Obama golf game upsets Hawaii wedding plans

In this December 24, 2014 file photo, US President Barack Obama talks to reporters as he plays golf with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razzak at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. President Barack Obama’s passion for golf forced two US army officers to relocate their sun-kissed Hawaiian wedding at the last minute. AFP

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s passion for golf forced two US army officers to relocate their sun-kissed Hawaiian wedding at the last minute.

Captains Natalie Heimel and Edward Mallue were all set to tie the knot Sunday at the Kaneohe Klipper golf course, located on a US Marine Corps base.

But then they learned that Obama was scheduled to hit the links at the same time they’d be exchanging vows.

Within 24 hours, they relocated the ceremony to the bucolic lawn of the base commander’s residence, overlooking the Pacific.

There the newlyweds took a cellphone call from Obama, the Commander in Chief, who expressed congratulations and apologized for any inconvenience caused.

“Obama just personally called my sister and her new husband to apologize for foiling their wedding venue golfing. Amazing!” said Heimel’s sister on Twitter.

The phone call “totally made their day,” Becca Dryer, a friend of the bride who also attended the wedding, told the New York Daily News.

Obama has been on holiday in Hawaii, his native state, for nine days, during which he has played golf six times, the newspaper noted.

On Christmas Eve, he played a round with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razzak.

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