Poplar Bluff's Bader, Thetford receive golf scholarships – seMissourian
POPLAR BLUFF — Poplar Bluff High School students Kole Bader and Olivia Thetford have each received $4,500 golf scholarships from the Chad McCoy Foundation.
“It means a lot to me,” Thetford said. “When I chose to go to Central Missouri, I had other offers that I could have taken with more money, but I chose Central Missouri because I wanted to better my golf game, and I know that was the best place for me to do that.”
Bader will be attending Mineral Area College in Park Hills.
“I’m going to this school to mostly improve my game, and get my name out there and compete at the collegiate level,” he said. “Go out there and play as good as I can and try as hard as I can.”
Bader and Thetford’s parents were in attendance at Ozark Ridge Golf Course when they received their scholarship money.
“They’ve done everything for me,” Bader said. “Getting this scholarship helps a lot, and I just hope to honor them in every way that I can and grind out. Make sure I make them proud, and they mean a lot to me.”
Bader did not start golfing until he was a teenager, but fell in love with the sport immediately.
“I started when I was 14,” Bader added. “I kind of started late, but my dad always played. Every time I came out here, it felt like I was welcomed. I loved it. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort to get better.”
Thetford started golfing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was really the only sport you could play,” she said. “I just really liked it, and I decided to start working at it for the past five years, and here I am now.”
Bader tries to emulate one of his favorite professional golfers, who has won four major championship titles.
“Scottie Scheffler is a big inspiration to me,” Bader said. “He’s so mentally focused and I appreciate the way he approaches the game.”
Like Bader, Thetford admires a current professional golfer: a three-time Best Male Golfer Espy Award winner in 2015, 2016, and 2018.
“Jordan Spieth is my favorite golfer,” she said. “He’s hit some of the worst shots, but the way he recovers is awesome.”
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