15 Colorado caddies, matching the highest single-year total in the 21st century, awarded full-tuition and housing Evans Scholarships to CU-Boulder; 8 from Solich/Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academies among them
By Gary Baines – 1/26/2026
DENVER — In Colorado, the selection process for the Evans Scholarship for caddies dates back to the 1960s, when the scholarship was established in the Centennial State and a chapter house was acquired at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
That process has certainly grown and evolved over the decades, to the point that nowadays well over 100 people set aside a half a day or more during a winter weekday for selection committee meetings, where people from the golf community interview the scholarship finalists and often learn heartwarming stories about the candidates and adversity they and their families have dealt with.
There’s plenty at stake — full tuition and housing E.S. scholarships at CU estimated to be worth $125,000 if renewed for four years.
The 2026 installment of the selection process in Colorado took place on Jan. 15 at Denver Country Club. This time around, there were records and near-records established, along with some oddities:
— Fifteen caddies from Colorado were awarded Evans Scholarships, the Western Golf Association announced on Monday. The 15 from Colorado matches the highest single-year number of Evans Scholarships awarded to in-state caddies in the 21st century. All will begin their E.S. runs in the fall semester of 2026.
Brandon Bustillos Diaz of Holyoke racked up 430 caddie loops at Ballyneal. (Photo: WGA)
— Eight of the recipients are products of one of the caddie and leadership academies established and supported in large part by the CGA and the Colorado Golf Foundation — the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy (five) and The Broadmoor CLA (three). In a single year, that’s been surpassed just twice (10 in 2021 and 9 in 2023) in the history of those programs. With an increasing number of caddies from the Solich and Broadmoor CLAs earning Evans Scholarships, 31 of those Colorado kids have landed the scholarship in the last four years.
In all, 70 caddies from those academies have now earned Evans Scholarships — 55 from the Solich ranks and 15 from The Broadmoor. The Solich Academy debuted in 2012, and The Broadmoor Academy in 2020. (Note: Another Solich caddie is a finalist who could add to the totals.)
The Solich and Broadmoor Academies promote the use of caddies by paying their base fees through an educational grant, with participating golfers having the option of adding a tip. The Academies also feature a robust leadership element, with each participating youngster not only caddying but required to attend leadership classes and do community-service work each summer. The “Code of the West” principles and financial literacy classes are both part of the program.
Vanessa Olivar Solares of Aurora, a Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at CommonGround and Denver Country Club. (Photo: WGA)
The SCLA caddies in many cases start their careers at the CGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course before moving on to prominent caddie clubs in the Denver metro area. Meridian Golf Club also is a prominent part of the SCLA in the Denver metro area.
The CGA considers the Evans Scholarship one of its flagship program as it partners with the WGA regarding the scholarship in the Centennial State. Through Par Club contributions and CGA membership support, Colorado donors fully fund the year-to-year scholarship costs at the CU Evans Scholars house.
— In what likely is another record, caddie recipient Brandon Bustillos Diaz of Holyoke accumulated a whopping 430 caddie loops over four years at Ballyneal. And that total doesn’t include times he’s carried doubles, he noted. To put that into perspective, the other caddies announced Monday as Evans Scholar recipients averaged 125 loops.
“I’m constantly out at Ballyneal,” Bustillos Diaz noted at the selection meeting.
Tristan King of Colorado Springs (pictured) will be joined as an Evans Scholar by twin sister Aria. (Photo: WGA)
— While it wasn’t quite a record, the roughly 130 people who attended the selection committee meeting was among the most for such a Colorado event. The high in recent years was 150 for the meeting at Cherry Hills Country Club in late January 2020, just before Covid-19 took hold in the U.S.
Among those in attendance on Jan. 15 were CGA leadership and staff, PGA professionals, WGA directors and staff, numerous Denver CC members and other folks from the Colorado golf community. WGA president and CEO John Kaczkowski traveled to Denver for the event.
— And in a more personal oddity, twin siblings Aria and Tristan King of Colorado Springs, who caddied at The Broadmoor, earned the Evans Scholarship on the same day.
Some playful ribbing aside, Tristan called Aria his “built-in best friend. … My sister being there (as an Evans Scholar with me) would mean so much.”
About 130 people at Denver Country Club interviewed the Evans Scholar finalists on Jan. 15.
Two ES recipients have older siblings who have previously earned Evans Scholarships — Vivian Garcia of Denver and Dylan Johnston of Basalt.
Most finalists made note of how they’ve grown as a person since becoming a caddie. Others have had to overcome trying family situations, ranging from financial issues to the death of parents.
Five Colorado courses/clubs produced multiple Evans Scholars in this year’s class: CommonGround Golf Course (5), The Broadmoor Golf Club (3), Roaring Fork Club (3), Denver Country Club (2) and Colorado Golf Club (2) . Single recipients this year came from Cherry Hills Country Club, Castle Pines Golf Club, Ballyneal and Meridian Golf Club. (Note: Some of the above caddied at more than one club over the years.)
