Ryder Cup star Graeme McDowell is sky high after using the 200 metre high helipad at the 7-star Burg Al Arab Hotel in Dubai to propose to girlfriend, Kristin Stape.
McDowell got down on one knee to propose to the similar 33-year old Stape who had no hesitation in saying ‘yes’.
The couple have known each other for two-and-a-half years and ever since Stape was asked to consult on the interior design of McDowell’s palatial new Orlando home.
Graeme McDowell gets down on one knee to propose to girlfriend, Kirstin Stape.
McDowell said he was overcome with emotion in proposing to Stape a fortnight ago when in Dubai for a practice session before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Masters.
“I did it properly getting down on one knee and she was very shocked and had no idea what was going on,” said McDowell.
“So she was shocked and stunned and I even found myself getting a little bit emotional.
“It was very special and a stunning location looking out over Dubai as the Burg Al Arab hotel does, so we’ll probably get married towards to end of next year.
“The funny thing is she came to this tournament last year and we went up to the Al Muntaha Restaurant that’s right at the top of the Burg Al Arab.
“So I had a table booked when I was out here two weeks ago so we went back there but through my Jumeriah contact I said to her that the hotel was going to give us a quick look around including going out onto the helipad.
“But I have to say I was very nervous in popping the question because I had a little speech I was going to make to her and found myself getting all choked up about it.
“She had no chance of being choked up as she was just in total shock, and we’ve been told that it’s the first marriage proposal ever held on the helipad.
“Bu then we’re both 33 and we want to crack on and start a family and stuff.”
The Burg Al Arab Hotel is the fourth highest hotel in the world while the helipad has been infamous not for helicopter landings and take-offs but for celebrity photo shoots.
Both Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy have been filmed hitting golf balls off the landing pad while back in 2005 Roger Federer and Andre Agassi stunned the world playing a game of tennis on astro turf.
Earlier this year Federer returned with current World No. 1 joined Novak Djokovic taking in the view to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“I met Kristin when I hired her company to build the my house on Lake Nona and being an interior designer you could say we kind of hit it off straight away,” he said.
“So now she’ll be moving into the house she designed so hopefully she’s built a house she likes because it will cost me a lot of money if we have to change it but then I don’t see that happen (smiling).
“But she’s a great girl and both my family and her family are delighted with the news.
“We haven’t decided on where we will get married but it will probably be somewhere in Florida or maybe the Bahamas as I like the idea of what Darren (Clarke) did this year getting married on the beach in the Bahamas as that was fantastic and the pictures looked awesome.”
However McDowell indicated he has got to spend three nights in his new house.
“I will be looking forward to getting back to officially move into the house after this week’s event after only spending three nights there since it was finished,” he said.
“It’s just a modest four-bedroom house so Kristin and I should be pretty comfortable living there.
“However Kristin is coming out to Tiger’s event next week in L. A. for my last event and then that’s me done for the year.”
And McDowell said nothing would please him better than to celebrate his engagement with victory in this week’s season-ending $US 8m Dubai World Tour Championship.
“In my first event as an engaged man I finished top-10 last week in the Australian Masters so to win this week would be fantastic,” he said.
“But after such a good finish last week and given the way the green are here in Dubai this year, I am very motivated to have a big week this week.
“If I was win this week I could climb my way from ninth to second or third and that would be great on top of finishing the year second two years ago.”
