Cor’ron Claudin of VBT wins full scholarship from Western Golf Ass’n.

Cor’ron Claudin, a resident of Van Buren Township, has been awarded a full, four-year housing and tuition college scholarship for golf caddies.
He is a student at Walled Lake Western High School and a caddie at Franklin Hills Country Club. He lives with his mother Nicole who is a registered nurse.
The Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship is the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship program and by the end of the 2025-26 selection process, an estimated 380 caddies from across the country are expected to receive the Evans Scholarship.
Cor’ron earned the scholarship by meetings four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need, and outstanding character.
The full tuition and housing college scholarship is valued at an estimated $125,000 over four years.
Cor’ron is one of 31 caddies in Michigan who will be awarded the Evans Scholarship this year. Currently, a record 1,260 are enrolled at 27 universities nationwide as Evans Scholars and more than 12,575 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program began.
Selection interviews were held at Western Golf & Country Club in Redford, MI, on Jan. 6 and 7.
The winners will begin college in the fall of 2026 as Evans Scholars with most to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor or Michigan State University in East Lansing. Their awarded schools will be finalized this spring.
The Western Golf Association, headquartered in Glenview, IL, has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930, when it was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr.
. Known as one of golf’s favorite charities, it is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.
“These students exemplify the work ethic, integrity, and commitment that define the Evans Scholarship,” said Mark Bond, a WGA director and the Michigan State Chair. “Michigan’s golf community continued to expand youth caddie opportunities, and we’re proud to support these young men and women as they take this next step.”
Evans Scholars have a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 and a 98% graduation rate. An estimated 40% are first-generation college students, and 96% are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduating.
Funds for the Evans Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 43,500 supporters across the country who are members of the Evans Scholars Par Club program. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $15 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the penultmate PGA TOUR Playoff event in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup competition, benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation.
In 2026, the BMW Championship will be held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, MS from Aug. 18-23.