Vivian Garcia of Denver, who caddied at CommonGround and Denver CC.
As for individual high schools, two caddies each from Cheyenne Mountain, Lutheran and Basalt were awarded scholarships.
All told, there’s a good amount of geographic diversity in this year’s class with one caddie from far northeast Colorado (Ballyneal), three from the western part of the state (Roaring Fork Club northwest of Aspen) and three from south-central Colorado (The Broadmoor in southern Colorado Springs). One Aurora resident, Shalom Mathewos, accumulated most of his caddie loops at Sanity Head Golf Club in Nantucket, Mass., where caddies live on site during the summer.
To qualify for an Evans Scholarship — one of the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship programs — applicants must have excellent caddie records and academic results, show strong character and leadership, and demonstrate significant financial need. It isn’t unusual for some to overcome significant family-related challenges.
“In no other job in high school are you going to meet so many amazing people,” Tristan King said of caddying.
Wrapping up the day, Todd Gervasini, the WGA state chairman for Colorado, noted after hearing the stories of all the candidates, “I’m filled with so much hope.
“These students exemplify the dedication, perseverance and character that define an Evans Scholar,” Gervasini said in Monday’s release. “Colorado’s caddie programs continue to create remarkable opportunities for young people, and we’re proud to support these students as they take this next step toward a college education.”
Jeffery Armstrong of Parker, a caddie at Meridian Golf Club. (Photo: WGA)
Here are the Evans Scholar recipients from Colorado courses that were announced on Monday:
— Jeffery Armstrong of Parker and Chaparral High School. A Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at Meridian Golf Club.
— Krew Averett of Parker and Lutheran High School. Caddied at Colorado Golf Club.
— Brandon Bustillos Diaz of Holyoke and Holyoke High School. Caddied at Ballyneal.
— Brooke (Liz) Fullerton of Carbondale and Roaring Fork High School. Caddied at Roaring Fork Club.
— Vivian Garcia of Denver and Forge Christian High School. A Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
— Matthew Harfert of Colorado Springs and Coronado High School. A Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at The Broadmoor Golf Club.
— Javier Hernandez of Carbondale and Basalt High School. Caddied at Roaring Fork Club.
— Dylan Johnston of Basalt and Basalt High School. Caddied at Roaring Fork Club.
— Aria King of Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain High School. A Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at The Broadmoor Golf Club.
— Tristan King of Colorado Springs and Cheyenne Mountain High School. A Broadmoor Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at The Broadmoor Golf Club.
— Mindzie Madsen of Parker and Lutheran High School. Caddied at Colorado Golf Club.
— Shalom Mathewos of Aurora and Grandview High School. A Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora and Sankaty Head Golf Club in Massachusetts.
— Lucia McCracken of Denver and Regis Jesuit High School. Caddied at Cherry Hills Country Club.
— Vanessa Olivar Solares of Aurora and William Smith High School. A Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at CommonGround Golf Course and Denver Country Club.
— Levi Wooldridge of Denver and Mullen High School. A Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy caddie at CommonGround Golf Course and Castle Pines Golf Club.
Shalom Mathewos of Aurora, who spent much of his time as a caddie at Sankaty Head Golf Club in Massachusetts after starting at CommonGround. (Photo: WGA)
This group of incoming CU Evans Scholars averages a 3.69 high school GPA and 147 caddie loops, with two recipients owning 4.0 GPAs.
The WGA plans to hold 21 selection committee meetings from Nov. 20-Feb. 26, with five of them being virtual. The one at Denver CC is early in the second half of the schedule. The WGA received more than 1,000 applications for the Evans Scholarship this time around.
A record 1,260 Evans Scholars are currently in school nationwide, enrolled at 27 universities. Forty-five of those Scholars are at CU, including 37 who caddied in Colorado. The WGA is hoping to have 1,500 Evans Scholars in school nationwide by 2030, the 100th anniversary of the scholarship. About 380 scholarships will be awarded during the current cycle.
Evans Scholars typically excel academically, with a cumulative college GPA of 3.3, and a 98 percent graduation rate. Forty percent of current recipients are first-generation college students in their families.
The annual costs for the E.S. program run about $41 million. The BMW Championship, which was held in 2024 at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, is a huge help in the fundraising effort. With the Evans Scholars Foundation being its lone beneficiary, the BMW raised $10.2 million for the cause in 2024, nearly doubling the previous record for the event. Brothers George and Duffy Solich, both CU Evans Scholar alums, played pivotal roles in the event. Since 2007, well over $60 million in proceeds from the BMW Championship have helped fund the Evans Scholars program.
That was a “new standard for the event set at Castle Pines,” said Mike Maher, the WGA’s senior vice president of scholarships.
The scholarship has produced 12,575 alums since being founded in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans, an amateur who won a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs. (He also captured the 1912 Western Amateur title at Denver Country Club.) Since the 1960s, a total of more than 560 Evans Scholars have graduated from CU.
For those interested in donating to the Evans Scholars Foundation, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com