Student caddie from Oklahoma City awarded Evans Scholarship

New Scholar will be seventh from Oklahoma

GLENVIEW, Ill. – A student caddie from Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, has been awarded the Evans Scholarship — a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies — following a selection meeting interview on Dec. 13.

Tate Coy of Oklahoma City will begin college this fall as an Evans Scholar. He’ll attend one of the Program’s 24 partner universities nationwide, with his awarded university to be finalized this spring. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.

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

The Western Golf Association (WGA), headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, oversees the Evans Scholars Program, one of golf’s favorite charities and the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

“Since our founding, our Program has changed the lives of caddies who have proven their dedication in the classroom, on the golf course and in their communities,” said WGA Chairman Steve Colnitis. “We are proud to welcome Tate to the Evans Scholars family.”

Currently, a record 1,190 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities across the country as Evans Scholars. More than 12,285 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the Program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. in 1930.

Coy, who is one of six children, is the first youth caddie in recent history from Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club to earn an Evans Scholarship – and the seventh overall from the state of Oklahoma.

In 2021, the club re-established its youth caddie program, thanks to the efforts of WGA Directors Richard Clements, Ben Klaus and Ran Oliver. Prior to that, three caddies from Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club had been awarded the Evans Scholarship in the 1950s and 1960s.

“Tate entered his first year with an incredible work ethic and an eagerness to learn, quickly establishing himself as a staple caddie at our club,” Oliver says. “His professionalism, punctuality and openness to feedback earned him the privilege of caddying in multiple championships, including for an eventual winner. My fellow WGA Directors, along with our entire membership, couldn’t be happier for Tate.”

The WGA’s Caddie Scholar Prep initiative – a youth development program that provides employment and mentoring opportunities for students nationwide – helps young men and women in newer areas, including Oklahoma, gain valuable summer employment, develop leadership and life skills, and learn about the Evans Scholarship. Coy has served as a mentor to other caddies within the Program.

Coy, who plans to study finance, was one of the first caddies of the club’s new program. “Caddying has been a splendid opportunity to advance in many areas of life – all of which will benefit me as an Evans Scholar, and throughout the rest of my life,” he says. “I am thankful for this opportunity and the plethora of benefits, growth, enjoyment and perseverance it has offered me.”

Evans Scholar selection meeting interviews will continue nationwide through spring. When the 2024-25 selection meeting process is complete, an estimated 360 caddies from across the country are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.

Evans Scholars have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a 98 percent graduation rate. An estimated 40 percent are first-generation college students, and 95 percent are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduating.

Funds for the Evans Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 36,000 supporters across the country, who are members of 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 Evans Scholars Foundation. In 2025, the BMW Championship will be held at Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore, Maryland, from Aug. 12-17.