Edison Moya has never teed up his own ball on a golf course. But he’s helped hundreds of people enjoy their experience playing at Essex County Country Club just a little bit more.
Most probably don’t even know his name. Even fewer know his story.
But Moya is OK with that. A Butler High School senior, Moya works weekends and summers as a caddie.
That job will send Moya to college in an unexpected way. He is one of about 360 caddies from across the United States who earned full tuition and housing grants through the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation.
The association announced its annual recipients in late March, including eight with ties to the New Jersey Golf Caddie Scholarship Foundation. Each will receive a full ride for four years, valued at about $125,000, if they attend one of 24 partner universities around the country.
The Evans Foundation was launched in 1928 by Charles “Chick” Evans, who started caddying at Edgewater Golf Club in Chicago when he was 8. One of just two golfers to ever win the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in the same year, Evans had attended Northwestern University as a freshman but had to drop out. Devoted to amateurism, he donated all his earnings from a six-decade career in golf to enable other caddies to further their education.
Other Evans Scholarships went to Garden State students who live or work in Lincoln Park, River Vale, North Bergen, North Plainfield, Wall and Red Bank.
Most of the New Jersey winners are expected to attend Rutgers University. But that’s another way Moya is different.
The day he was accepted, he wrote a one-page letter explaining why he wanted to transfer his scholarship to Michigan State. He plans to major in political science, and hopes to become an attorney.
“I was born with this passion to explore, to see what life has to offer, not just in New Jersey,” said Moya, the youngest of four kids and the only boy. “When I visited Michigan State (three years ago), I fell in love with it. I’m walking through the dorms and the architecture, it felt like me and who I was and who I want to become. It felt like home.”
That’s how Luke Phillips feels on the golf course.
The Red Bank resident said he “always had a club in my hand,” whether he was putting in the basement or chipping in the backyard with his father. He works at Rumson Country Club as a caddie and in the bag room, caring for members’ clubs and equipment. He hasn’t logged as many hours this spring, because he’s also a goalie on Christian Brothers Academy’s lacrosse team.
“I’m so grateful, I can’t even put it into words,” said Phillips, who plans to attend Rutgers. “Rumson, they supported me and gave me such a great opportunity. It’s really a blessing.”
There are 1,190 caddies – including 21 from New Jersey – at the partner universities. More than 12,200 Evans Scholars have graduated since the program was founded in 1930.
Like Harry Diamond guiding Rory McIlroy to the Masters title last weekend, caddies do a lot more than carry bags. They track shots, measure yardage, read greens, and provide community, even if just for a four-hour round.
Brian Ramirez is another caddie who says actually playing golf “just never was my thing.”
A senior at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, Ramirez found out about the Evans Scholars Foundation before he even started as a freshman. He got an email about caddie jobs open to incoming students, which mentioned the scholarship in passing.
Two of about 20 student-caddies from St. Benedict’s, Ramirez and Pedro Chicas of North Bergen, who works at Crestmont Country Club in West Orange, are both Evans Scholars this year. Lindsay Gilbert, who plays golf for Wall High School and works at Spring Lake Golf Club, and Rockland County resident Molly Craffey, who works at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, are the only two girls recognized by New Jersey Golf this year.
The recipients, each of whom had at least a B average and two years of caddie experience, had to write an essay explaining how the scholarship would help in the future.
“It’s a competition. You have to rise above the rest,” said Ramirez, who lives in North Plainfield and works at Baltusrol, the Springfield club that has hosted 10 PGA majors. “The more you caddie, the more experience you get, and that’s how you usually grow. Sometimes I meet wonderful people. Other times, I meet people who are just mad at everything. I’ve seen somebody break their clubs, other people throwing things.”
Though Moya and his friends have spent plenty of time at Golf23 in Wayne, he hasn’t played a course yet. He’s still accumulating his desired golf bag. He has a complete set of irons and wedges but is still on the hunt for a driver, 3-wood and putter.
“When I first start playing at a course, I really want to make that one of the best rounds I can play,” Moya said. “I’ve really been preparing myself for my first actual tee shot. Instead of being the caddie, I’ll be the golfer.”
Peter Tadrick (Brick Memorial) Hollywood GC
Edison Moya (Butler) Essex County CC
Molly Craffey (Garnerville, N.Y./North Rockland) Edgewood CC
Giovanni Piro (Lincoln Park/Don Bosco) North Jersey CC
Pedro Chicas (North Bergen/St. Benedict’s) Crestmont CC
Brian Ramirez (North Plainfield/St. Benedict’s) Baltusrol GC
Luke Phillips (Red Bank/Christian Brothers) Rumson CC
Lindsay Gilbert (Wall/Communications) Spring Lake GC
