Nine Seattle-area student caddies awarded Evans Scholarships

New Scholars selected following interview at Seattle Golf Club

GLENVIEW, IL – Nine students from the Seattle area have been awarded the Evans Scholarship – a full housing and tuition college scholarship offered to golf caddies – following a selection meeting interview held at Seattle Golf Club in Seattle, Washington, on Feb. 14.

The recipients all caddied at Seattle Golf Club. The students will begin college this fall as Evans Scholars, attending one of the Program’s 24 partner universities nationwide. Decisions on awarded schools will be finalized by March 15, with most expected to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years. A full list of winners can be found below.

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.

Five of the newly awarded winners were participants of the WGA Caddie Academy-Seattle, a special summer program that provides work opportunities to promising high school students from across the country. The program offers students a chance to live together at the Evans Scholarship House in Seattle for seven weeks and caddie each day at Seattle Golf Club or Broadmoor Golf Club, while earning money, meeting role models and learning valuable life lessons on the golf course. After successfully completing three summers, participants are eligible to apply for the Evans Scholarship. The Caddie Academy chapter in Seattle first launched in 2021.

Tadelech Dollarhide of Port Townsend is among the first class of Evans Scholars to come from the WGA-run program. “Caddie Academy encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and take the initiative to talk to the adults around me,” she says. “I grew from a shy girl, who hardly spoke to adults, to initiating conversation with the golfers.”

Dollarhide, who was adopted from Ethiopia, moved to the Seattle area in 2010. She was introduced to the game of golf at a young age by her neighbors in Port Townsend, who she credits with helping raise her.

Since her adoption, Dollarhide has returned to Ethiopia twice – once with an organization that provides training on pediatric surgeries for children suffering from spina bifida and hydrocephalus, which inspired her intended college major. “The opportunity to observe the surgeries was an experience that led me to my future career goal of being an ultrasound technician,” she says.

Currently, a record 1,130 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities nationwide – including 31 at the University of Washington – 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.

“We are thrilled to welcome this new group of student caddies to the Evans Scholars family,” said WGA Chairman Steve Colnitis. “Their dedication in the classroom, on the golf course and in their communities represents what our Program has been about since 1930.”

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.

Funds for the Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 38,500 golfers 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. In 2024, the BMW Championship will be held from Aug. 20-25 at Castle Pines Golf Club in the Denver area.

A list of winners can be found below.

*WGA Caddie Academy-Seattle participant