Fore! (ever and ever), amen: Rookie proposes to girlfriend on last hole at Pebble
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- You've got a better place to propose marriage to your girlfriend than the sun-splashed 18th green at Pebble Beach Golf Links?
At the conclusion of your round in the world's most popular pro-am?
The brilliance of the Pacific Ocean crashing just below in Stillwater Cove?
Mark Hubbard couldn't think of one, so there he was Thursday afternoon, his round of level-par 72 in the books, reaching into his golf bag not to deposit his golf glove and tees, but to retrieve a little something for Meghan McCurley.
A sparkling diamond ring.
"He did good," McCurley said, after finally gaining her composure. She was the only one in her husband's gallery that wasn't in on the secret. Hubbard, a PGA Tour rookie, had decided to ask McCurley, his girlfriend of seven years, to marry him and had family and friends come down to be part of it.
Meghan hails from Sacramento, so it was an easy trip. The fact that there was pristine weather was an even bigger bonus.
"Right day. Right venue," said Troy Merritt, who was paired alongside Hubbard and also knew about the plans. "And I'm assuming he's picked the right girl."
They met as freshmen at San Jose State, Meghan a member of the women's swim team, Hubbard a member of the golf team. He turned professional in 2012, played the Web.com Tour in 2014 and earned his PGA Tour card via a 34th-place finish on the Web.com Tour priority list. In eight starts this season, Hubbard's best finish is a T-20 at the Humana Challenge, but he's on a pretty good clip, having made six cuts in a row.
A marriage proposal didn't stun Meghan -- only the time and place. "(But) I was expecting it to be after we moved."
Hubbard gave credit to Meghan's mother. "She just thought it would be cool to include golf, and we have been together for so long, I felt like I had to do something different than just take her out to dinner or something. So, it just kind of all clicked."
True, PGA Tour officials were advised and the coordination couldn't have been any better. Hubbard and Merritt were on the last group off of the first tee at Pebble Beach, meaning when they played the 18th there was no one left on the course. Amateurs Greg Cappelli and William Dillard III both knew of the impending proposal, as did Merritt, of course, so they all finished the hole to leave the stage for Hubbard.
His 19-foot birdie try was jammed 2 1/2 feet by -- adrenaline, most likely -- and Hubbard re-marked and settled over it. The second it fell, the electronic leaderboard at the 18th green flashed "Meghan - Will You Marry Me?" and family members directed Meghan's attention that way.
She was still in shock when her future husband went to his knee behind the green and offered the diamond ring. A good crowd was still on hand and there was no suspense. Clearly, she had said yes.
"Originally, I had just thought to (maybe) put it on the caddie bib, or something like that," Hubbard said. "When they told me we could get it up on the board, I was like, 'OK, sold.' "
His round of 72 was only good for a share of 99th place on a day when scoring conditions were optimum. But as you watched Hubbard and his future wife at the 18th green, it was hard to consider his day anything but a rousing success.
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