Langston Golf Course caddies will begin school as Evans Scholars this fall

GLENVIEW, Ill. – Two students from the Washington D.C. area have been awarded the Evans Scholarship — a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies — following a selection meeting interview held Feb. 5 at Baltimore Country Club in Baltimore, Md.

Adriathan Crockwell of Hyattsville, Md., and Faris Smith of Bethesda, Md., will begin college this fall as Evans Scholars at one of the program’s partner universities, which include the University of Delaware, the University of Maryland, the University of South Carolina and Rutgers University.  Final school placements will be determined 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, has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation (ESF) since 1930. Known as one of golf’s favorite charities, it is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

Crockwell is a senior at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Springdale, and Smith is a senior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda. Both students caddied at Langston Golf Course in Washington, D.C. as part of National Links Trust’s Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program, a caddie and internship program that is headquartered at the facility. They are the second and third caddies from the Vardaman program to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.

Five years ago, the WGA first launched the youth caddie program at Langston, in partnership with NLT’s Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program, a nonprofit that works to positively impact the Washington, D.C. community through affordable and accessible municipal golf. The program is funded by the WGA and covers the cost of caddies for players.

“We are all so excited to welcome Adriathan and Faris as new Jack Vardaman Workforce Development Program Evans Scholars,” said Damian Cosby, PGA, National Links Trust Executive Director, and a WGA Director. “This is a life-changing opportunity for them, and we are so proud to have watched them grow as students and leaders over the past several years. They both represent the very best of our program and show the impact golf can have on the lives of young people.”

“Caddying taught me how to listen, adapt and connect with people from all walks of life,” Smith said. “The Evans Scholarship gives me the freedom to pursue my education and work toward creating more equitable opportunities for students like me, and I’m grateful for the chance to turn what I’ve learned into meaningful change.”

Currently, a record 1,260 caddies are enrolled at 27 universities nationwide as Evans Scholars. More than 12,575 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the Program was founded in 1930 by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr.

Selection meeting interviews will continue nationwide through the spring. By the end of the 2025–26 selection process, an estimated 380 caddies from across the country are expected to receive 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 96 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 43,500 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 2026, the BMW Championship will be held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri, from Aug. 18–23.