First student caddies from Los Angeles Country Club earn full scholarships to college

New Evans Scholars will begin school this fall

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Two student caddies from Los Angeles Country Club have been awarded the Evans Scholarship — a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies — following a selection meeting interview held Feb. 13 at Los Angeles Country Club.

Johnnie Garcia and Nicolas Vallejo, both of Los Angeles, will begin college this fall as Evans Scholars. They’ll attend one of the Program’s 24 partner universities nationwide, with their awarded schools to be announced this spring. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.

To qualify, 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, Ill., oversees the Evans Scholars Program. Recently recognized as the Scholarship Provider of the Year by the National Scholarship Providers Association, the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) is one of golf’s favorite charities and the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

“We are grateful to the Los Angeles Country Club membership for welcoming youth caddies and providing them a pathway to this life-changing opportunity,” said Neal Flesner, a WGA Director, Evans Scholar Alum and club member. “We look forward to seeing Johnnie and Nicolas accomplish great things as Evans Scholars. We also hope they will inspire more young people to seek out the best summer job opportunity there is – caddying.”

Garcia and Vallejo – both students at Saint Monica Preparatory in Santa Monica – are the first caddies from Los Angeles Country Club, which hosted the 2023 U.S. Open, to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.

As the Evans Scholars Program continues to grow nationwide, more students from newer areas on the West Coast, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Palm Springs, are being introduced to the opportunity to caddie and earn a full college scholarship. In 2022, Los Angeles Country Club established its first youth caddie program, thanks to the efforts of local Evans Scholars Alumni and WGA Directors, including Flesner.

Garcia plans to study business and will be the first in his family to attend college. “One of my proudest accomplishments has been working as a caddie at the Los Angeles Country Club,” he said. “As part of the inaugural youth caddie cohort, I had the unique opportunity to carve out a place for myself in a professional environment. The role was more than just carrying bags – I learned how, as a young individual, to excel in a professional setting.”

Vallejo also intends to study business. “As the first-ever youth caddie at Los Angeles Country Club, my experience has afforded me the opportunity to learn to love golf and network with many successful men and women,” he said. “The relationships I have built with members and my peers have been very important – they have been rooting for me every step of the way.”

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.

Evans Scholar selection meeting interviews will continue nationwide through the winter. 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.

“Since our founding, our Program has changed the lives of young 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 Johnnie and Nicolas to the Evans Scholars family.”

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, Md., from Aug. 12-17.