Caddie from Quincy Country Club earns full college scholarship

New Evans Scholar will attend University of Missouri

GLENVIEW, IL – A student caddie from Quincy Country Club in Quincy, Illinois, has been awarded the Evans Scholarship – a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies – following a final selection meeting interview held on Feb. 22.

Owen Uppinghouse of Quincy will begin college this fall as an Evans Scholar at the University of Missouri in Columbia. 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 42 at the University of Missouri – 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.

Owen is the first student caddie in decades from Quincy Country Club to earn an Evans Scholarship, with the last having been awarded in the 1960s. In 2021, club leaders established a youth caddie program for local students, and Owen, who was recommended by his wrestling coach, was the first to join the program. He plans to study engineering in college.

“The willingness to improve and learn is something I bring to the golf course (as a caddie),” he says. “I have always believed people reflect their environment. By getting to meet successful, intelligent community leaders, it has reinforced my motivation. They exemplify what I want to do with my future.”

“I am very happy to welcome Owen into the Evans Scholar family,” says Jim Titus, WGA Director and Evans Scholar Alum, who oversees the caddie program at Quincy Country Club. “His hard work has resulted in a great opportunity to further his education.”

With the 2023-24 selection meeting process complete, a record 340 caddies from across the country have been awarded the Evans Scholarship.

“Owen’s dedication in the classroom, on the golf course and in his community represents what our Program has been about since 1930,” said WGA Chairman Steve Colnitis.

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.