Kelsey Ratigan had been without her golf clubs since August. That's when they, as well other sporting goods totaling about $1,200, were stolen from the 28-year-old's car.
A couple of weeks ago, Ratigan was custom fit for a new set, thanks in large part to Peter Jacobsen's caddie Troy Martin.
Martin, an Omaha, Neb., native, saw Ratigan's story in the Omaha World and knew he had to find a way to help out Ratigan. Martin told Jacobsen, who moonlights as a NBC golf analyst when not playing on the Champions Tour, who agreed they had to get involved.
“I saw her comment that she liked Nike irons, and it just hit me so hard. I thought that we needed to get this young lady back golfing as soon as possible,” Martin said to Omaha.com. “I told Peter about it and he said, ‘Absolutely, we’ll get on it right away.’”
As it turned out, Ratigan really liked Nike Golf irons, so that prompted Martin to call former boss Dave Stockton Sr., as the two-time major winner is a Nike Golf staffer. Stockton took the baton from Martin and told a Nike rep about Ratigan's plight. Two weeks ago, Ratigan was contacted and told to go to Tiburon Golf Course, where she was fit for a full set of Nike Golf equipment. She got her sticks on Tuesday, as well a free test-drive round at Tiburon. Coming soon are a couple dozen golf balls from Jacobsen imprinted with his signature.
“Kelsey had a terrible thing happen to her, and I couldn’t imagine what that’s like,” said Martin. “You could tell just reading her comments this is an amazing young woman who deserves something nice.”
