Obama apologizes after golf round moves couples’ wedding venue

Army captains Natalie Heimel and Edward Mallue Jr. got some bad news on Saturday after their wedding rehearsal: Their wedding had to move so President Obama could play golf

Obama had a Sunday tee time at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course on the Marine Corps base in Hawaii, where Heimel and Mallue were going to have their ceremony. The course deferred to the Commander in Chief, clearing the way for him and forcing the couple to quickly find a Plan B.

Fortunately, the backup plan was to hold the wedding in the backyard of base’s commanding officer, Colonel Eric Schaefer, whose lawn overlooks the course’s 16th hole. In fact, the setting may have been even better than the course itself, according to wedding planner Naile Brennan, who spoke with Bloomberg Politics.

The whole thing appears to be a terrible misunderstanding. Obama, who frequents Kaneohe Klipper when on vacation on Hawaii, and his staffers were unaware of the wedding they were booting for the presidential tee time.

The bad news on Saturday was actually the second Obama disappointment on the day. The couple had invited the president to the ceremony on a lark, but learned before the rehearsal the president wasn’t going to be able to make it. Then they came to find out why.

However, Obama did his best to make things right for the newlyweds. He placed a surprise call to them, apologizing the problem and wishing them well. Joking about the venue, according to CNN, Obama told Mallue, “If I had skipped the 16th hole, I would have had a better score.”

Not only did the newlyweds get to say their “I dos” in paradise and get an apologetic and congratulatory call from the president, but they also had a great wedding hashtag for their guests to use throughout the ceremony: #thanksobama14.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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