New Evans Scholar will begin school this fall

GLENVIEW, IL – A student caddie from Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland, has been awarded the Evans Scholarship – a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies – following a final selection meeting interview held at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, on Feb. 7.

Shawntae Wilson of Baltimore will begin college this fall as an Evans Scholar. She will attend one of the Program’s 24 partner universities nationwide, with a decision on her awarded school to be finalized by March 15. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.

The Western Golf Association (WGA), 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.

To qualify for the Evans Scholarship, each student must meet the Program’s four selection criteria and show a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.

Currently, a record 1,130 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities nationwide – including nine at the University of Maryland in College Park – as Evans Scholars. More than 12,040 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the Program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. in 1930.

Shawntae, a participant in the First Tee - Greater Baltimore, is the fourth awarded Evans Scholar caddie to come from Baltimore Country Club. A senior at Bard High School Early College, intends to study biology with plans to become a veterinarian. She will be the first in her family to attend college.

“When First Tee visited my school during my sophomore year to teach us about golf, it was the first time I learned about a summer job opportunity called caddying,” she says. “Caddying was a great opportunity to network and connect with people who could help me in the future. It was also a chance for me to step outside my comfort zone and earn money at the same time. Meeting and caddying for the Baltimore Country Club membership encouraged my perseverance.”

Selection meeting interviews for Evans Scholar finalists will continue nationwide through spring. When the 2023-24 selection meeting process is complete, an estimated 340 caddies from across the country are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.

“We are thrilled to welcome Shawntae to the Evans Scholars family,” said WGA Chairman and Baltimore Country Club member Steve Colnitis. “Her dedication in the classroom, on the golf course and in her community represents what our Program has been about since 1930.”

Funds for the Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 38,500 supporters across the country, who belong to the Evans Scholars Par Club program. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $15 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the penultimate PGA TOUR Playoff event in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup competition, benefit the Program. This year, the BMW Championship will be held from Aug. 20-25 at Castle Pines Golf Club in the Denver area.

In 2025, the BMW Championship will return to Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland – the second time in the last five years it will host a PGA TOUR event. Patrick Cantlay won the 2021 BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, prevailing in a thrilling six-hole playoff on his way to capturing the FedExCup.

The 2021 event yielded a record contribution to the championship’s sole beneficiary, the Evans Scholars Foundation, raising $5.6 million for caddie scholarships to help establish the Caves Valley Evans Scholars Scholarship House at the University of Maryland. Since 2007, the BMW Championship has raised more than $50 million for caddie scholarships.