Holly “Sonders” Niederkohr is an American golfer, model, businesswoman, and a former host on the Golf Channel. After a successful junior golf career, she attended Michigan State, where she played for The Spartans.
Her dreams of being a Professional golfer were shattered when she was 20 years old after a major knee surgery forced her to call time on her competitive career before it had begun.
Away from the golf course, Sonders worked for The Golf Channel and hosted shows such as The Morning Drive with School of Golf’s Martin Hall. She also worked for Fox Sports until 2019.
Statistics
- Age: 34 years
- DOB: 3 March 1987
- Professions: Model and Television Presenter
- Parents: Sandy Niederkohr, Dan Niederkohr
- Birthplace: Marysville, Ohio, United States
- Nationality: American
- Relationship Status: Single
- Net Worth: There are no confirmed reports regarding Sonders’ net worth.
Biography
Personal Life
Holly Niederkohr or Sonders as she is more commonly known was born on March 3, 1987, in Marysville, Ohio, only 27 miles northwest of the state Capital, Columbus.
Holly, the daughter of Sandy and Dan Niederkohr, attended high school in Marysville, where she excelled at a variety of sports, including basketball, track and field, and golf.
In the classroom she was no slouch either, achieving a 4.216-grade point average while overseeing her duties as class president. After finishing high school Holly made the journey north to Michigan State University. She would graduate from MSU with a degree in Journalism, paving the way for a career in broadcasting.
Her father Dan is an optometrist, while her mother Sandy holds the honor of winning the Club Championship at the family’s local course for twenty-two consecutive years. There is a limited amount of information in the public domain regarding Holly’s relatives. Her uncle reportedly played football for Notre Dame.
Holly was married to radio and television broadcaster Erik Kuselias until 2016 and was engaged to professional gambler Dave Oancea. She also dated former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Golf Stuff
Holly was introduced to the game of golf at the age of six by her mother Sandy; who was club champion for twenty-two years at their local course. She enjoyed significant success as a junior golfer as she worked towards her dream of turning Pro.
In 2001, at the age of fourteen, Sonders won the UCT National at Disney World. Along with the AJGA in Kingswood, Texas.
At the age of fifteen, Holly notched up medalist honors at an AJGA event in Jacksonville, North Carolina. And, finished runner-up in The Ohio Junior Girls Championship. The following year, in 2003, she returned to The Ohio Junior Girls Championship to claim victory and followed it up with a second-place in The Pepsi Little Peoples.
In 2004, as a seventeen-year-old, Sonders claimed the runner-up at The Pepsi Little Peoples and The AJGA tournament in Columbus, Ohio. She added to her strong performances by finishing third in the 2004 Ohio Junior Girls Championship.
In her freshman year, Sonders managed to bag a top 20 finish at The Northwestern Invitational. Her second-best finish of the 2005-06 season was a tie for 30th at The Big Ten Championship. In the summer break of that same year, Niederkohr progressed to the third round of the North and South Women’s Amateur.
Holly enjoyed a more successful sophomore year as she earned three top twenty finishes. She ended tied for 19th at The Lady Gator, followed by a tie for 13th at The Indiana Invitational. Furthermore, she recorded her best finish ever at a college event when she bagged a top ten at The Lady Buckeye Invitational.
During her summer vacation, she made it into the round of sixteen at The Women’s Western Amateur. In 2007-08 Sonders was unable to return any top twenty finishes to add to her excellent 2006-07 season. In the summer of 2008, she qualified for the quarter-finals at The Western Women’s Golf Association National Amateur Championship.
In 2008 Holly was forced to undergo surgery on her knee, which would have devastating consequences for her professional golf ambitions. Post-surgery she was forced to call time on her competitive golf endeavors, leading to a career in broadcasting.
Broadcasting and Television
After Sonders ceased her competitive golf activities, she turned her focus to broadcasting, putting her degree in journalism into action. As a 22-year-old, Holly got the contact details of Joe Riley, senior director of news and talk at Golf Channel. She emailed and called him until he finally responded.
Riley suggested that Sonders gain more experience in the industry, causing Sonders to move from her internship at Ohio’s, WBNS-10 TV down to KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. While at WBNS-10 TV, she appeared on The Average Joe’s Sports Show, a weekly live show covering athletics across Ohio.
Holly explained that she covered “hard news” in Little Rock, ranging from tornadoes to homicides. After a year of exposure to the business, Joe interviewed Sonders, and she landed a job with The Golf Channel.
During her time with The Golf Channel, she hosted The Morning Drive and School of Golf. She moved over to Fox Sports and broadcast The 2015 US Open. She received criticism for what she said was a joke when she asked winner Jordan Spieth if he had packed an additional set of clothes for a Monday playoff.
Outside of golf television, Sonders appeared on the sitcom New Girl in April 2015.
Modeling
In 2020, Holly decided to leverage her Instagram following and start Hollysonders.com. An online business where she posts sexy photos and enables paying fans to chat in private with her. During an interview in April 2021, she explained that she was earning $200,000 a month.
While many have criticized her for the path she has chosen. She said that the decision was spurred on by her desire to become her own boss and take control of her financial future. Holly also shares similar pictures on Instagram with her 579,000 followers.
Business
Sonders launched her app, TeamUp Fitness, in 2019, which enables fitness trainers and sports coaches to monetize their content and offer experiences and services.
Relationship (Husband/Boyfriend)
Sonders married Emmy Award-winning sports broadcaster Erik Kuselias in 2012. However, their marriage lasted four years before they divorced in 2016. Kuselias is a popular figure in sports circles and has broadcast for The Golf Channel, ESPN, and most recently CBS.
After her divorce from Kuselias, Sonders dated The Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, before getting engaged to professional sports gambler Dave “Vegas” Oancea in December 2019. A few months after their engagement, Oancea moved back in with his parents, and according to Holly, the couple had broken up.
Social Links
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/holly.sonders/
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/holly_sonders
- Web Page – https://www.hollysonders.com/
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Nick Lomas is the founder of GolfSpan, an avid golfer, not quite a pro but has over 15-years of experience playing and coaching golfers from all over the world. His mission is to bring the golfing community a better experience then it comes to choosing the right golf gear, and finding the right set up for your game.
