Josh, they might not walk away with the trophy come week’s end, but they took home an even better prize:
Each other.