The History Of the Evans Scholar Program

The founder of the Evans Scholars Program was Dr. Charles "Chick" Evans, Jr. (1890-1979.) Chick was a national golf champion who won all four major championships of his day. In order to retain his amateur status, he donated some of his income from golf to deserving caddies who could not afford to go to college, much like himself as a youngster.

The Western Golf Association (WGA) embraced the idea of administering the caddie scholarship program. WGA was founded in 1899 for the purpose of staging the Western Open and Western Amateur Championships.

Today, the Evans Scholars Foundation is golf's favorite charity and the Evans Scholarship is the largest privately-funded scholarship program in the nation. There are 810 Evans Scholars attending nineteen universities. Furthermore, there are fourteen chapter houses where Evans Scholars share a bond of fellowship, which makes the program unique.

The 6,678 alumni form the Evans Scholars Alumni Association, which raises over $1.5 million each year for the program. Proceeds from the WGA Bag Tag program, the Par Club, the Western Open, Alumni contributions, and special gifts continue to support the program and keep Chick's dream alive.