Two Super Loopers Palm Beach County Caddies Land College Scholarships

Harrison Hutchings laughs when his classmates ask if he is really getting a full ride to college for caddying.

“When you get a sports scholarship you have to play to keep the scholarship,” Hutchings said. “If you have a taxed schedule, you don’t have to caddy in college, but a lot of people do because it is so much fun.

“It is probably one of the best jobs you can have as a high school or college student.”

Hutchings and Caleb Cleveland were among 300 caddies across the country who recently earned a Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship, the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship program.

The full tuition and housing college scholarship is valued at an estimated $120,000 over four years.
Overall, a record 1,045 caddies are enrolled at 19 universities across the nation as Evans Scholars, and more than 11,320 caddies have graduated since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur Charles “Chick” Evans Jr.

Hutchings, an 18-year-old from Riviera Beach, was the first caddy from Seminole Golf Club to be awarded the prestigious Chick Evans Scholarship. Hutchings, who played on the Palm Beach Gardens High School golf team and carries a handicap of .1, is headed to the University of Michigan this fall and will live in the Evans Scholar house on campus. Through dual enrollment, Hutchings has already earned his AA degree and is on a pre-med track.

“This helps a lot,” said Hutchings, who grew up playing at North Palm Beach Municipal. “You don’t have to go out of school for any loans. You don’t have to work while you are in school.”

Hutchings said one of the fundamental traits needed to be a good caddy is being able to read greens quickly and give good tips on speed and line. This season he’ll have 63 loops (rounds).

“You don’t really think of it as a job because you meet some really terrific people and you are just out there walking the course with them and you happen to get paid after,” said Hutchings, who has met Michael Bloomberg and Tom Brady, who are both members.

After working through several winters at The Bear’s Club, Cleveland, a Jupiter Christian High School senior, is headed to Indiana University where he wants to become a financial analyst.

Cleveland, 18, learned caddying from watching others, including his father, Andrew, who also caddies at The Bear’s Club.

“I shoot in the 90s,” Cleveland said. “I know that it is a left-to-right putt because I have seen it a thousand times. I tell them to go with what they want and I am there as the second set of eyes.

“It is not as recognizable as a football scholarship, everybody knows what that is all about if you are going to be a running back at Ole Miss … they obviously have a lot of questions. There is a lot more to caddying than carrying bags.”

“(Getting the scholarship) is absolutely insane,” said Cleveland, who has caddied for Jacksonville Jaguars Coach Urban Meyer and been in a group with 2011 Master’s winner Charl Schwartzel, among others. Like Hutchings, he was dual enrolled and has about 15 credits toward his degree.

Cleveland’s positive attitude and dedication made him a strong candidate for the scholarship and he believes it will help as he pursues a career as a financial advisor.

“When I make some money from that, I want to start buying properties,” he said. “I am a big math guy and enjoy analyzing numbers. Caddying has contributed to me pursuing my dream.”

“When I started as a sophomore, I would say the hardest part was keeping a conversation with the golfers,” Cleveland said. “You learn how to make conversation and keep people happy. So that is now one of my strengths.”

Cleveland is ecstatic to attend one of the top-ranked schools in the country.

“Without the scholarship, there is no way I would have been able to go out of state for school,” he said, “that’s why the scholarship was so huge for me.”