Caddying carries Faith Lutheran grad to full scholarship

Reality Welch began her freshman year in high school knowing absolutely nothing about golf. But this fall, the Faith Lutheran graduate is heading to college on a full-ride scholarship thanks to the sport.

Caddying, to be more precise.

Reality is one of a handful of students across the country awarded a scholarship through the Evans Scholars Foundation, a program established in 1930 by the Western Golf Association. Students join the Caddie Academy as high school freshmen, then spend the next three summers caddying at courses in the Chicago area while learning about teamwork, gaining life skills and making a little tip money.

Students who successfully complete three years are then eligible to apply for the Chick Evans Scholarship, which has paved the way for more than 11,000 students to attend college over the past 90 years.

Reality learned about the program when two Evans Scholar alums, Jack Todd and Tom Fitzgerald, pitched it to leaders at Faith Lutheran. Reality jumped at the chance.

“I had zero knowledge about golf and had never even been on a course,” she recalled. But she wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to succeed. “There’s no possible way to win without trying,” she said.

And win she did.

Reality flourished in the program, according to Kara Stack, a senior manager at the Caddie Academy who worked with her every year. She called Reality a perfectionist who tried to soak everything in and digest every lesson learned.

“Her confidence level just blossomed,” Stack said of Reality, who became a strong leader among her peers. “The growth and transformation was something.”

She went from knowing nothing about golf in year one to reading greens and recommending clubs for her players at Exmoor Country Club by her third year.

This fall will find Reality at the University of Oregon, where she’ll major in exploratory science with a focus on pre-med. She chose the school for several reasons, but said the comfortable environment was the main selling point.

“The academics are great, and the student life is off the charts,” she said of the school.

Reality still isn’t a golfer, although she won two putting contests while in Chicago, but she imagines golf could have a role in her life.

“Whenever I hear somebody mention golf now it piques my interest,” she said. “It’s really a cool thing.”

And just because she’s graduated from the caddie program, she hasn’t stopped promoting it. Reality was the first student from Las Vegas to go through the Caddie Academy, but she won’t be the last. She has helped recruit others in town, met with plenty of parents and students, and now 11 students from Las Vegas schools are in the program.

“I try to stress that what you put in is what you get out of it,” she said.

In her case, it’s a four-year scholarship to a prestigious university and a ton of life lessons and friendships.

Students and parents interested in finding out more about the program or to apply can find details at wgacaddieacademy.org. The application process opens in January for current high school freshmen.

Chip shots

■ Registration closes Wednesday for the 2020 Nevada State Amateur Championship to be held July 10 to July 12 at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson. The tournament is open to male members of the Southern Nevada Golf Association and Northern Nevada Golf Association who have been invited to compete by their association or by the State Championship Committee. J.J. Gresco, a senior at UNLV from Scottsdale, Arizona, is the defending champion.

■ Las Vegas resident Collin Morikawa’s impressive streak to start his PGA Tour career came to an end Friday when he missed the cut at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Morikawa had made 22 consecutive cuts to begin his career, the second-longest run in PGA Tour history. He fell three cuts shy of matching Tiger Woods, who began his career with 25 consecutive cuts made in 1996 and 1997.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.