Local Teen Caddy Awarded Scholarship

Several students have been awarded the Westchester Evans Scholarship, a prestigious full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies, following a final selection interview held February 8.

The result of a partnership between the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation and the Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund, Westchester Evans Scholars are chosen based on a strong caddie record, excellent academics, financial need and outstanding character. Candidates must meet the qualifications of both organizations in order to earn the scholarship. The Evans Scholarship is valued at an estimated $120,000 over four years.

Christina Hughes of New Rochelle caddied at Quaker Ridge Golf Club. She plans to study criminal justice and forensic science in college, and she is currently a senior at New Rochelle High School.

“I learn something new every loop,” says Christina. “Because of caddying, I have become a strong, independent, self-motivated person who owns up to mistakes and continues to grow. Not just in caddying, but in everything I do in life.”

The Evans Scholars selection interviews are being held with applicants nationwide through the spring. When the 2021-22 selection meeting process is complete, an estimated 315 caddies from across the country are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.

The Western Golf Association, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930. Known as one of golf’s favorite charities, it is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

“Our Westchester Evans Scholars are part of an exceptional incoming class of New Scholars from around the nation,” said WGA Chairman Joe Desch. “They represent what the Evans Scholars Program has been about since 1930.”

“The local Westchester/Long Island Caddie Scholarship Fund Evans Scholars have been awarded a life-changing opportunity,” said Johanna Gavin, director of the Metropolitan Golf Association Foundation. “We are proud of their commitment to the hard work of caddying, the lessons learned through the game and their dedication to academic achievement.”

Currently, a record 1,070 caddies are enrolled at 21 universities across the nation as Evans Scholars, and more than 11,500 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr.

Scholarship funds come mostly from contributions by nearly 35,000 supporters across the country, who are members of the Evans Scholars Par Club program. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $17 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the penultimate PGA TOUR Playoff event in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup competition, are donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation. In 2022, the BMW Championship will be held at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, from Aug. 16-21.

To learn more about the WGA and ESF, visit www.wgaesf.org. 

To learn more about the Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund, visit www.caddiescholarship.org.