March 5, 2022
Four students from the Kansas City area have been awarded the Evans Scholarship, a prestigious full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies, following an online selection interview held Feb. 3.
Those students are: Paige Bruce of Lee’s Summit attending Lee’s Summit North, Jaisen Guier of Grain Valley attending St. Michael the Archangel, Savannah Gentry of Kansas City attending St. Teresa’s Academy, and Cooper Goss of Kansas City attending Rockhurst. All four caddy at Indian Hills Country Club.
Each caddie has a unique story that reflects the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.
They will begin college in the fall of 2022 as Evans Scholars, all attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $120,000 over four years.
“These young men and women 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 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.
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.
“These young students have each shown excellence in the classroom, in their communities and on the golf course,” said WGA President and CEO John Kaczkowski. “We are proud to welcome them to the Evans Scholars family.”
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.
