ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Oak Hill Country Club is renowned for its challenging golf course, and its caddies are no exception. Two Oak Hill caddies and high school classmates, Melachi Finley and Hunter Weigel, earned a prestigious scholarship last year.
Patrick Bailey, founder of the Oak Hill Caddie and Leadership Academy, emphasized the importance of caddies, joking, “There’s three rules and that’s show up, keep up, and shut up.”
Bailey, a director with the Western Golf Association, was once an Evans Scholarship Foundation recipient, which covers full tuition and housing for caddies. “Really changed my life. And, I wanted to pay it forward and started this program,” said Bailey.
Finley and Weigel, both recent graduates of McQuaid Jesuit, have been caddying since their early teens. Finley said, “I’ve been caddying since my freshman year of high school.” Weigel added, “Probably five years, I started when I was 13.”
The two friends applied for the Nationwide Scholarship last year. “I was sweating bullets. I probably had to wash the suit again just because it was drenched in sweat,” Weigel said.
Finley said, “I actually told Hunter like, even if only one of us gets as long as one of us gets it to represent Oak Hill and Rochester. I’ll be glad either way.”
In December, Weigel received a package, and Finley got a call from Bailey. “Mr. Bailey said, Santa has an early gift for you. I wanted to let you know that you received the scholarship, and that was the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten so far,” Finley said.
Both caddies qualified for the merit-based award, which considers academics, character, and financial need. Finley said, “Had it not been for the scholarship, I might not have been able to go to the schools that I got into.”
Bailey expressed his hopes for the scholarship recipients, saying, “The sky’s the limit for these guys. They study and learn everything they want to do. But most of all, I hope they give back. Like we have all done.”
Finley is committed to Howard University to study sports medicine, while Weigel will major in finance at the University of Maryland.
To learn more about applying for the upcoming academic year, go here.
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