Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational Wins Inaugural PGA TOUR Charity Challenge
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida & GLENVIEW, Illinois – The PGA TOUR announced that the
Western Golf Association (WGA) Caddie Academy is the recipient of a $125,000 award. The
nonprofit organization, headquartered in Chicago, was selected by the NV5 Invitational
presented by Old National Bank – a Korn Ferry Tour event contested at The Glen Club in
Glenview, Illinois – as the charitable beneficiary of the inaugural PGA TOUR Charity Challenge.
Founded in 2012, the WGA Caddie Academy is a unique summer work program that provides
caddie opportunities to promising high school students from around the country who show
academic excellence and leadership potential. This past summer, more than 140 participants
attended one of five Caddie Academy chapters nationwide to caddie daily for seven weeks
while living together. After successfully completing three summers, these students become
eligible to apply for the Evans Scholarship – a full tuition and housing scholarship to college.
“For young people who don’t have access to caddie programs where they live, the WGA Caddie
Academy offers a supportive community and an opportunity to experience the benefits that
caddying provides,” said John Kaczkowski, President and CEO of the WGA and Evans Scholars
Foundation. “As we expand this life-changing initiative, these funds will help us reach more
students nationwide and instill in them the core values that will guide them on the golf course
and throughout their lives.”
The Caddie Academy began in the Chicago area with an initial group of 12 participants. Today,
it has grown to five chapters nationwide, with a sixth location to open in Ohio next summer.
Current chapters include:
Caddie Academy for Young Women (Lake Forest, Illinois)
Caddie Academy for Young Men (Evanston, Illinois)
Eastern Caddie Academy (State College, Pennsylvania)
Minnesota Caddie Academy (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Seattle Caddie Academy (Seattle, Washington)
Participants are chosen during their freshman year of high school based on showing
outstanding academics, leadership and character. The average household income of
participants in the Caddie Academy is $30,000, and more than 90% of the program’s
participants are students of color.
The Caddie Academy’s structured summer program is centered on four major components:
caddying, academic development, community involvement and personal growth. Students get
the opportunity to earn money, meet role models, learn invaluable life lessons and eventually
earn a college scholarship. To date, 118 Caddie Academy graduates have been awarded the
Evans Scholarship.
During the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season, as part of the PGA TOUR Charity Challenge, host
organizations across the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions had the
opportunity to select a local charitable beneficiary with specific programs and services that
address diversity, equity and inclusion in underserved or underrepresented communities.
Every week, the amount of FedExCup points each tournament’s eight-player fantasy-style roster
earned was totaled, and the team with the highest total each week won a $5,000 contribution to
its charitable beneficiary. Each team’s FedExCup points were counted throughout the 2021-22
PGA TOUR season, and the team with the highest accumulation after the BMW Championship
was crowned the season-long winner, earning the top prize of $100,000 for its charitable
partner.
The NV5 Invitational earned $25,000 throughout the season and the Charity Challenge grand
prize of $100,000.
Get to know two of this year’s participants in the WGA Caddie Academy:
Melanie Tapia was born and raised in Chicago – and always knew the expectations that came
with being a first-generation child. Her parents came from Ecuador, seeking more opportunity
while continuously emphasizing education and hard work. Melanie received a high school
scholarship to attend a boarding school, “leaving behind home, family and friends, just like my
parents had, to receive the education they dreamed of for me,” she said. Through school,
Melanie was connected to the Caddie Academy, where she spent her next few summers
learning the game of golf. By excelling in school and on the course as a caddie, Melanie earned
a full tuition and housing Evans Scholarship to Northwestern University, where she is now a
freshman. “Going to college has provided me with new learning experiences – and the life-
changing opportunity to fulfill my dreams of a better future for myself and my family,” shesaid. As a young girl, Star Brooks always wondered what college was like – but didn’t know if it was something she’d be able to experience herself. “Life in my family has not been easy, but working
hard has always been my priority,” she said. Spending her summers with the Caddie Academy pushed her entirely out of her comfort zone, but her desire to be a “role model of integrity” led her to stick out the challenges – and find a new family of support along the way. Now a senior at the University of Illinois – and the first in her family to go to college – Star is pursuing two
college degrees and hopes to go into sports marketing. “I can clearly see how my caddie
experiences have contributed to my character and helped me become the person I am today,” she said. “I have learned so many leadership skills, all of which will help me make my future dreams become a reality.” About the Korn Ferry Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour identifies and
develops golf’s next stars, preparing them to compete and win on the game’s biggest stage. The Korn Ferry Tour, which has served as a path to the PGA TOUR since its inception, will begin awarding 30 PGA TOUR cards based off its points list in 2023, with the No. 1 player earning exemptions into the following year’s PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open. With more than 600 PGA TOUR titles, 28 major championships and six FedExCup champions, Korn Ferry Tour alumni make up over 80 percent of the PGA TOUR’s current membership. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and to follow the season-long quest for a PGATOUR card, visit PGATOUR.COM or follow the Korn Ferry Tour on social media. Six Korn Ferry Tour events are televised annually on GOLF Channel in the United States, with tournament programming also available via 22 linear TV partners in 170-plus countries and territories. Over 70 hours of live coverage is available in 130-plus countries and territories. Programming is also available via the OTT platform GOLFTV powered by PGA TOUR in every market outside of the United States (240-plus countries and territories), excluding China, Korea and Russia, with live coverage distributed in 130-plus countries and territories.