Belleville resident Jhann Torres earned a scholarship worth $125,000 through his work caddying. He is the first person from Essex County to win the scholarship that is the result of a partnership between the New Jersey State Golf Association and the Western Golf Association.
When Belleville resident Jhann Torres’ parents immigrated from Ecuador, they hoped for a brighter future for their children despite the challenges of not speaking English.
Throughout his life, Torres’ parents instilled in him the values of hard work and education, even though they were unsure how they could afford college.
Jhann took on the responsibility of helping his family financially by finding a job as a golf caddie during high school and working toward earning the New Jersey State Golf Association Evans Scholarship for high-achieving caddies.
The scholarship is the result of a partnership between the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholars Foundation and the NJSGA’s Caddie Scholarship Foundation. Torres is the first Evans Scholar from Essex County Country Club.
Balancing his caddying job with his schoolwork, Torres excelled academically and contributed to his community. His determination paid off when he was awarded the scholarship, valued at an estimated $125,000 over four years. Now, Jhann is the first in his family to attend college, pursuing a degree in architecture at Rutgers University.
“Caddying allowed me to get out of my comfort zone to talk to people and learn different things inside and outside the game of golf,” he said. “I am very excited to attend Rutgers and have the chance to live in community at a new Evans Scholarship House in the next few years.”
Torres is one of two students from St. Benedict’s Prep recently awarded the Evans Scholarship, which selects recipients based on the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need, and outstanding character. This school year, Jhann and Mason Adao, a fellow caddie from St. Benedict’s, join a record 1,190 Evans Scholars are enrolled at 24 universities nationwide, and 12,285 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars.
The WGA, headquartered in Glenview, Illinois, has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930. Known as one of golf’s favorite charities, it is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.
Currently, a record 1,190 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities, including Rutgers, across the nation as Evans Scholars, and more than 12,040 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. There are an estimated 20 NJSGA Evans Scholars in school this year.
As the Evans Scholars Program continues to grow nationwide, more students from the East Coast, including in New Jersey, are being offered an opportunity to caddie and potentially earn a full college scholarship. Through the WGA’s Caddie Scholar Prep effort, Program leaders are intentionally recruiting and mentoring qualified students across the state and introducing them to a job caddying at local clubs.
Both recipients are among the first from this effort recruited into Caddie Scholar Prep – and have now earned the Evans Scholarship. Torres is the first Evans Scholar from Essex County Country Club. Adao caddied at Baltusrol, a more established supporter of the Evans Scholars Program.
“The early success of this effort has prompted the Western Golf Association to put more resources towards Caddie Scholar Prep as a national initiative from coast to coast,” said Brian Bianchi, Western Golf Association’s vice president of caddie development. “We have made strategic hires to support clubs with caddie programs, creating opportunities for more young men and women to work as golf caddies, exposing them to influential leaders from their communities, and putting them on a pathway to earn college scholarships.”
Funds for the Evans Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 38,500 supporters across the country, who belong to 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 program.
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