April 13, 2025
Everett Schools
Scholarship winners Kevin Li and Esther Yapjoco of Everett.
Two students from Everett have been awarded an Evans Scholarship, which is provides full housing and tuition for four years of college to golf caddies.
Each caddie has a unique story that reflects the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.
They will begin college in the fall of 2025 as Evans Scholars, with awarded universities to be finalized this spring. Both are expected to attend the University of Washington in Seattle. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.
Kevin Li is a caddie of Seattle Golf Club and attends Henry M Jackson High School in Everett.
Esther Yapjoco is a caddie of Broadmoor Golf Club and is homeschooled in Everett.
Chick Evans in 1915.
The origin story of the Chick Evans scholarship has an interesting beginning:
After his winning the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in 1916, Evans was given several thousand dollars in royalties for recording golf instructions for the Brunswick Record Company. In 1921 he also received royalties from a golf book. If he had accepted this money Evans would have lost his amateur status. His mother suggested that he put the money to good use by sponsoring a scholarship fund for caddies.
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.
Currently, a record 1,190 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities across the country as Evans Scholars – including 36 at the University of Washington. 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.
“The academic, caddie and leadership efforts of this group are outstanding, and we look forward to seeing all that they will accomplish as Evans Scholars,” said WGA Director and Washington State Chair Linda Walker. “We hope their dedication will inspire more young people across Washington to pursue caddying as an avenue to this life-changing opportunity.”
The WGA Caddie Academy Seattle chapter runs a special summer program that provides caddie opportunities to promising high school students. Participants caddie at Broadmoor Golf Club, Overlake Golf & Country Club and Seattle Golf Club.
With seven branches nationwide, the Caddie Academy program offers students a chance to work each day, earn money, meet role models and learn valuable life lessons on the golf course. After three summers, participants become eligible to apply for the Evans Scholarship. Since 2012, more than 150 graduates of the WGA Caddie Academy have been awarded an Evans Scholarship.
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 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 this exceptional group 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.
To learn more about the WGA and ESF, visit wgaesf.org.
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