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Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland and Rory McIlroy may be the ones leading the way at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, but they’re not the ones turning the most heads.
That achievement, during one of the biggest weekends on the golf calendar, goes to Texas Tech dance team member Aaliyah Kikumoto.
For some, the name will immediately ring a bell. For others, it may still be more of a mystery.
Kikumoto burst onto the scene at The Masters when she seen behind eventual winner Jon Rahm on the television broadcast.
She then went viral after someone posted video of her to TikTok with the description, “Somehow I feel in love with someone I only saw for 15 seconds.”
@double.bogey this made the masters 10 times better #masters #golf #golfgirls #golftiktok #masters2023 #augusta
Kikumoto immediately jumped on her newfound “golf girl” fame and amassed nearly 50 thousands followers on Instagram.
She told British tabloid The Daily Star that she’s adjusting to her newfound fame and has since had a number of marriage proposals.
“It has been an interesting ride and one that I wasn’t expecting to happen in this sort of fashion,” she told the site. “It’s something I wanted at some point to grow my brand and be a positive influence for good. While all this is unfolding I’m still trying to do homework, study for exams, Pom commitments and other things.
“My friends have embraced it, and when this happened it showed me that I have great friends, teammates, and coaches.”
But now it appears Kikumoto’s 15 minutes of fame aren’t quite over. She’s capitalizing on the moment at PGA Championship in hopes of becoming the next Paige Spiranac.
She was “swarmed” by fans on the course according to one site, and even exchanged fist bumps with stars such as Koepka and Cameron Smith.
It certainly appears that Kikumoto is onto something with this “golf girl” idea.